AGUIDE TO READING

POLITICALSCIENCE
MODULES FOR UNDERGRADUATES

DepartmentofPoliticalScience
FacultyofArts&SocialSciences
NationalUniversityofSingapore

Contents
AboutthisGuide....................................................................................................1
ClassesinPoliticalScience......................................................................................3
Lectures.............................................................................................................3
Tutorials............................................................................................................4
Assessment............................................................................................................5
ContinuousAssessment....................................................................................5
Exams................................................................................................................5
WrittenAssignments..............................................................................................6
ResearchingYourAssignment..........................................................................7
AppropriateandInappropriateResources.................................................8
Notetaking...............................................................................................10
WritingYourAssignment................................................................................11
AcademicWriting............................................................................................11
GeneralPointsofAdvice...........................................................................11
CommonErrorsandThingstoAvoid........................................................13
WritinginParagraphs...............................................................................16
SexistLanguage.........................................................................................17
ReferencingandCitations...............................................................................18
WhentoCite.............................................................................................18
DoIHaveToCitePageNumbers?............................................................22
NotesonUsingQuotations.......................................................................22
Bibliographies...........................................................................................23
HowtoUseCitations......................................................................................25
TheFootnoteStyle....................................................................................25
FurtherNotesontheFootnotingStyle.....................................................28
BracketsintextStyle................................................................................30
WhatisPlagiarism?...................................................................................33
HowtoAvoidPlagiarism...........................................................................33
HandinginYourWrittenAssignments............................................................34
PresentationofAssignments....................................................................34
HandinginWrittenAssignments..............................................................35
LatePenaltyPolicyandExtensions...........................................................35
FinalExams...........................................................................................................36
FurtherAdvice......................................................................................................38
GradesandWhatToDoAboutBadGrades..........................................38
CounsellingCentre....................................................................................39
PoliticalSciencePeersProgramme...........................................................40
Appendix..............................................................................................................43

ii

ABOUTTHISGUIDE

FormoststudentsatNUS,thiswillbethefirstcourseofstudytheyhave
undertaken since secondary school. This poses a number of challenges
becauseuniversitylecturersexpectalotfromtheirstudents.Forastart,
studyatuniversityismuchmoreindependentthanatthejuniorcollege
level. It is up to you to exercise good time management, which means
finding ways to balance family and other commitments with academic
ones,andmakingsurethatyouarewellequippedwiththerighttechnical
skillstodowellinyourcourse.Theseincludehavingagoodideaabout
whatlecturesandtutorialsareforandknowinghowtoprepareforthem;
being able to write competently and hopefully fluently in English;
following correct procedure when you reference other peoples work;
andknowinghowtoanswerexaminationquestions.

Formanystudents,gettingtogripswithallthesethingsinthefirstyearor
twoofstudycanbeprettytough.Somestudyandtechnicalskillswilljust
have to be gained through experience. However, we in the Political
ScienceDepartmentthinkthatwecangiveyouaheadstartbyproviding
some detailed general advice that applies across all modules offered by
theDepartment.Thatadviceiscontainedinthisguide.Somethingsare
relativelyeasytogetrightfromtheoutset,suchasknowinghowtocite
sourcescorrectly,butifyouhavenothavehadtodosuchthingsbefore
theycanappeardifficultatfirst.ThisiswherethisGuidecanhelp.You
shouldnotonlyreadthroughitthoroughly,especiallyifthisisyourfirst
module in Political Science, but also keep it beside you and refer to it
throughout the semester as you write essays, prepare tutorial
presentations,andgetreadytositfinalexams.

CLASSESINPOLITICALSCIENCE

Lectures

Lectureattendanceatuniversity is notstrictlycompulsory,butitisvery
unwise to miss a lot of lectures in a semester. This is not only because
you will miss out on ideas and insights that you need to complete
assignments and prepare for exams, but also because you might miss
noticesgivenbythelectureronwhattheyexpectintermsofdeadlines,
extrareading,andotherimportantpiecesofinformation.Inotherwords,
youwilllosecontactwithwhatisgoingoninclass,andmissoutonadvice
thatyoucantsimplycatchuponbyborrowingfriendsnotes.Lecturers
cantellveryeasilywhenastudentisoutoftouchwithwhathasbeen
discussedinclass.

Mostlecturerswillprescribeareadinglistthataccompaniesthecourse.
Reading is likely the single most important activity an undergraduate
student in Political Science engages in, and you should spend most of
yourstudytimereadingandtakingnotes.Itisalsoveryimportantthat
youdontleavereadinguntilthelastminute.Studentssometimesleave
mostoftheirreadinguntiltheseductivelynamedreadingweekbefore
finalexams.Thisisnotthebestapproach.Ifyouwanttoreceivebetter
thanaveragegradesandretainacompetitiveedge,youneedtokeepup
with the reading throughout the semester. Prescribed and suggested
authorswillcomplementratherthanrepeatwhatyourlecturerissaying
inclass.

