Academic papers - Writing in the Discipline

What are Academic Papers?

One of the skills that you as a Political Science graduate must master is writing academic papers. They are also known as term papers, think pieces, thought papers, or simply papers. Here in the undergrad, paper writing can serve as training for the defining output of a bachelor's degree - an undergraduate thesis. It also serves you whichever you  choose among the myriad of professions available to a thomasian AB (PS) degree holder.  In political science, it is one of the essential components that make the discipline a science.

Essentially, an academic paper is a written composition of your thoughts about a particular topic or in answer to a particular question. But it is not an essay that simply spans several pages. And it is not simply an opinion.  It must either be rich or rigorous, clearly narrates or discusses the ideas, organized and follows the standard format of the discipline, the institution, and the course professor.

The content of a paper has a particular thesis as its heart. Originating from Greek, the word thesis attempts to lay down or propose an idea that can be phrased as a single statement. This thesis must be supported by premises thereby completing a set argument. This argument when presented and subsequently passes scrutiny becomes either a theory (Kant's theory of perpetual peace), a law (Newton's laws of physics, Say's law of the market), or a policy (no plastic policy, RH law, anti-money laundering act).

Examples of theses.

• All governments need a military to function.
• Corruption in the Philippines hinders economic development.
• Political dynasties should be allowed because they establish an ordered  social hierarchy.

From these ideas, you can then write several paragraphs that support arguments about it.  Each of these paragraphs belong under sub-headings in the discussion or body of the paper (see Three main headings: Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion below).
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E,g, for "All government need a military to function."

1. I'll discuss the purpose of a military and how it serves the purpose of the state.
2. I'll discuss stable states with strong militaries.
3. I'll discuss failed states with weak militaries.

Personally, I consider academic paper writing within the global political science community as a participating in a debate.  A thesis proposes.  Eventually another person might write a countervailing argument, which becomes the antithesis.  As scholars and scientists continue to do their research, a new thesis or antithesis can be found, or eventually a synthesis can be formed uniting the working components of a thesis and its' antithesis.

Here are important things to keep in mind in order to write a paper that's acceptable in the discipline.

• Follow the format.

Each discipline and each professor has a preferred style or form. When a professor gives you a format to follow, then by all means follow it. If there's no format, then follow the basic style.  Basic standards for format (particularly for me) are:

Font Style and Size - Times new Roman 12 / Calibri 11

Spacing - Double

Margins - 1" on all sides

Paper Size - Short Bond Paper

For courses that I handle, I require a different set of margins to compensate for my comments during checking. Please see the syllabus for my complete set of paper format requirements.

• Make sure you understand and answer the question or discuss the theme of the paper.

Many papers fail through this initial test.  Some students simply google everything that they can find in relation to the topic, and mash it in a rational order to produce a paper.  That automatically ends in a failed grade. Yes there can be a few grades for organizing it but the required item was not submitted.  It's similar to a math question where a students provide a very long and correct equation and yet at the end, the answer was incorrect.   

Remember your thesis, support it and explain it.  That is what is meant by "discuss".  If you're talking about examples, then describe them in detail.  If it's an event, narrate it in such a way that you weave an interesting factual story.  All through out, your paragraphs convey the answers to the question/s or theme/s set by the professor for you to write about.

Also remember, the answer must match the question.  If there are several questions, make sure you answer all in the entire discussion, in sequence and with "signposts".  Signposts are clues that lead the reader that this particular paragraph is about a particular topic.  This can be done by using sub-headings, or by expressing it through the paragraphs topic sentence.

• Be direct.

A thesis proposes an idea and it starts with a question. Thus the center of your world in writing a paper is that particular idea that answers that particular question. When your professor posts a question to be answered or discussed in your paper, answer it with reason and backed up with facts. The research for appropriate principles and facts gives your paper rigor. The capacity to reason out your idea in such a way that it enlightens the reader rather than make the person further scratch his or her gives your paper insight.

Yes, you did the research. Read so many books to the point of monopolizing the books at the Benavides library. Yes, your reason is flawless. But all this are for nothing if you can't communicate it well. The basic of successful communication is by being direct and simple. Keep your sentences simple.  Do not use compound complex sentences. Here's one test. If your sentence has more than one idea, then it's already complex. Thus, the rule of thumb is - one sentence = one idea.

The same holds true with your paragraphs.  One paragraph = one topic.  And one paragraph = one set of interconnected ideas.  The paragraph has a topic stick to it.  The moment you add a totally different topic, then that's time to add a separate paragraph.  For example, you are discussing problems in the 3 branches of the presidential system.  Each branch must have its own paragraph.

Never ever write a sentence or a paragraph that spans the entire page or pages of the paper. One that spans on page one, then puts the period at the last page.  I once encountered and failed a 3rd year student's paper who actually did the that.     

• Three main headings: Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion.

These 3 main headings are the basic headings.  If the paper is a map, headings are location markers.  It tells the reader what to expect from the succeeding paragraphs until the next heading is encountered.

The Introduction gives the reader the gist of what the paper is about. It tells the topic, and gives a backgrounder why such a topic has a paper being written about it. It raises issues for discussion.  And most importantly raises the question or declares the thesis of the paper. A standard Introduction should be 1-2 short paragraphs only.

The Discussion contains the bulk of the paper. It is actually divided into several subheadings. Each of which are followed by 1-2 substantial paragraphs that support the thesis at the heart of the paper. This is where the reasoning and the proofs based on factual sources will be placed.

The Conclusions synthesizes the elements of the premises leading towards affirmation of the thesis of the paper. It answers the question raised in the Introduction and attempts to recommend suggestions for for plan's of action or for future researches. A basic conclusion is only 1 paragraph.       

• Practice the right style of citation.

An academic paper is graded in terms of the student's insight, rigor and rhetoric. And rigor in research is not simply the copying of text and putting them together into a coherent sequence on your paper. The data that you read from books and other sources must be rephrased in the form of either a precis or a paraphrase. Once rephrased, the text must be appropriately cited using APA (American Psychological Association) style. Failure to do so can be considered as plagiarism.  Sometimes, you might need to directly quote the statement of a canonical writer.  Such direct quote must be limited to a sentence or at least no more than three lines of a paragraph.  Direct quotes must be in quotation marks, and again must be appropriately cited.

Also note that MS Word 2007 onward has a tool for creating parenthetical citations and biblographies. And that NOT ALL TYPES OF REFERENCES are can be inserted via the MS Word tool.  Sometimes, you will have to use the manual way of citing.  N.D. or "No Date" for web sources are not acceptable.

Always cite reported or secondary sourced quotes appropriately.  For example, a present day (let's say 2003) printing of English translations of Plato's Republic is not cited as (Plato, 2014).  Use the name of the translator, and mention Plato as part of the sentence/statement.

E.g. - In his Republic, Plato emphasizes the importance of ruling as a duty and not just a privilege to the point of pointing out the ultimate consequence of not accepting such duty - which is that someone inferior might end up taking the mantle of ruling (Lee trans., 2003)

• Cite everything.

In line with the plagiarism risk above. It is ALWAYS advised to cite everything that is not yours. Images from google, from Encarta. Maps, flags, pictures, diagrams.  And there's no such thing as common knowledge about a particular quote. A serious academic paper has a clean trail of sources of where a particular information or statement came from.

Please note that writing the name of a person after a quote is not proper. e.g "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both." - Niccolo Machivelli

The right way is to cite is by knowing where was it written that Machiavelli actually said that.  Hence, there must be a translator's or editor's surname in parenthesis followed by the book's (in this case "The Prince") year of publication.