Essay Instructions: Time Magazine named ‘the Protester’ as the 2011 Person of the Year, and in doing so linked protest movements in a variety of contexts (Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Russia, Greece and parts of Europe and North America) to a host of issues that will be familiar to any student of international politics, including human rights, worker’s rights, globalization, new information technologies, social media, public debt, global inequality and more. Compare and contrast protest movements in two different contexts (that have taken place over the last fourteen months) and discuss their impact, if any, on international politics. Locate your answer with reference to the theoretical perspectives. Make sure to have a concise and clear thesis
Throughout the Essay: Treatment of Theory
The essay must address the theoretical concerns as raised in the essay question (and as
covered in the course). This means that an entirely descriptive essay will not be successful.
Students must recognize the theoretical arguments that inform their own position and the
positions of those they are reading. What is important here is not simply affirming the
position that you have adopted, but providing a detailed engagement with how the other
perspectives view the same issue differently. Simply describing the general differences
between the approaches (for example by reiterating lecture notes) is not sufficient ??" you want
to demonstrate that you understand the application of the theoretical approaches to the
specific issue that you are addressing, and can argue why one perspective is more persuasive
than the others.
Throughout the Essay: Addressing the Question as Posed
The essay should address the question as posed, not go off on tangents that do not directly
focus on the concerns raised in the question. There are many ways to cut in to the topics
raised in the assignment questions, the point in this assignment is to organize your treatment
of the topic in terms of the framework provided by the question.
Throughout the Essay: Form, Style, Syntax and Grammar
The essay must be written in a style appropriate to a second-year university course. This
means that you must use proper grammar, syntax and make appropriate vocabulary choices.
Make sure you know how to punctuate properly, how to introduce direct quotes, and how to
write in proper English form. Use vocabulary that is appropriate to your subject and your
year level. This does not mean using the largest and most complex word, but the right word.
Use the Writing and Learning Resources available on the course web site and at the
University and read the appropriate chapters from relevant style guides.
Throughout the Essay: Sources
This is a research essay, you should be looking for as many sources as possible but we would
expect a minimum of six separate sources (outside of course readings). These need to be a
combination of scholarly sources and materials from reputable sources. For every six sources
you use, we expect four to be solid scholarly materials and the remaining two to be
information from a reputable source. For example, statistics generated by the United Nations
would be a reputable source of information, but we would expect this information to be used
in conjunction with scholarly materials. Journal articles and scholarly books are scholarly
sources; statements by UN departments, films, newspaper or magazine articles are not
scholarly sources ??" these latter can provide useful quotes, some direction to information, and
so on, but they cannot substitute for scholarly sources.
Throughout the Essay: Proper Citations
Sources used in the essay must be properly cited. Students must use and employ direct and
paraphrased quotes appropriately, and use a single citation format throughout the essay in a
consistent fashion. An improperly cited essay, no matter how well other elements of the
assignment were addressed, is grounds for failure of the assignment and a charge of academic
dishonesty