PoliticalSciencelecturersareincreasinglyusingPowerPointpresentations
during their classes. PowerPoint can be a wonderful tool for both
teachersandstudents,butithasaseriousdownside.Theproblemisthat
somestudentshavegivenuptakingtheirownnotesinlectures,instead
relying solely on printouts of PowerPoint slides as study tools. This is a
terrible idea, because it means that you are not making an attempt to
rephrasethingsinyourownwords.Studentswhogethighgradesoften
find that the process of taking their own notes helps them understand
and remember class content better. Thats why some lecturers will
choosenottoputupPowerPointslidesonIVLEuntilafterthelecturefor
theweek.Thisistheirrightandshouldnotasourceofcomplaintonthe
3

part of students. If he or she chooses to do so, it is not because the

lectureristryingtomakeyourlifemoredifficult,butbecauseheorshe
thinksthattheclassneedstodevelopitsownnotetakingandstudyskills.
Lookonthebrightside:ifyourlecturerdoeschoosethisoption,youwill
havetwosetsofnotestouseforstudy.

Thereareafewsimplepointsofcourtesythatyoushouldfollowduring
lectures in order to make the experience more enjoyable and useful for
everyone:

Classes at NUS are supposed to end fifteen minutes before the

scheduledendtime.Thisshouldgiveyouplentyoftimetogetto
yournextclassifyoudohavebacktobackclasses,soyoushouldnt
have to arrive late to lectures for any reason. Arriving five or ten
minutesafterthelecturehasstartedcanbeverydisruptive,sotry
toavoidthisasmuchaspossible.

Handphonesshouldbeturnedoffatalltimes,andthisreallydoes
mean completely switched off. Do not have the phone on but
turnedontodiscreet,anddonothaveitsetsothatitcanreceive
SMS messages. You should also never take photos or video clips
during classunless of course the lecturer has permitted it for
somereason.

If you wish to record the lecture on audiotape, because for

example if you have a disability, you need to seek permission for
thisfromthelecturerinvolved.

Classroomscansometimesbeveryfullofstudentsandnothavethe
best acoustics, so some students might find it hard to hear the
lecture. For reason, and because it is distracting for the lecturer,
youshouldrefrainfromtalkingtoneighboursduringthelecture.

Tutorials

Tutorials are very different from lectures. The classes are smaller and
maybetaughteitherbyyourlectureror,morelikelyinthefirstyearor
so,atutor.TutorialsinPoliticalSciencegenerallystartinthethirdweek
of term,and you will have a tutorial every second week. The emphasis
here is ondiscussionand thusstudentparticipation.Differentlecturers
mayusethetutorialsforslightlydifferentpurposes,soyoushouldlisten
carefullyatthebeginningofthesemestersothatyouknowhowbestto
prepareforthem.Amongactivitiesundertakenintutorialsinclude:

Student presentations that are graded as part of the continuous

assessmentcomponentofthemodule.

Clearinguporgoingoveranyconfusingconceptsfromthelectures.
This canonlyhappenifthetutorknows what is causingconfusion
orattheveryleastsubjectsthatthestudentswanttoknowmore
about, so come armed with questions! Tutors really appreciate it
when you do have substantive questions about class content.
Having questions is not a sign that you are a weak student, but
rather the reverse. Asking good questions could even help bump
upclassparticipationgrades.

Discussingprescribedreadingsforthemoduleandhowthesefitin
withlecturecontent.

Howeveryourteachersdecidetousetutorialtime,itisalwaysimportant
to attend tutorials, not only because attendance usually contributes
toward your final grade, but because it will help you prepare for
assignmentsandexams.

ASSESSMENT

ContinuousAssessment

Sadly, many NUS students take a long time to understand how much
continuous assessment can contribute to getting a good grade in a
Political Science module. Continuous assessment can make up at least
half of lowerlevel modules in this discipline, and refers to work done
throughoutthesemesterbeforethefinalexamination.CA,asyoumight
see it referred to, could be made up of a number of different
components, such as class attendance and participation; midterm in
class tests; or essays, policy document discussions, book reviews and
otherformsofwrittenassignment.Muchoftherestofthisguidegives
you advice and assistance for preparing and submitting written
assignments, but it should be first noted that CA exercises are just as
important as final exams. The best students work hard throughout the
semester,andthisisgenerallyreflectedinCAaswellasfinalgrades.

Exams

Examsmakeupasignificantpartofyourfinalgrade,ifnotmostofit,and
understandably cause anxiety amongst students. We have some advice
on preparing for exams later in this guide that should help ease that
anxiety.

WRITTENASSIGNMENTS

You will most likely be set at least one written assignment for each
modulethatyoutakeinPoliticalScience.Moreoftenthannot,thiswill
take the form of an essay in which you have to weigh evidence or
alternativepointsofviewonatopicinordertocomeupwithyourown
argument. However,lecturersmayalsorequireanother kindofwritten
assignment,such asabookreview,literaturereview,countryprofile,or
policy analysis. Make sure that you understand exactly what kind of
assignmentisexpectedofyoubeforeyoubeginworkonit.

If the written assignment takes the form of an essay, you will either be
givenasetquestionorseveralquestionstochoosefrom,oryoumightbe
askedtocomeupwithyourowntopic.

