assigment

1

International College of Manitoba

Fall 2021

POLS 1502

Essay #2- Term/Research Paper:

Question: A unitary system is composed of one central government that holds all the power in a state, while

a federal system divides power between national and local forms of government. By using any

country of your choice as case study, critically assess/analyze the political/government system of

your chosen country, bringing out the context, benefits, challenges and possible future outlook of

the state’s practice of unitary or federal system of government. (Power & Politics, Ch. 13, 14, 15 will be a great place to start with your research)

Critical Note:

Your case study or chosen country must be approved by the course Instructor. Send an email to

[email protected] with your selected case/country of focus. No two students are

allowed to write about the same case/country, and so I’ll be approving cases on a first-come- first served basis.

Deadline for submitting case studies: November 5, 2021.

Note: If I do not receive your case study by this deadline, we would assume you are not

submitting a paper for this assignment. No exceptions, please.

Important Instructions:

Students will write and submit 1500 words or (minimum) 6 to (maximum) 8-pages for this essay

topic. Each paper must be typed, double-spaced, printed single-sided, and use Times New Roman

font size 12 and the APA Style for referencing and citations.

Your Term Paper is due in week 11 (Nov 15 & 16 for each section respectively). The essay

assignments are to be completed and submitted to the instructor via email

([email protected]) by 11:30pm on each day. Essays submitted after the due date

will attract late penalties (please consult page 6 of course outline to see details on late penalties.)

I will consider extensions on a case by case basis and in accordance with the policies laid out on

page 6 of the course outline. If you have a valid and documented reason for needing an extension

of the due date, please speak with me in person well ahead of the due date for this assignment.

Kindly take note of these other penalties for late papers/absences when papers are due:

2

1. Any student who submits a paper after due date/time will have 10% of the paper’s grade deducted. This penalty increases by 5% for every hour until noon the next day (Winnipeg

time). No papers submitted after noon the next day will be accepted.

Summary of Essay Assignment Guidelines:

Minimum Requirements

Length:

The paper length must be 1500 words or 8-10 pages, double spaced and typed (this does

not include your title page, or bibliography page). Your paper must have a cover page with

the title of your paper and your name. The bibliography should be listed on a separate page

after the body of the paper. All pages of your paper must be numbered. Use Times New

Roman font size 12 and the APA Style for referencing and citations.

Number of references:

Your paper should include a minimum of 6-8 references/sources. As a reminder, majority

of sources must come from: (a) research articles from peer-reviewed journals (b) books

and (c) sources that have strong academic/ scientific research support. You are restricted

to the use of APA citation method. Be consistent with this method throughout your paper.

NOTE: Wikipedia (and other similar websites) is not an acceptable source – if you cite Wikipedia, you will lose points.

Content of the Paper

Title Page:

Ensure that you have a suitable title for your essay on your cover page.

Introduction:

Purpose/background: The background, purpose, problem, or question to be considered is

stated clearly. The problem chosen is focused enough to be covered in the space of the

paper, but not too narrow. The introduction must also contain a preview of how the problem

identified will be handled, with a strong thesis statement. This should be done in an

interesting manner to convince and pique the reader’s interest in your paper. Body:

A clear analysis of the literature to support the arguments proposed. Your assumptions are

logical, with presentation of evidence to support them. Good integration of arguments. If

sources contradict one another they must be dealt with adequately. Multiple sources are

compared in cases where available without simply listing of information. The

points/arguments are internally consistent, (i.e. one point follows from another logically),

plausible and well supported with sources. Presentation and argumentation must be easy to

follow and well organized.

Conclusion:

The paper must have a conclusion that summarizes the findings adequately and draws

appropriate conclusions. Implications of the findings are discussed where appropriate.

Important Note: Ensure your writing includes

3

i. Correct spelling.

ii. Correct use of grammar and words (no awkward or inappropriate use of words and

phrases)

iii. Paragraph form: Topic sentences are used to introduce transitions, and the order of

transitions is appropriate, with proper use of punctuations.

iv. Borrowed ideas and statements are given credit (citations used frequently and listed in

bibliography).

Bibliography/References:

Your bibliography or reference section must be on a new page. List all references

alphabetically by author's last name. Only cite materials that were discussed/referenced in

your paper. All materials that were cited in your paper must appear in the reference section.

All the best, and please send an email with any questions about this. Thank you!

4

Please take some time to carefully go through the rubric for your essay below. Your paper

will be graded based on this.

Beginning/Poor

1

Developing/Average

2

Accomplished/Very

Good

3

Exemplary/Excellent

4 Score

Introduction and

Thesis or Statement

of Purpose

Introduction

makes no

reference to the

topic or shows

relevance.

Thesis is generally

unclear;

Incomplete,

unfocused, or

absent.

Intro is unclear

(contain many vague

terms), appear

unoriginal, or offer

relatively little that is

new; provides little

around which to

structure the paper.

Thesis statement not

consistently clear;

stated in a single

sentence.

A good attempt is

made as to why the

topic is pertinent

but may be slightly

unclear or lacking in

insight or

originality.

