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http://www.willamette.edu/~sbasu/poli480/ |
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POLI 480W (2.0) Senior Thesis |
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Spring 2013 Th 2:30-400 SML 205 Prof. Sammy
Basu Office: Sml 317 Hours: TTh 1:00-2:30 or by appointment. |
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STUDENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
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Students will enhance
their academic skills: reading and thinking critically; researching
effectively; speaking competently; and writing persuasively. |
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Students will
demonstrate knowledge of a range of explanatory and/or normative theories in
political science, specifically in their chosen sub-field. |
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Students will make
effective applied use of a variety of types of evidence to support a clear
line of analysis and conclusion or thesis. |
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COURSE RESOURCES
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The Writing
Center, Ford Hall 105, 370-6959 is available and you are
heartily encouraged to make full use of it. |
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APA style: |
See sample APA
Research paper
with marginal comments |
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COURSE EVALUATION CRITERIA
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This course
is organized around the various tasks involved in successfully completing an
extended piece of undergraduate research and writing. The grade is composed of five
components. All of them must be
passed in order to pass the course. Late penalties may be assigned. All students are expected to attend
every scheduled class meeting. |
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Research proposal |
5 pp. (1250-1500 words) careful
research design |
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(10%) |
á
specification of
thesis/problem/topic, á
ten keywords, á
relevant existing
scholarship, á
own hypotheses, á
methods of
enquiry/testing, and á
annotated bibliography
(with 10 articles and 5 books). |
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First draft |
15-20 pp. (4500-6000 words) partial
draft version of research paper |
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(20%) |
á
title: subtitle, á
abstract, á
ten keywords, á
outline, á
introduction, á
body of paper in sections
according to outline, á
conclusion, á
bibliography (with 15-20
articles, 10-15 books), |
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Second draft |
35-40 pp (10500-12000 words) full
draft version of research paper |
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(40%) |
á
title: subtitle, á
abstract, á
ten keywords, á
outline, á
introduction, á
body of paper in sections
according to outline, á
conclusion (which
includes a section on where research on this question should go in light of your
research), á
bibliography (with 20-25
articles, 15-20 books), |
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Final draft |
40-45 pp. (13500 words) complete
piece of original research |
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(10%) |
á
title: subtitle á
abstract á
outline á
body of paper in sections
according to outline, and á
bibliography (with 25+ articles,
20+ books) |
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Oral participation and final
presentation (20%) |
on-going class involvement, peer
editing, and presentation of the arguments and findings of research in
class. Use of Information
Technology in presentation is required. |
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SCHEDULE |
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Tue
Jan 15 |
Class meets:
Introductions, |
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Review
sample article |
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Thu
Jan 17 |
No Class: scheduled
individual meetings, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue
Jan 22 |
No Class: scheduled
individual meetings, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Jan 24 |
Class meets:
exchange and discuss draft
of Research proposal |
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Tue Jan
29 |
No class: Research proposal
(10%) due at 3pm Uploaded
to WISE |
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Thu Jan
31 |
No Class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue Feb
5 |
No Class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Feb 7 |
No Class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue
Feb 12 |
No Class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Feb 14 |
Class meets:
exchange and discuss draft
of First Draft |
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Tue Feb
19 |
No class: First draft
of paper (20%) due at 3pm Uploaded
to WISE |
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Thu
Feb 21 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue Feb
26 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu Feb
28 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue
Mar 5 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Mar 7 |
Class meets:
exchange and discuss draft
of Second Draft |
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Tue
Mar 7 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Mar 12 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Thu
Mar 14 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue
Mar 19 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu
Mar 21 |
No class: Second
draft (40%) due at 3pm Uploaded
to WISE |
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Tue
Mar 26 |
Spring Break |
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Thu
Mar 28 |
Spring Break |
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Tue Apr
2 |
No class: nor scheduled
individual appointments, |
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Thu Apr
4 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– Elena |
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300-330
– Amanda |
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330-400
– Brett B |
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Tue Apr
9 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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200-230
– Max |
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230-300
– Michelle |
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300-330
– Brett S |
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330-400
– Bill |
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Thu Apr
11 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments, 230-400pm |
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230-300
– TBA |
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300-330
– TBA |
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330-400
– TBA |
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Tue Apr
16 |
Class meets: use
of IT in making presentations |
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Wed
Apr 17 |
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Thu Apr
18 |
No class: scheduled
individual appointments |
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230-300 |
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300-330 |
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330-400 |
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Tue Apr
23 |
Class meets: student
presentations, TBD |
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230-315 |
Max |
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315-400 |
Michelle |
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Thu Apr
25 |
Class meets: student
presentations, TBD |
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230-315 |
Brett B |
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315-400 |
Elena |
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Tue Apr
30 |
Class meets: student
presentations, TBD |
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230-315 |
Brett S |
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315-400 |
Amanda |
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400-445 |
Bill |
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500- |
Libations to follow |
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Mon May 6 |
Final draft (10%) at 3pm Uploaded
to WISE Absolutely
no extensions |
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Politics Department Thesis Assessment |
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Politics uses the
following rubric to assess all senior thesis: 1.
Thesis identifies a well-defined and compelling puzzle or
question. 2.
Thesis presents and develops a clear and coherent argument. 3.
Thesis makes effective use of evidence. 4.
Thesis demonstrates understanding of competing explanations
or interpretations. 5.
Thesis is clearly and concisely written without distracting
grammatical or stylistic errors. 6.
Thesis is well organized and has a logical progression of
thought. |
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