This course is an introduction to undergraduate writing skills focused on the discipline of international relations. It seeks to develop skills such as how to read arguments, how to construct arguments, forms of reasoning and evidence, structuring an essay, and critical thinking. It does so through a careful analysis of selected international relations texts and debates, as well as through the interactive development of written assignments.

Regular writing assignments will comprise a core feature of this course. These assignments are intended to encourage, support and facilitate the process of in-depth consideration and analysis that forms the core objective of this course. In addition to the reading outlines described above, students will complete the following four assignments:

Review essay: The review essay is to display substantial knowledge of the article’s content, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the ability to think critically about the argument (2 pages). Due Week 5.
Short essay (thought paper): The short essay will require students to take and defend a position on a controversial topic in international affairs. Students will be asked to use readings, concepts, and theoretical frameworks introduced in class to defend their position (4 pages). Due Week 10.
Long essay (policy memo/research paper): The long essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic in the international relations. Students will be asked to formulate a question to guide their research, to develop an outline for their paper, and to produce a formally structured paper in answer to this question, using concepts and theoretical frameworks from class to inform their work. It could be an extended version of the short essay. (8 pages). Due Week 17.
Presentation: Students will be asked to make a presentation to the class on their long essays (week 15 and 16).

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