Ifyouaregivenanumberofessaysquestionstochoosefrom,selectthe
topicthatinterestsyoumost.Makesurethatyouunderstandwhatthe
essayquestionisaskingyoutodo.Wordssuchascompare,contrast,
evaluate, analyze, discuss, or critically evaluate often appear in
essay questions, and you should consult with your tutor if you do not
understand precisely what they mean. It is very important that you
answer the question when it comes to essay writing. Below average
essays are often offtopic. For instance, a question in a political theory
class might ask you to examine the importance of the noble lie in
Platos political thought. An off topic answer might give an extensive
background on the life of Plato and a overview of his Republic, rather
thanfocusingonthespecificconceptthequestionasksyoutofocuson.
Similarly, offtopic essays in comparative politics or international
relationsmodulesgivetoomuchirrelevanthistoryordescriptivedetail.

Makesurethatyoualsoanswereachpartofthequestionandgiveeach
part appropriate weight. Consider this question: Which Central and
EasternEuropeantransitions fromcommunistruleafter1989weretop
down,andwhichoneswerebottomup?Whatimplicationsdiddifferent
transitionpathshavefordemocraticconsolidation?Youwouldneedto
doseveralthingsinordertoanswerthisquestionwell.First,youwould
needtounderstandandoutlinethedistinctionthattheliteraturemakes
between topdown and bottomup transitions from authoritarian
7

rule. Second, you would need to research a number of different

countries and decide how to group them according to this theoretical
distinction.Third,youwouldneedtomakeyourownjudgment,inlight
oftheevidenceyouhavecollectedonthedifferentcountries,abouthow
thedifferentpathsinfluencedpoliticaloutcomesinthenewdemocracies.
Itisperfectlyokay,ifconfrontedwithsuchadauntingtaskasthis,tolimit
youranalysisinsomewellthoughtoutway.Forinstance,youmightwant
tonarrowyourdiscussiontofocusontwogoodexamplesoftopdown
andtwobottomuptransitionpaths,ratherthantryingtocoverallthe
countriesinCentralEasternEuropethatbecamedemocraticafter1989.
Allyouneedtodoisbeexplicitatthebeginningoftheessayabouthow
youaregoingtoanswerthequestion,includinghowyoumightlimityour
discussion.

If you are asked to design your own essay question, the main danger is
trying to cover too much. You should define your research topic as
narrowlyaspossiblesothatyoucananswerthequestionindepth.You
should also frameyour topic as a question that you then try toanswer.
Your answer to this question becomes the argument of your essay.
Havingagoodargumentgivesyouachancetodiscussthemostrelevant
aspects of the topic and will help make your essay more argumentative
andthusinterestingforthereader.

ResearchingYourAssignment

Yourlecturermaygiveyouareadinglisttoaccompanyyouressaytopic,
but you will often be required to go beyond that list to find your own
resources. The library is the best place to start, and we are now very
lucky in that there are so many academic journals available online
throughthelibrarydatabases.

Ideally, you should start researching your topic at least three to four
weeks before the assignment is due. This will give you enough time to
placeholdsonbooksorlocateotherhardtofindmaterial.Inaddition,it
will allow you to start thinking about how you are going to answer the
questionbeforetimerunsoutandyouhavetositdownandwrite.
8

AppropriateandInappropriateResources

Increasingly, students rely on inappropriate resources for their

assignments.Thisisoftentheresultofbadtimemanagement.Insteadof
collectinglibrarymaterialsearlyoninthesemesterassuggestedabove,
students leave things until the last minute, panic, and then rely on
inappropriateandunreliableinternetsourcestomakeupthebulkoftheir
research material. Some students, however,especially at the beginning
of their university career, may not be aware of the difference between
appropriateandinappropriateresources,sopleasekeepthefollowingin
mind.

There is a big difference between academic or peerreviewed

publicationsandnonpeerreviewedornonacademicpublications.Peer
reviewed resources should make up the bulk of your reading list as an
undergraduate student, consisting of books in the library plus articles
from academic journals. These works have been approved by several
academicsinthefieldbeforebeingallowedtobepublished,whichactsas
aqualitycontrol.

Works that have not been peerreviewed include just about everything
else, including working papers (which usually represent the early
thoughts of academics working on an article or book); newspaper and
magazine articles; television programs; and websites. There are many
instancesinwhichhighqualitynewspapersandperiodicalsareusefuland
appropriateresources.AgoodexamplehereistheUKbasedEconomist,
whichhasparticularlygoodcoverageofcurrentinternationalevents.In
termsoftheoveruseofinappropriatesources,theinternetisthebiggest
culprit. In particular, Wikipedia and similar websites should never be
usedasasourcebyundergraduatestudents.Therearetworeasonsfor
this:

(1) Wikipedia and similar sites are opensource, meaning that anybody
canaddinformationtoanentry.Sometimestheinformationisjustplain
wrong,andinothercasesitispresentedinabiasedfashionthatstudents
arenotyetabletoreadilyidentity.

(2) Furthermore, Wikipedia and similar sites are nothing more than
onlineencyclopedias.Anencyclopediamightbeanappropriatesourceto
use at junior college, but not at university level. The writing you do at
NUS should be based primarily on peerreviewed published research,
supplementedbyhighqualitynewspapersandmagazinematerial.

