IR 1501 Essay Guide Issues in International Relations.

IR 1501 Essay GuideIR 1501 Essay GuideIR 1501 Essay GuideIR 1501 Essay Guide

Issues in International RelationsIssues in International Relations

IR 1501 Essay• Essay due date:

– 5pm, Thursday 15 March, Week 7

• Essay length:– 2000-3000 words

• Essay weight:– 30% of course mark

IR1501 Essay Questions

1. Are the UN’s weaknesses also its greatest assets? Discuss in relation to how and why the UN gets involved in international relations.

2. “A European Union of 40 is inevitable” Critically discuss this statement with reference to the post-1995 EU enlargements.

IR1501 Essay Questions

3. What mechanisms do International Organisations employ to prevent human rights abuses and how effective are they?

4. Does the creation of an international organisation necessarily imply the sacrifice of sovereignty? Discuss with reference to the European Union.

5. Critically assess the assumptions of realism with regards to the maintenance of international peace.

IR1501 Essay Questions

6. “The policies of the IMF and World Bank do more harm than good.” Critically discuss this statement with reference to the international debt crisis in the Third World.

7. Assess the successes and failures of social movements since the 1960s in securing change in both national and international politics. Discuss with reference to two case studies of your choice.

Essay Preparation• Where to start?

– IR text books• Baylis and Smith• Jackson and Sorenson• Jack Goldstein

• http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199271184/

Essay preparation• Resources

– Journals vs. Books– The Times vs. the Daily Mail– BBC Online vs. Wikipedia– Government documents

Essay preparation• Finding journals

– Journal for everything• Security – International Security,

European Security• IOs – International Organization

– General Journals• International Studies Quarterly, BJPIR,

Review of International Studies

Finding Sources• Databases

– Google! Google Scholar– Web of Knowledge

http://portal.isiknowledge.com/portal.cgi?Init=Yes&SID=W1jJi6la2godbkpKKML

– JSTOR http://uk.jstor.org/

Finding Sources• Play detective

– Who does someone else cite?• http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/

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Essay preparation• Resources

– What to do if you encounter publications that use numbers?• Don’t panic!

Writing your essay• 3 aspects to every IR essay

– The theoretical (realism, liberalism)– The conceptual (the state, power,

development)– The empirical (the UN, Bosnia,

Africa)

Writing your essay• Note taking

– Main points– Main questions– Cases Used– Conclusions– Interesting sources used that may be

relevant

Writing your essay• In the beginning . . .

– Question(s)– Perspective– Structure

Writing your essay• Structure• Example:

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a768756924~fulltext=713240930

Writing your essay• Coherent?• Explicit?• Grammatically correct?• Relevant?• Words cited correctly?• http://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/about/

documents/Handbooklevel1and22006_7.doc

Finishing your essay• Proof read your essay• Have someone else proof read

your paper• Student Support Services:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/

Submitting your essay• Turnitin submission is required or

else you will not receive a mark for the essay and will fail.