Writing in the Discipline

Content, Composition, Citation

The right ingredients in cooking up a good batch of ideas. What to focus on, and how to enrich the substance of your work.

Content Intellectual Matter

Why Write?
Describe Stimulate novel ideas.

Vivid
Explain

Contribute to the body of political science knowledge.

Aim to get published.

Factual
Propose

Sound

Wheres the Political?

Know and distinguish the political from the contaminants and digressions. Prostitution in Metro Manila.

Federalism in the Galactic Republic.

Climate Change

This is Arts and Letters

Athena is not just a display. Be creative.

Philosophy:

Express testable ideas.

Back-up your claims.

Science:

Sound Discussion
Facts

Ideas
Relationships

Flow

and
Samples

Support

Each

Other

Plating a sumptuous meal. How to make your write-up palatable for reading.

Composition Expressing your reasoned thoughts.

The Basic of Format

Use 3rd person.
The author, the researcher, the writer, this student.

Use headings:
Main (standard): Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion. Subheadings: depending on topic.

For this class:

Font Times New Roman, Size 12, Top and bottom Margins 1, Right Margin 1.5, Left Margin .5, Alignment Justified, Spacing double.

Reader Cues
Title Headings
General Topic/Locational Partitions
Introduction attractive, give preliminary information Body Descriptive, Argumentative, Evaluative, Analytical Conclusion Answers the main question, summarizes main points.

Specific Topic Partitions

Democracy and Absolute Authoritarianism in France

Introduction The splendor of the Sun Kings radiance was was magnified by the grandeur of a Palace in Versailles .......... Discussion Regime of the House of Bourbon The height of absolutism in France was during the reign of The Birth of Democracy in France The gap between peasants and nobility was clearly visible in Conclusion Based on data discussed above

Your Voice
Discuss the content.
Tell the story, describe or explain the phenomenon, propose and defend your arguments.

Use reputable and relevant sources.

Be a storyteller
When writing your paper: Remember the tautology that YOU are the WRITER.
You are not a nobody who is just stitching together a bunch of information.

Whether it is qualitative or quantitative, your discussion narrates a particular THESIS.

Thesis
A thesis is the point that you want the reader to know. It is usually in the form of a proposed argument that can be tested. Included within the paper are the proofs that back up your thesis.

Quoting sources
Direct statements:
You directly quote the source. Maximum of 3 lines of text. Must be sourced in the discussion. In Siguente (2005) quoted Louis XIV said: I am the state.

Quoting sources
Reported Statements:
You are conveying the idea as verbatim as possible. Maximum of 3 lines of text. Must be parenthetically sourced.

General McArthur said that he will return (Agoncillo 2013).

What if Direct or Reported Statement is too long?

Maximum of 5 lines of text may be allowed. The complete text must be made into a separate block paragraph. Then hanged within the text. Spacing is also reduced to single for this paragraph.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrased statements:
Use your own words. The idea of the source must be preserved. Word count may exceed the original. Best in maintaining professionalism.

Paraphrasing
Original Paraphrase
According to Overholt (2008), China had an image among Americans as a an angel in international relations, while Japan was considered a devil. This was during the first half of the 1900s though, because on the second half, the way that Americans viewed both countries were switched.

For the first half of the 20th century, Americans perceived China as an angel and Japan as a devil. For the second half, these images were reversed in American consciousness (Overholt, 2008).

Paraphrasing
Original Paraphrase

The thesis of cosmic war rests upon the terrorists perception that God is judging their actions and will provide the subsequent Rewards (Juergensmeyer, 2000). From (Flint, 2006)

Flint (2006) attributes to Juergensmeyer (2000) that the principle of cosmic war is founded on the belief by terrorists that God is watching everyones actions, andf that they will reap rewards based on what they do.

Paraphrasing
Original Paraphrase

The thesis of cosmic war rests upon the terrorists perception that God is judging their actions and will provide the subsequent Rewards (Juergensmeyer, 2000). From (Flint, 2006)

Juergensmeyer (2000) explained that the principle of cosmic war is founded on the belief by terrorists that God is watching everyones actions, andf that they will reap rewards based on what they do (Flint, 2006).

Paraphrasing
Modelskis model of world leadership is a historically based theory, founded upon his interest in naval history. Power, for Modelski, is a function of global reachthe ability to influence events across the world. In history, such power has required control of the oceans (Flint, 2006).

How did you come up with the recipe? Giving due credit where it is due.

Citation Documenting your sources of information.

Always keep a record of:

Name/s of authors.
Some books have different authors per chapter..

Edition number. Volume number. Issue number. URL/s Date of publication or online copyright. Date when you went online.

Name/s of editors. Name of publisher. Name of translator. Place of publication.

Standard Format
Use hanging indention.

May be single or double spaced (for this class).

Use Chicago or APA.