However,thereareinstancesinwhichitisappropriatetouseinformation
fromtheinternet.Agoodexamplewouldbeifyouarewritinganessay
on Malaysian political parties. You could go to the websites of specific
Malaysian political parties in order to contrast their different policy
platforms. However, you should always be cautious about such sources,
andmostimportantly,usethemasasupplementratherthanthebasisof
yourwriting.Agoodrulethatyoucouldsetyourselfwouldbetoconsult
atleastfiveorsixacademicpublicationsbeforeyoustartconsultingthe
internet. Above all, whether or not you use an internet source should
dependonthequalityofthematerialthatyouhaveaccessed.

Unlike scholarly books and articles, most information posted on the

internetisnotpeerreviewed,althoughmanydatabasesinparticularare
ofaveryhighandacademicstandard.Watchoutforbiasesnotonlyin
thewaythatinformationispresented,butthinkaboutforwhatpurposes
a particular website or database has been compiled. For example, the
Freedom House index is regularly used by political scientists to rank
countriesintermsofhowdemocratictheyare,butnotonlyis"freedom"
not necessarily the same as "democracy", but the way that freedom in
conceptualized and measured is contestable. You might also want to
crossreference country data across several different databases or
websitesinordertobecertainthatyourfactsarecorrect.

Be especially aware of websites that are posted by "think tanks".

Sometimestheyofferverygoodanalysesofspecificpolicyissuesandare
writteninanacademicsoundingway,andthusprovideexcellentfoodfor
thought,butrememberthatthinktanksareusuallyfundedbyprivateor
public agencies with specific policy or political objectives in mind. For
example, many United Statesbased thinktanks are clearly aligned with
eithertheleftorrightofthepoliticalspectrum,orevenexplicitlyaligned
withtheDemocraticorRepublicanParties.Thisisequallytrueelsewhere
intheworld,toincludeAsia.
10


Alistofwebsitesisincludedintheappendixofthishandbookandisalso
available online at http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/pol/research4_1.htm
underthetitleLinkstoPoliticalScienceontheWeb.Youmayfindthe
websitesusefulduringthecourseofyourresearchandwritinginPolitical
Sciencemodules.However,besuretokeeptheabovepiecesofadvicein
mindatalltimes.
Notetaking

Onceyouhavegatheredyourresearchmaterialsandbegunreading,you
should take notes on each book or article that you read. You should
recorddownthecompletebibliographicinformationaswellasthepage
numbers from which you are taking specific bits of information,
arguments,orideas.

Many students these days write their essays straight onto a computer
screenwithapileofbooksandarticlesstackedbesidethem,ratherthan
working from notes. This is generally not the best way to write essays
and other written assignments. There are two reasons why this is the
case:

(1)Itputsyouin dangerofcommittingplagiarism,because you areless

likelytorephraseideasorsentencesinyourownwordsbeforeborrowing
them from a specific author. (The problem of plagiarism and how to
avoiditisfurtherdiscussedbelow.)

(2) Essays written in this manner tend to come out as bits of other
peoples work pieced together rather than an attempt to develop your
ownthoughtsandpresentacoherentviewonthetopic.Essayslikethis
do not have a clear line of argument, and tend to jump between ideas
andfactswithnoapparentreason.Yourtutor,inthiscircumstance,will
oftendescribetheessayaslackingclearorganization.

11

WritingYourAssignment

Onceyouhavetakennotesfromyoursources,youshouldwriteanessay
plan.Eachmajorthoughtorstepinyourargumentshouldbeorganized
into a paragraph. Students are increasingly using lots of small sections
andsubsectionswhentheywrite,butthisisoftenunnecessary.Essays
orotherassignmentoflessthan1,500wordsprobablydontneedtohave
separate sections and subheadings; just organize your paragraphs and
your overall essay structure well. Some further advice on paragraph
writingfollowsbelow.

Ideally, you should start writing your assignment one to two weeks
beforeitisdue,reviseitoneormoretimes,andleaveseveraldaysatthe
end to carefully edit your work. Most students would receive much
bettergradesfortheirassignmentsiftheywouldsimplyleavemoretime
for editing at the end. Could your thoughts be organized better to
present a stronger argument? Are your sentences overly complicated?
Aretheresimplegrammaticalmistakesthatcouldbefixed?Thefollowing
section will give you some further ideas about what to keep in mind as
youwrite,revise,andedityourwrittenassignment.

AcademicWriting

Learningtowriteclearlyandpreciselyisoneofthemostimportantskills
you will develop as an undergraduate, and the ability to write clearly,
using correctandformallanguage whereappropriate,isalsoaskillthat
will be transferable to the workplace. Many students, however, find
writingquitedifficultatfirst.
GeneralPointsofAdvice

Write as if you are writing for an intelligent person who is not an

expert in the field, rather than directly for your instructor. If you
giveyouressayorotherassignmenttoafriendatNUSwhoisnota
social science major, he or she should still be able to follow the
12

basiccontoursofyourargument.Keepingthisinmindwillhelpyou
understand that you need to bring your reader up to speed with
basicideasaboutyourtopic,beforeyoulaunchintoyourowntake
onthoseideas.

