Research Essay: To develop the term paper students will first be responsible for

Research Essay: To develop the term paper students will first be responsible for picking a
commodity that they find interesting (i.e. one of: cotton; blood; lithium; oil; natural gas;
uranium; aluminum; copper; lead; nickel; tin; zinc; gold; silver; platinum; palladium; iron ore;
corn; wheat; bioinformation; soybeans; cocoa; coffee; sugar; tea; bananas; palm oil; peanuts;
shea nuts; potash; cashews; tropical timber; rubber; diamonds; columbite–tantalite [coltan];
opium; cattle; saffron; caviar; jute; data or any other licit, illicit, ‘real’or ‘fictitious’ commodity
approved by the course instructor). The Polity Resources Series is a great place to start to
find ideas about what commodity to select:
https://www.politybooks.com/serieslanding?subject_slug=politics-international-
relations&series_slug=resources. Students will develop a research question on any aspect of the
politics of the commodity to be studied, and will be responsible for conducting the research
needed to answer the question, for presenting it in written form as a research paper, and for
ensuring that the material presented relates directly to the course material. To develop a
comprehensive answer to the research question, the paper should draw extensively upon
concepts and approaches covered in the core texts and in the lectures. In addition to the course
material, it should also draw upon a diverse array of scholarly and non-scholarly sources
available through the library and the Internet. Papers will be no longer than 2000 words in
length, excluding the references, and conform to the Political Science Writing Guide. Criteria
for the grading of the research essay will include: the clarity and strength of the thesis stated at
the beginning of the paper; the organization of the paper around the clear thesis; the extent to
which the discussion engages with the course material; the clarity, editing and style of the
presentation; and the extent to which students acknowledge counter-arguments to their positions
and make substantive efforts to address those counter-arguments. Students should pay
particularly close attention to their citations to ensure consistency and accuracy. This course
requirement will be discussed at length in class on Wednesday 28 February. Turnitin will be in
use on the Dropbox (see below).