PSCI 350: Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

PSCI 350: Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

PSCI 350: Politics of Gender

Research paper assignment sheet

  • Choose an important event or an influential cultural artifact as a case study that can be examined in an interesting way in terms of the politics of gender.
  • Make an argument, using one or more of the class readings to analyze the event or artifact you’ve chosen to study.
  • If relevant, include an assessment of how one or more of the class readings could be improved (altered, made more nuanced) if it included a case study of the event or artifact you’ve chosen.
  • All of the pieces of the argument must be made into one coherent, well-structured essay, with a clear thesis, ample evidence, and smooth transitions. The connection between your thesis and each part of the paper should be readily apparent.

This paper is worth 25% of your grade.

Rough drafts are due to Adam for comments on November 21.

The final draft is due December 5.

The rubric below provides more information about the goals of this project.

Rubric for research paper: (28 points possible; 4 points possible per objective)

Objective / 4 points / 3 points / 2 points / 1 point
Uses relevant and reliable sources / Each source is relevant and reliable / Most sources are relevant and reliable / Uses only a couple of relevant and reliable sources / Has no sources that are both relevant and reliable
Accurate presentation of text or other materials / Presents and reflects on exactly what was said; is factually accurate / Generally presents an accurate understanding of the material; one or two factual errors / Demonstrates a basic understanding of the material, but has three or more factual errors / Does not demonstrate an understanding of the material
Focused on one main thesis / Has one clearly expressed thesis to which every paragraph relates. / Has multiple foci or thesis is slightly unclear or imprecise, or there are paragraphs that are not clearly linked to thesis. / Thesis is confusing or seriously underdeveloped / Has no clear thesis
Provides evidence to support argument / Every statement is supported by evidence, with appropriate citations / Nearly all statements are supported by evidence with appropriate citations / Most statements are supported by evidence with appropriate citations / Many statements have no supporting evidence or lack appropriate citations
Deals appropriately with counter-argument(s) / Fairly portrays counter-arguments while also establishing why the paper’s argument is superior. / Either fairly portrays counter-argument, but fails to fully establish why the paper’s argument is superior, or vice versa. / Deals with counter-arguments in a rudimentary way or ignores most effective counter-arguments. / Does not deal with counter-arguments.
Well-organized structure, with a clear and effective introduction and conclusion / Transitions are smooth and paper develops in a thoughtful way, points build logically upon each other, with no unnecessary redundancies / There are choppy transitions or gaps or redundancies in structure, but overall the structure enhances the argument / Transitions unclear or non-existent, or several redundancies, but reader still able to follow the basic flow of the paper / The structure is incoherent and/or inconsistent, distracting from the argument.
Grammar and style / Grammar, punctuation, etc., are appropriate for college-level work / Needs better proofreading, but there were only a few errors / There were three or more errors, but not enough to seriously interfere with the reader’s understanding / Errors were significant enough to interfere with the reader’s understanding