Muchstudentwritingsuffersbecauseittriestobetoocomplicated.
Dontusewordsorphrasesifyoudonttrulyknowwhattheymean.
Keep your sentences short. One way to avoid convoluted,
awkward,andunclearsentencesistoreadthemaloudtoyourself
as you write them. If you run out of breath or lose the thread of
whatyouaretryingtosay,youneedtostartbreakingupthoselong
sentencesintoshorterones!

The more you read, the more you will grow to understand what
academicwritingshouldlooklike.Becriticalofwhatyouread,and
think about the following questions. Are there particular authors
whosewritingyoureallylikeorfindeasiertounderstand?Howcan
youmakeyourownwritingasclearastheirs?

Think about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in

formal writing. As readers of students work, we are increasingly
noticing the adoption of informal or colloquial language. This
mayhavesomethingtodowiththeincreaseduseoftheinternetas
a tool of research and information dissemination in general. (See
on the use of appropriate and inappropriate sources, above.)
Again,themorethatyoureadacademicarticles,themorethatyou
should understand what is and what is not appropriate. Here are
some examples of language that is too colloquial for academic
assignments.

Aristotle really stuffed up when he thought farmers werent

capableofthinkingaboutpolitics.

Greek politicians are known for messing about with the

constitutioninordertogettheirownway.

13

CommonErrorsandThingstoAvoid

In addition to heeding this general advice, you should try to avoid

commonerrorsuchasthese:

Unnecessaryorincorrectprepositions.Commonexamplesinclude
thefollowing,withtheunnecessarywordstruckout:

NancyBermeoemphasizesonthefactthat

Rousseau mentions about the concept of the social contract in

relationto

- Theda Skocpol discusses about revolutions in France, Russia, and

China.

- AlexisdeTocquevillearguesonthatcivilsociety

Try not to use etc, i.e. and e.g. These abbreviations are
generallyasignoflazinessinsentenceconstruction.Trynottouse
etc., i.e. and e.g., but substitute their English equivalents:
thus and so on/forth instead of etc.; that is, for i.e.; and for
exampleinsteadofe.g.

There is some dispute over the use of the first person, or I in

formal written English. You may have been told at secondary
school to avoid using I as in I will argue that However, in
academicwriting,itsOKtousethefirstpersonjustdontoveruse
it. Our advice is that I is better than a complicated, confusing
sentence constructed simply in order to avoid writing in the first
person.

Trytoavoidqualifiersorsuchasquite,somewhatoralittle.
These qualifiers come across as wishywashy and uncertain. The
hallmarkofgoodwritingisclarityandbeingunequivocal.

14

 Whenyouarewritingnumbers,aconventionistousewordsupto
the number twenty: one, two, fifteen and so on. When the
numbersstartgettingbigger,youcanswitchto21,145,36,000etc.

Avoid common clichs and overused sayings such as boon or

bane.

Spellcheckingprogramshavereducedthefrequencyofmisspelled
words, but you should still edit your work for spelling errors since
the computer cant tell whether you meant to say two, to or
too,forexample.Youshouldalsoworkonspellingifyouhavea
problem with some particular words, since your lecturer or tutor
couldmarkyoudownintestsandexamswhenyoudonothavethe
luxury of a spellchecker. Some commonly misspelled words
include:
separation,notseperation
comparative,notcomparitive
argument,notarguement
bureaucracy

Watch your punctuation. Make sure that you use apostrophes

correctly: there is a big difference in meaning between its and
its. Another highly problematic item is the semicolon or ;.
Manystudentsaddthiswithoutreallyknowinghowitismeantto
beused.Inbrief,therearetwomaininstancesinwhichtheuseof
asemicolonisappropriate:

Instead of a comma, when you have a list of items of some

length. For example: Among Linzs key objections to
presidentialism are the problem of dual legitimacy; the rigidity
caused by fixed term limits; the tendency toward zerosum
outcomes that prevents power sharing; and a generally more
authoritarianstyleofpoliticssincepowerisconcentratedinone
individual.

- Whenyouhavetwoverycloselyrelatedideasthatyouwant
to link together. Note however, and very importantly, that
15

the two parts of the sentence need to be grammatically

complete, meaning that they form complete sentences by
themselves. For example: In addition, central state
jurisdiction rarely touched local peasants or communities
directly; governmental functions were often delegated to
landlords in their 'private' capacities, or else to non
bureaucratic authoritative organizations run by local
landlords.

Whentouseacapitalletterforawordinthemiddleofasentence
can often cause confusion. Remember that in English, the only
wordsthatshouldbecapitalized(apartfromthewordIandthose
atthebeginningofsentences)arepropernouns.Propernounsare
specific people or names of very specific things. Words like
government, party executive, bureaucracy, and prime
minister" generally do not need capitalization, unless you are
referringtoaspecificcaseofthegeneralthing.Thus,GeorgeW.
Bushs Cabinet, the Singaporean Parliament, and the
ConservativePartyareallcorrect.

