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basictipsforwritingwellinpoliticalscienceandbeyond.docx

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Basic Tips for Writing Well in Political Science and beyond

1. Give yourself time to write a DRAFT. Set it aside for a day (ideally) or even an hour, and then reread it and enter in your corrections. Or better yet, exchange papers with a classmate (someone familiar with the same assignment) or a friend, and proofread each other’s work (it’s best to do this with someone you can take a little criticism from—boyfriends/girlfriends may be biased!). The fewer spelling or grammar troubles the instructor deals with, the better your grade, and the more we can get into the real issues – the fun stuff. If you ever do some kind of official writing during or after college, this is a superb habit to have!

2. Always use the marvels of computerized spelling and grammar checkers if they are available (you can turn them on under “Tools” in most word editing programs) and correct your paper accordingly (this will save your human proofreader time and frustration too!).

3. Include your name, date, class and Section #, and assignment # in right upper-hand corner of the first page. No title or cover page is necessary.

4. Take the time to come up with an engaging Title! It’s the reader/grader)’s first impression, make it a good one.

5. Insert page numbers (found under “Insert” in most word editors).

6. Do not waste sentences explaining what you are going to write about, just get right into it. Be sure every sentence is relevant. If not, re-write them or cut them from your text.

7. Are you directly answering the questions posed for the assignment? Beware of beating around the bush or trying to B.S. if you haven’t read enough. I know all the tricks! And plagiarism (cutting and pasting off the Internet) can get your thrown out of school.

8. When you quote an author or source, such as: Richard Hillman states, “The love-hate relationship between Latin America and the ‘Colossus of the North’ persists,” you MUST include who, when and where the information comes from, or better said, GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. I prefer use of parenthetical citations, in this format: (Author’s last name or institution, Year published: page #), i.e. (Hillman, 2001: 8).

9. If you paraphrase or cite information from the source, it is also highly recommended that you include a parenthetical citation. Unless you have recently done some research on the region or gotten a grant to go and do interviews, give credit to those who have! When you get to the point of doing your own original work, then people will cite you!

10. If you include parenthetical citations, you must also include a FULL CITATION in a Bibliography or References section on the last page of your paper. If you’re not sure how to cite fully, different styles are listed on the WCU library website. Check your sentences and paragraphs for particular themes and so they don’t run on and on.