Students will submit an original research essay that examines the causes of both prosperity
and poverty in world order. The essay must provide case studies on 3-4 low to middle
income countries, or countries that were previously low to middle income during the
twentieth century. The paper must be uploaded as a Word doc or pdf to Canvas. The essay
should engage with approximately 12 academic sources (journal articles and books) and 5
primary sources (political memoirs; government or intergovernmental documents; essays,
interviews, or speeches by public figures).
Appendix I
Research Essay Grading Rubric (100 marks total)
1. Introduction 10 marks
-Frame your essay by getting the reader’s attention and communicating the
importance of your topic.
-Include a brief overview of your essay structure.
-Provide a clear, concise thesis statement that anchors your essay with a unique
insight informed by your research.
-Your thesis should be framed as a perspective rooted in a debate, not an obvious
statement where prevailing consensus exists.
2. Research of Existing Literature 15 marks
-Either throughout your essay, or in a distinct section called “Literature Review,”
you must discuss scholarly research
-Reference at least 5 primary sources, such as government documents, political
memoirs, essays by public figures, interviews with public figures, speeches,
historical newspaper articles, etc, where appropriate.
-Discuss at least 12 major scholarly works (articles and academic books) that are
relevant to your topic.
-Properly cite your sources throughout the essay in APA.
3. Theoretical Insights 10 marks
-Provide a commentary on developmental theoretical insights from your research.
-Do your cases align with principles from a major theory on development or
challenge one?
4. Commentary on Prosperity and Poverty 25 marks
-Explain the political issues of poverty and prosperity in 3-4 country case studies.
-Detail the strategies used by these governments and comment on their
effectiveness and limitations.
-You must have a commentary on the international context of development
strategies, such as either on trade relations, investment, foreign aid, or the
international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank).
-You must provide a commentary on the role of a few notable NGOs in your
country case studies, either to demonstrate contributions towards prosperity or to
highlight persistent poverty.
5. Coherence 10 marks
-Ensure the essay flows logically from one sentence or paragraph to the next.
-The thesis statement should be present throughout the essay to provide focus.
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6. Persuasiveness 10 marks
-Does the essay succeed in persuading a skeptical reader?
-The essay must engage and respond to perspectives that are not shared by the
author.
7. Descriptive Statistics 5 marks
-Claims should be supported by reference to descriptive statistics from reputable
sources.
-Examples include economic statistics from the World Bank Open Data
(https://data.worldbank.org) or The Observatory of Economic Complexity
(https://oec.world). Political statistics are available online as well, such as the
Varieties of Democracy dataset (https://www.v-dem.net).
8. Writing Style 10 marks
-The essay should be free from spelling and grammatical errors.
-Aim to balance sophisticated insights with accessible writing that is enjoyable for
anyone interested in the topic to read.
9. Conclusions 5 marks
-Offer to the reader thoughtful reflections on the significance of your research.
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