You should use acronyms only if you will refer to the same
organization or name repeatedly throughout the essay. For
example, if your essay mentions ASEAN several times in a single
essay,youshouldwriteoutAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations
(ASEAN)thefirsttimethatyoumentionit,thenrefersubsequently
toASEAN.

16

WritinginParagraphs

You not only need to structure your essays well, but you should make
sure that you are writing in complete and coherent paragraphs.
Paragraphconstructionandorganizationiscausinganincreasingproblem
forstudents,andformany,learningtowritegoodparagraphstakesalot
of hard work. Yet it is a skill that is worth working hard on because it
improves the flow of your analysis and is thus likely to attract higher
grades.

Badparagraphsareofteneithertooshortortoolong.Newspapersand
online resources often start a new paragraph every sentence or two.
However,academicwritingrequiresmorecompleteparagraphs;theyare
often six to eight sentences in length. On the other hand, if your
paragraphsrunovermorethanapage,theyareprobablytoolongandtry
toincludetoomanyideas.

Good paragraphs are structured around a single clear idea or thread of

youroverallargument.Theycanbeviewedasminiessaysinthemselves,
consisting of an introductory statement, an expansion or clarification of
thatmainpoint,andsomeevidencetobackuptheclaimmade.Lookat
how the writers of good clear journal articles structure their essays;
often, you can understand the authors main argument by reading the
first line of every paragraph. See if you can do this when editing your
ownwork.

Indentorplaceaspacebetweenparagraphs,butdonotdoboth.Avoid
the use of bullet pointed lists, as you can usually incorporate the same
points into a complete paragraph and your essay will read better as a
result.(Note:donotusethisGuideasanexample.Itextensivelyuses
bulletpointsbecauseitisadifferenttypeofdocumentfromanacademic
essay.)

17

SexistLanguage

Onceuponatime,formalEnglishusedmalepronounswhenreferringto
people in general. Examples of such language include he, his, and
him. Today writers generally avoid such usage, unless a really good
case has been presented for talking exclusively about men. Ways of
avoidingavoidsexistlanguageincludeusingheorshe,orusingtheyif
the sentence can be made into a plural form. Remember always,
however,thatcorrect sentenceconstruction should alwaysbefollowed.
Itisrelativelyeasytoachievebothgoals.

Takethissentenceforexample:

ItisthePresidentsresponsibilitytoappointhisowncabinet.

Betteralternativesinclude:

ItisthePresidentsresponsibilitytoappointhisorherowncabinet.

OR

Presidentshavetheresponsibilityofappointingtheirowncabinet.

Similarly, it is easy to find alternatives to terms such as mankind or

Congressmen.HumankindormembersofCongressarebetter.

In addition, there is no need to refer to countries as she. The lucky

thingaboutEnglishisthatwehaveitasagenderneutralpronoun,so
stick with this. To give an example, Singapore has almost doubled her
size through reclamation can easily be replaced with Singapore has
almost
doubled
its
size
through
reclamation.

18

ReferencingandCitations

WhentoCite

Whenyouwriteessays,bookreviews,policyanalyses,oranyotherform
ofwrittenassignment,youwillandinfactarerequiredtodrawonother
peoples work. This is so that you can acknowledge other peoples
theoretical contributions to the field, as well as use their research to
reportfacts.

There are at least three instances in which you must formally

acknowledgethatyouaredrawingonotherwriters.

1. Whenyouaredirectlyquotingfromanauthorswork.

2. Whenyouuseanauthorsdataorstatistics.

3. Whenyoudonotdirectlyquotefromanauthorswork,butyoudraw
on his or her ideas or arguments, whether you mention his or her
nameornot.

Itmaysurpriseyoutolearnthatthisthirdinstanceisgenerallythemost
commonreasonforaddingacitation.Itisalsotheonemostoverlooked
byundergraduates.Itisveryimportantthatyouacknowledgearguments
thatyouhaveborrowed,evenifyouarenotquotingdirectly.Ifyoudo
not, you might be accused of plagiarism (see the section on plagiarism
below).

Students in their first year or two sometimes end up wondering if they

need to footnote every single sentence in order to meet these
requirements.Earlyon,itsprobablybettertooverreferenceratherthan
tounderreference,butkeepinmindthatyoudontneedtogivesources
forfactsthataregenerallywellknown.Togiveanexample,thatWorld
War One was fought between 1914 and 1918 does not need to be
referenced.Ifyouareunsurewhethersomethingneedsacitationornot,
checkwithyourtutor.

19

Following are real examples of each of the three cases in which you
shouldalwaysacknowledgeyoursourcesandaddacitationtoyourwork.

a.
Quotingdirectlyfromasource.

Source:CharlesTilly,Democracy(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,
2007),4041.

