1. Paper Writing Skills

2. Appropriate Paper Title Bad examples: “Rousseau: Control group” “Marx: The Communist Manifesto Good Examples: “Aristotle’s politics: a theory for the many or the privileged few?” “Communication as process in the political theory of Althusius” Note: Two-pronged approach

3. The Hour Glass Approach information gathering topical sorting question structuring essay essay writing with feedback

4. Where To Begin? study the text(s) hit the library early adjust topic to material found design structure of argument sort material into structure write main part of essay write introduction and conclusion find a meaningful title

5. Introduction The introduction should: - summarize what the paper is about - identify the key problem / question / thesis - give overview of argument structure

6. Intro Examples Bad Examples: “Locke is an extremely interesting individual” “In Plato’s Republic, he writes…” Good Examples: “Hobbes’ theory of human nature was greatly influenced by the English civil war.” “A central assumption in Locke’s contract theory is that human beings have agreed to inequality.”

7. Conclusion summarize: on the one hand and on the other add personal evaluation: why is this important? what is your final judgment on this?

8. Citation of Primary Source “I wish I could wear such a crown” (Conservative Manifesto, II, 2/6).

9. Citation of Secondary Source “I can see Russia from my house” (Palin 2008: 123)

10. Bibliography (1) Book (primary or secondary): Harper, Stephen, Conservative Manifesto (Fort McMurray: Tar Sands Press, 2009)

11. Bibliography (2) Book chapter: Putin, Vladimir, “America is Doomed,” in Martha Stewart (ed.), Interior Decoration and the Decline of the American Empire (Alderson: Prison Press 2004), 33-66.

12. Bibliography (2) Journal article: McCain, John, and Sarah Palin, “The Earth is Flat,” American Republican Quarterly 36: 4 (2008), 123-122.