Web Resources for Political Science Students

The Writing Process

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/political-science/
A very thorough introduction to political science writing as a genre through an explanation of the general field of political science with clear examples. Includes advice on the general purpose of political science writing, as well as the basic organisation of two common assignment types-the research paper and the theory paper.

http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/polsci/writing_uft.htm
A lengthy but extremely comprehensive introduction to political science writing and pre-writing processes. The essay is also useful as a refresher for seasoned political science students, but in either case its opinions should be tempered with consideration of other writing resources.

http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/kingch/Writing_PolSci_Essay.htm
A brief guide to writing political science essays that is useful for getting started on an assignment. It highlights the importance of sticking to relevant information, creating an essay outline, and generating an original argument rather than rehashing others' ideas.

http://library.athabascau.ca/help/polisciguide.php
An introduction to the pre-writing process. Although it is written to familiarise students to a particular university's library resources, its general advice on developing search terms and finding and evaluating resources is applicable to any political science student.

http://www.sfu.ca/politics/pdf/essay.pdf
A few general writing tips, which are most useful for brainstorming a topic and thesis and writing an introduction, along with extensive guidelines for formatting, citations, and footnotes.

http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/pshelp.html
A small but very helpful collection of general writing tips, suggestions for brainstorming and organising papers, and a few exercises aimed at improving your reading comprehension, summarisation, and analytical skills.

http://www.henryfarrell.net/pol_science_essays.pdf
A short essay on writing undergraduate political science assignments, which focuses on four processes: determining assignment expectations, writing concise and purposeful introductions, organising an essay (at the level of the whole, the paragraph, and the sentence), and using a clear and simple style of writing.

http://www.unc.edu/~jstimson/Writing.pdf
A short essay on producing political science writing of publishable quality, focusing on common mistakes and emphasising the importance of organisation and readability. (Although written for an audience of professional writers, its advice is applicable for graduate or advanced undergraduate students).

http://csallen.myweb.uga.edu/writingpols.htm
A collection of basic writing advice for political science students. While mostly concerned with readability, it also suggests an outline for the writing process and provides excellent advice on developing and integrating sources into an argument.

http://qcpages.qc.edu/Political_Science/tips.html
A general guide to writing political science papers, especially useful for its insights on developing persuasive arguments, using evidence effectively, and successfully organising and signposting a paper.

http://salsa.athabascau.ca/govn/writing.php
A brief guide to writing argumentative papers, primarily useful for its concise tips on integrating evidence.

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/polisci/sources.html
Some quick advice for integrating sources, including the analysis of evidence, the selection of relevant examples, and the citation of sources.

http://classweb.gmu.edu/piaguide/html/professor.htm
General writing tips collected from political science professors regarding professor expectations and students' common mistakes.

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/polisci/advice.html
An extensive collection of common mistakes in political science writing, including argumentative, organisational, and grammatical errors.

http://www.usm.maine.edu/pos/styleguide.htm
A quick list of general formatting and formal guidelines for political science papers. Also useful is its clear explanation, including examples, of what constitutes plagiarism.

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPSA.html
A guide to formatting and citation in the American Political Science Association (ASPA) style.

Genres

http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/psdiss.html
A short list of what to do and what not to do when writing a political science dissertation.

http://qcpages.qc.edu/Political_Science/researching.html
An excellent guide to writing a political science research paper that focuses primarily on the researching process, including narrowing down topics and searching for, selecting, and evaluating sources.

http://classweb.gmu.edu/piaguide/html/types.htm
A collection of genre-specific writing tips for political science students, including advice for responding to in-class essay exams and short descriptions of reaction papers, thought papers, and book reviews. It also includes an extensive, step-by-step guide to writing research papers, which covers brainstorming, researching, drafting, and revision.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/history/pdf/writingguide.pdf
A very brief overview of the purposes of various types of political science assignments (including descriptive, explanatory, and prescriptive assignments) with advice on the aspects of writing common to all, such as persuasion.