In the following excerpt from a recent book entitled Democracy, the

author, Charles Tilly, includes a relatively lengthy quotation from John
MarkoffsWavesofDemocracy.Tillysparagraphreads:

As evidenced by such points as Frances revolution of 1848,

democratization and dedemocratization do not usually occur just
oneregimeatatime.Duringthemiddleofthenineteenthcentury,
Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Italy, and
Switzerlandallexperiencedrevolutionarybidsfordemocracy,most
of which were quickly reversed. Adjacent and connected regimes
influence one another. John Markoff, from whose book Waves of
DemocracyIhaveadaptedthissectionsheading,putsitthisway:

During a democratic wave, the organization of

governments is alteredsometimes by peaceful
reform, sometimes by dramatic overthrowin ways
that are widely held to be more democratic. During
such a democratic wave, there is a great deal of
discussion of the virtues of democracy, social
movements often demand more democracy, and
people in positions of authority proclaim their
democratic intentions. During antidemocratic waves,
governments are transformed in ways that are widely
held to be undemocratic, social movements proclaim
their intentions to do away with democracy, and
government figures proudly express their hostility to
democracy.1
1

John Markoff, Waves of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Pine Forge, 1996, pp. 1-2.

20


Howcanweidentifysuchwavesconcretely?Whethertheyfollow
constitutional, substantive, procedural, or processoriented
definitionsofdemocracy,mostpeoplewhostudymultiplecasesof
democratizationanddedemocratizationsimplifytheirworkwitha
straightforward device. They identify a threshold, placing non
democracyononesideanddemocracyontheother,theyask,how,
under what conditions, and why regimes cross the threshold in
eitherdirection.Theyadoptaproceduralstandard.

b. Usingdataorstatisticsreportedbyanauthor.

Source: Manos Matsaganis, The Limits of Selectivity as a Recipe for

Welfare Reform: The Case of Greece, Journal of Social Policy 34
(2005):235253.

Social protection expenditure in Greece has risen considerably

in recent years. In 2000 it stood at 26.4 per cent of GDP,
comparedwith27.3percentintheEuropeanUnionasawhole.
Thecorrespondingfiguresin1991were21.6percentofGDPin
Greece versus 26.4 in the EU15.2 Higher spending does
translateintoimprovedbenefitsforsomecategoriesofwelfare
recipients. Nevertheless, the overall effect in terms of the
perceivedqualityofsocialservicesorthedistributiveimpactof
cash transfers is questionable. Take the case of poverty
reduction. If social transfers (including pensions) had not
existed,thepovertyratein2001wouldhavebeenthesamein
GreeceandtheEuropeanUnionasawhole(39percent).Social
transfersbroughtpovertydownto15percentintheEU15,but
onlyto20percentinGreece.3

European Commission, Statistical Annex to Draft joint inclusion report, Commission Staff Working
Paper, Com (2003) 773 final: 25.
3

European Commission (2003): 15.

21

c.

Usingorreferringtosomeoneelsesideasorarguments,whetheror
nottheauthorsnameisused.

Source:KunChinLin,"DisembeddingSocialistFirmsasaStatistProject:
Restructuring the Chinese Oil Industry 19972002," Enterprise &
Society:TheInternationalJournalofBusinessHistory7(2006):59
97.

Classic studies of the formation of market economies in Europe by Karl

PolanyiandE.P.Thompson,andinSoutheastAsiabyJamesScott,share
two central moral economic premises. First, the transition from the
premarket economy to a market economy entails the undermining of
overarching social norms that govern economic actions.4 Second, the
ascendant selfregulating market imposes an encroaching and
integrativelogiconthesocietyasawhole.5Thesecondthemeunderlines
the importance of the central state in breaking down social and
institutionalbarrierstoanationalmarket,coordinatingprivateinitiatives,
and supplying the capital and infrastructure down payments for
industrialization.6 Furthermore, Max Weber examined the mutually
supportive developments of a modern tax regime, the legalrational
bureaucracy, and the market.7 In short, an entrepreneurial state with
capacities for institutional innovations is accepted as necessary in
uprootingpremarketmentalities,sociopoliticalalignments,andrulesand
normsofeconomicactivities.
4

Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation (Boston, 1944), E. P. Thompson, Customs in Common (New
York, 1991), E. P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (New York, 1964), James
Scott, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance (New Haven, Conn., 1985),
James Scott, The Moral Economy of the Peasant (New Haven, Conn., 1976).

5
These themes dovetailed with Ferdinand Tnniess and Max Webers anxieties about the vast
potential for social dislocation and disorientation from the shift from premarket modes of production,
exchange, and valuation to the market economy. See Andrew Janos, Politics and Paradigms:
Changing Theories of Change in Social Science (Stanford, Calif., 1986), 2225.
6

Polanyi, Great Transformation, Douglass C. North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic
Performance (Cambridge, U.K., 1990), Alexander Gershenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical
Perspective (New York, 1962).
7

Weber stated that the development of the money economy, in so far as a pecuniary compensation
of the officials is concerned, is a presupposition of bureaucracy. Quoted in H. H. Gerth and C. W.
Mills, eds., From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Oxford, U.K., 1958), 204.

22

DoIHaveToCitePageNumbers?

One further source of confusion for students is when and when not to
citepagenumberswhenreferencingotherswork.Formostpurposesat
undergraduate level, you should cite specific page numbers where you
gotthespecificpiecesofinformationorargumentsfrom.Theexception
iswhenyouaresummarizingtheargumentofan entirebookorarticle,
ratherthansomethingthatappearsonaparticularpage.