Organization for

rest of the paper

stated.

Thesis statement

clear but may

sometimes digress

in the paper; stated

in a single sentence.

Relevance of topic is

apparent. The

groundwork for paper

easy to predict

because important

topics that will be

discussed are

specifically mentioned.

Thesis readily apparent

to the reader;

concisely stated in a

single sentence, which

is engaging and

thought provoking.

/4

Content The essay relies on

stringing together

quotes or close

paraphrasing;

Failure to support

statements with

major content

omitted; Quotes

not integrated,

improperly.

Examples support

some topic

sentences; reader

gains little insight;

The essay shows

little of the writer’s own relying instead

on quotes and

paraphrasing that

are poorly

connected.

Examples support

some topic

sentences; no

evidence of novel

thinking and

intermittent support

of thesis through

with evidence.

Examples support

most topic

sentences and

support general

purpose; reader

gains some insight;

occasional evidence

of novel ways to

think about the

material. Quotes

are well integrated

into sentences.

Topics adequately

addressed but not

in the detail or

depth expected.

Clear examples to

support specific topic

sentences and to

support the overall

purpose; reader gains

important insight;

analysis poses novel

ways to think of the

material; quoted

material well

integrated; depth of

coverage without

being redundant.

/4

Organization and

Tone for

an academic research

paper

Ideas are not

logically

organized.

Frequently, ideas

fail to make sense

together. The

reader cannot

identify a line of

In general, ideas are

arranged logically,

but sometimes ideas

fail to make sense

together. The reader

is fairly clear about

what writer intends.

While subheadings

The ideas are

arranged logically to

support the central

purpose.

Transitions usually

link

paragraphs. For the

most part, the

The ideas are arranged

logically to support the

purpose. Transitions

link paragraphs. It’s easy to follow the line

reasoning.

Subheadings are used

throughout the paper

/4

5

reasoning.

Subheadings not

used. Few or

no topic

sentences.

Tone not

professional or

appropriate

are used, the

content beneath

them does not

follow; many

paragraphs without

topic sentences.

Tone not

consistently

professional or

appropriate

reader can follow

the line of

reasoning.

Subheadings are

used throughout

the paper to guide

the reader without

undue confusion; a

few paragraphs

without strong

topic sentences.

Tone generally

professional and

appropriate.

allowing the reader to

reader moves easily

through the

text. Paragraphs

have solid topic

sentences.

Tone consistently

professional

and

appropriate.

Grammar,

Spelling,

Writing

Mechanics

(punctuation,

italics, capitalization,

etc./ Word Choice

Pattern of

ungrammatical

writing; There are

so many errors

that meaning is

obscured. The

reader is confused

and stops

reading/ Many

words are used

inappropriately,

confusing the

reader. It is

difficult for the

reader

Several grammatical

errors; The writing

has many errors, and

the reader is

distracted by them/

Word choice is

merely adequate,

and the range of

words is limited.

Some words are

used

A few grammatical

errors; There are

occasional errors,

but they don't

represent a major

distraction or

obscure meaning/

Word choice is

generally good. The

writer often finds

words that are

more precise and

effective.

Essentially free of

grammatical errors;

The writing is free or

almost free of errors/

Word choice is

consistently precise

and accurate. The

writer uses the active

voice.

/4

Conclusion/Reference

Quality/Citation

Format

There is little or no

indication that the

writer tried to

synthesize the

information or

draw conclusions

based on the

literature; no

suggestions for

future

implications or

outlook/ There

are virtually no

sources that are

professionally

reliable. Over-

reliance on

tertiary sources;

spotty

documentation of

facts in text/

Format of the

Some of the

conclusions,

however, are not

supported; weak or

trite suggestions for

future research/

Most of the

references are from

sources that are not

peer reviewed and

have uncertain

reliability. Several

relevant secondary

sources, more than

one tertiary source;

some facts not

referenced; displays

minimal effort in

selecting quality

sources/ There are

several errors in APA

or other approved

Some of the

conclusions,

however, are not

supported.

Suggestions for

future research

offered/ Although

most of the

references are

professionally

legitimate, a few

are questionable

(e.g., trade books,

internet sources,

popular magazines,

…) Several relevant secondary sources,

revealing adequate

research/ APA or

other approved

format is used with

minor errors. Some

The writer makes

succinct and precise

conclusions based on

the review of

literature. Suggestions

for future research

offered/ References

are primarily peer

reviewed professional

journals or other

approved sources;

Numerous relevant

scholarly sources (and

primary sources,

where available and

appropriate)

demonstrating

extensive, in-depth

research; little reliance

on tertiary sources/

APA or other approved

format is used

/4

6

document is not

recognizable as

APA or other

approved format;

References or

Works Cited list

was not cited in

the text. Pattern

of citation errors.

format. References

or Works Cited list

were not cited in the

text.

formatting

problems exist, or

some components

are missing. no

more than one or

two citation errors.

accurately and

consistently in the

paper and on the

"References" page.

The references in the

list match the in-text

citations and all were

properly encoded in

APA or MLA format.

Comments: Total

/20