The Purpose of a Political Science Paper and How to Write It
Political science is quite an important discipline to study. It’s not only about the government’s work or legislative system; it has an impact on every sphere of citizens’ life. Therefore, it’s essential to understand the politics of the country you live in. There is a large number of laws controlling almost every aspect of our lives, so we should be well acquainted with our rights and obligations. We live in society, and politics helps us to manage the communication between people, organizations, institutions, and whole countries. Every citizen has a right to take part in the political processes of the country, and it will be very useful for every person to understand these processes and know-how to deal with them.
General knowledge about political systems and ideologies is another essential reason to study political science. It helps you to understand how politics works in other countries, how it affects the level of people’s lives there, how unsimilar can be a structure of the politic system in different countries. You learn how to relate the economic, geographical, cultural features of the country to its political system.
The historical background has a significant impact on the present policy. We have to remember our past and learn about the mistakes of our predecessors. There are a lot of historical documents, and cases need to be learned in order to understand why the present government system works the way it does. As you can see, political science is a pretty broad and complicated subject. Nevertheless, that makes it exciting to study.
Writing a paper on some political subject improves your analytical thinking and investigation skills. It not only shows your knowledge on some topic but also lets you participate in academic arguments and learn how to prove your opinion. It’s not about presenting some well-known facts or discuss a clear and common political situation. Instead, you have to take a challenge to solve a controversial problem, talk about urgent questions, or take a look at the fundamental things from different angles.
Steps of Writing about Politics
Since you have to deal with such a serious field of study as politics, your paper should be clear, convincing, and well-structured. Every thought in your writing have to be backed up with strong evidence, you should refer to documents and historical cases, feel free to use quotes of valuable people. Remember to make your paper understandable and relevant, don’t overdo with complicated words and documents citing. The main goal of your political science paper is to make a statement and prove it with strong arguments by using your knowledge and writing skills. So, let’s do it!
Preparation
Before you get to writing, make sure to have a proper plan for your future paper. It’s important to keep your thoughts organized; a good plan will not let you miss anything substantial. Another way to structure your thoughts is to make a list of the main points you want to mention in your writing. Just write them down in any order and use it as a check-list of your points. Some students find it helpful to make a mind map while preparing to write a paper. It will connect your thoughts with each other and visualize the way to the conclusion you have made. If it seems difficult for you, just stay with making a plan or list, whatever works for you better.
Searching for information
The next step is pretty important in order to have strong arguments proving your thesis statement. You should already decide what topic you will choose for your paper to know what kind of information you need to find. Now you have to provide yourself with reliable information and verified facts before you start writing your paper. There are a lot of fake facts about politics on the internet, and in media, so you should be careful while searching for sources. Don’t use information from unknown websites with no reputation, also, don’t choose tabloids as an information source – news there are always exaggerated or deceitful. Check every material you find on the internet, and if you have to use online-media sources, go with the most reliable ones.
If your topic is not about historical events, be careful not to use outdated information. Pay attention to quotes of famous people; they can be false or used out of context. As you can see, there are a lot of tricky moments when it comes to information about politics, so it’s your work to sort it out. Show your ability to conduct a proper investigation, and it would be noticed by your professor.
Making the main statement of your work
Your thesis statement makes the whole point of your work. It’s the question you are going to discuss through your paper and prove or refute it with facts and arguments. Therefore, it should be relevant and interesting to discuss. Don’t choose a too simple thesis; you will feel more inspired while working on some controversial question that bothers you than if you settle with some common theme you are not interested in.
Remember that there are different types of political science papers – it can be analytical (in this case, you are providing more of your thoughts and assessment), or it can be a research paper (here you have to show your ability to conduct an investigation on your topic). The type of your paper defines the goal of it. Therefore, you should pay attention to this point while choosing your thesis.
Keep in mind that every part of your political science paper should be connected to the thesis statement. It should not change through your work, and the conclusion should match everything written in the introduction.
Proving your thesis
When you made a statement, you should obviously prove it. Use a plan you have made before and go through all the points you find important. Make them smoothly interconnected and easy to read, don’t jump from one point to another. Here you can include all the essential information you have prepared, quotes, examples. Don’t forget to mention every source you have used at the end of your writing. The more interesting examples and real cases you bring up, the more valuable your work is going to be. Don’t make your politics science paper too dry by using only theoretical information and big quotes from documents. If you pick the right thesis you are interested in; it’s going to be easy for you to prove it successfully.
As a result of your analysis, you have to write a conclusion, summarizing every point you have mentioned in your political science paper. Make it brief as well as understandable and do not bring any new ideas in this part of the paper – only the conclusion of what you have already discussed.
The Structure of Political Science Paper
The structure of this academic assignment is pretty common; it includes an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. The introduction presents your thesis statement; it’s a very important part of your writing. Sometimes one sentence is enough to explain the main question of your work; in other cases, it takes several paragraphs. Decide what suits you better, depending on the size of your assignment.
The body part contains all the investigation, analysis, arguments, and examples. Split it into several paragraphs interconnected with the thesis statement. You can have as many paragraphs as you need in order to prove your point and discuss your topic properly. Every paragraph should contain only one thought, and in the next one, you can move to another point. It’s necessary to separate facts\quotes from your analysis and opinion. Use them correctly; make sure you understand the meaning of them in the right way.
Then comes the conclusion, you already know how to write it from the previous part of this article. Before you get to write it, check your whole work – have you proved your thesis already? Is it time for a conclusion, or maybe there are some points you forgot to mention? Make sure your introduction, investigation, and conclusion are logically connected.
If you have cited some historical materials, science sources, or politician’s speeches, then you have to mention every source you have used at the end of your work. It’s an important moment because if you don’t do the reference list, your work can be considered as plagiarism.
Tips for Writing a Political Science Paper
Here are some tips you need to know before you write your assignment. Follow them, and you will do your best work.
Know your topic
Political science is not an easy subject; that’s why it’s important to choose the topic you fully understand. You need to know definitions of all the terms you are using, the meanings and backgrounds of political ideologies and systems, biographies of people you are discussing. If you want to be a professional politician, you should always be prepared to discuss controversial topics and deal with a lot of important information to remember.
Don’t be too cynical
Some people would not believe anything about politics; they always see the government conspiracy in every word and action. If you want to stay professional, you should not behave like these cynical people. Yeah, it’s way easier to reject every information and blame the government for every problem you have, but it’s not relevant for adequate people who really want to solve the problems, not just talk about them. So, try your best to think rationally and not prejudiced.
Stick to your political position
Make your position and beliefs clear to the readers. Don’t support two controversial positions at the same time; it’s really unprofessional. Don’t suddenly change your position to fit your point into some popular movement. Weak position and uncertainty in your own beliefs will lower the value of your paper.
When you know all the main steps of writing and important points of making a political science paper, you can make your work interesting to read, valuable and professional!