The working draft should be approximately 1500 words in length (not counting the list of references). Your argument should rely on research published in academic books and peer-reviewed journal articles (see attached essay guidelines for details). You should write in a concise, learned style that avoids jargon. Accordingly, the essay should be written in a way that entices the reader and contributes to our understanding of the topic.
• Don’t add a title page. Include your name, date and paper title at the top of the page.
• Written in 12-point Times New Roman font with double spaces (left-aligned).
The essay will be graded according to how well it achieves the following standards:
• Does the essay answer the question? Usually there are several components to each question.
Make sure that you have not left anything out in your answer.
• Does the essay show that you are familiar with and understand the material?
• Is the essay clear and well argued? An important goal of this course is for you to learn how to develop concise, informed, convincing, arguments; hence, your mark will reflect your ability to achieve these goals.
• Are there relevant and useful citations from your sources that support your essay answer?
Remember that the resources you use in your research and writing must be cited in your dissertation.
Your research must include at least five different sources, only books and the following five reliable sources. Do not use the website for research！！！！！！！ Additionally, diverse citations showcase more highly developed research.
In this course, we will use the APA style. Here is a link to the APA style guide:
https://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/ld.php?content_id=28439009
Here are 5 reliable sources to base your paper on:
1. Anderson, C., & Stephenson, L. (Eds). (2020). What is democracy and how do we
study it? Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
2. Held, D. (2006). Models of democracy. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
3. Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2019). How democracies die. New York, NY: Broadway
Books.
4. Gagnon, A., & Poirier, J. (Eds). (2020). Canadian federalism and its future: Actors
and institutions. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
5. Malcolmson, P., Myers, R., Baier, G., & Bateman, T. (2021). The Canadian regime:
An introduction to parliamentary government in Canada (7th ed.). Toronto, ON:
University of Toronto Press.
The source can only be books or the above five resources!!!!!!!
General Guidelines for Essay Assignments
Your essays are a vital part of this course. The preparation you put into it will increase your subject matter knowledge; improve your ability to think critically, and to write in a clear fashion. The essay
is also intended to correspond to some of the various fields of political studies and encourage your interest in those fields.
A good essay is coherent, interesting, and should express an independent viewpoint that is based on reasonably extensive and thorough research. Remember, clear writing comes from clear thinking, so you should spend some time thinking about what it is you intend to say before you write the essay.
The introduction of your essay should contain a thesis statement and a brief account of how you plan to argue your case. A thesis statement is a one or two sentence description of the argument contained in your paper. Do not assume that your audience or instructor knows what you plan to say or how you will proceed. Be as clear as possible in this section. Moreover, make sure that your paper reflects the thesis statement. Ask yourself throughout the writing stage whether you are meeting your own requirements spelled out in your introduction
Indicators of a Good Essay
In broad terms, your essays should include the following:
• A statement of your objectives and summary of how you intend to structure your essay.
• A clear and concise thesis statement.
• Conceptual definitions and an overview of key terms, as well as an identification of any important assumptions upon which your argument is based.
• If applicable, a brief history of the ideas or events that led to the problem or question you are addressing.
• A critical assessment of the information you have discovered and documented in your research.
Be aware that there inevitably will be criticisms of what you are saying, but the strength of your paper will lie in its ability to pursue logically and coherently your central argument.
• A summary of your discussion in your conclusion, indicating some of the problems or dilemmas raised in your paper. If applicable, offer some directions for future research, thought and practice.