Example1:PeterEvans,inhis1995book,EmbeddedAutonomy,argues
that successful postindustrial states combine embeddedness
withautonomy.Thissummarizestheargumentoftheentire
book,soitdoesnotneedapagecitation.Youshouldstillcite
thebook,however.

Example 2: Marx argues that bourgeois power in France only lasted

between June 24th and 10th of December, 1848. This is
specificargumenttakenfromaspecificpageofthebook,soit
needsapagenumberinthecitation.

NotesonUsingQuotations

Occasionally,youwillneedtoquotedirectlyfromanauthorstext.Butit
is best to quote sparingly. An essay should not be a number of quotes
strungtogether,andyourmarkermighttakeextensiveuseofquotations
asasignoflazinessoryourinabilitytorephraseanideaorargumentyour
own words. In addition, extensive quotation disrupts the flow of your
own argument. Summarize an authors argument or ideas in your own
wordscitingwhereappropriateofcourse!

Ifyoudowishtouseaquotation,theconventionisthatyoukeepitinthe
bodyofyourparagraph,enclosedindoublequotationmarks,ifitisunder
three lines long. If it is more than three lines, place the quote in an
indented, separate, paragraph. You dont need quotation marks in this
case.

23

Ifyouwanttocutsomewordsoutofaquotation,usethreedots,andif
youneedtoaddawordtomakethequotemakesensebecauseyouhave
choppeditup,encloseyouradditioninsquarebrackets.Forexample:

WhatsoeverthereforeinconsequenttoatimeofWarre,where
every man is Enemy to every man; the same is consequent to
the time, wherein men live without other security, than what
theirownstrength,andtheirowninventionshallfurnishthem
withalthelifeofman[is],solitary,poore,nasty,brutish,and
short.

However,itsusuallybesttoavoidextensivelychoppingupquotations,as
this can distort the authors original meaning. You should also refrain
fromeditingspellingmistakes,modernizingthelanguage,orchangingthe
originalinotherways.

Bibliographies

Every written assignment should include a bibliography a list of the

references that you have used in your written work. It needs to be in
alphabeticalorderstartingwiththeauthorsfamilyname.

RememberthatformostworkswritteninEnglish,thefamilynameofthe
author is listed last. Do not list authors by their personal, or in most
cases,firstnames.TheobviousexceptionhereissomeChineseauthors.
Youcanchecktoseehowtheseauthorsgenerallyhavetheirnamecited.

Sampleshortbibliography:

Chen An, Socioeconomic Polarization and Political Corruption

inChina:AStudyoftheCorrelation,TheJournalofCommunist
StudiesandTransitionPolitics18,(2002):5374.

Esman, Milton J., and Norman Uphoff, Local Organizations:

IntermediariesinRuralDevelopment(Ithaca:CornellUniversity
Press,1984).

24

Evans,PeterB.,"TheStateasProblemandSolution:Predation,
Embedded Autonomy and Structural Change," in Stephan
HaggardandRobertR.Kaufman,eds.,ThePoliticsofEconomic
Adjustment(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1992).

Greenhalgh, Susan, "Families and Networks in Taiwan's

Economic Development," in Edwin Winckler and Susan
Greenhalgh, eds., Contending Approaches to the Political
EconomyofTaiwan(Armonk,N.Y.:M.E.Sharpe,1987),22445.

Hamilton, Gary G., William Zeile, and WanJin Kim, "Network

Structure of East Asian Economies," in Stewart R. Clegg and S.
Gordon Redding, eds., Capitalism in Contrasting Cultures
(Hawthorne,N.Y.:DeGruyter,1990),10529.

25

HowtoUseCitations

Therearetwomainwaysofcitingthebooks,articles,andothersources
thatyouuse.Thesearethe(a)footnotingstyle,and(b)thebracketsin
textstyle.Thesocialsciencesandhumanitieshavetraditionallyusedthe
former,thephysicalsciencesthelatter.Manysocialsciencejournalsnow
usethebracketsintextstylehowever.Youmayuseeithermethod,but
youmustnotmixthetwostyles.Differentlecturersmayhavedifferent
preferences, just as different journals doif you learn both, you will be
able to adapt easily to whatever style is required. However, we have
noticedthatthemostmistakesaremadewiththebracketsintextstyle,
sobeverycarefulwiththisreferencingsysteminparticular.
TheFootnoteStyle

If you are using this method of referencing, drop a footnote where the
citationshouldgo.Thisisveryeasytodousingthe<Reference><Insert
footnote>functioninMicrosoftWord.Thefootnoteswillappearatthe
bottomofeachpage.Mostlecturerspreferthatyouusefootnotesrather
than endnotes (notes that appear at the end of the essay) so that they
can see your citations without having to turn repeatedly to the end of
youressay.
There are many variations on the footnote referencing style. For
example, you will notice when you are reading works produced by
differentpublishersthatsomeusep.orpp.todesignatepagenumbers,
whileothersdonot.However,themostimportantthinghereisthatyou
remain consistent in the style that you use. To be on the safe side, we
suggestthatyouadoptthestylesuggestedhereandsticktoitunlessyour
lecturer prefers something different. This style is adopted from the
ChicagoManualofStyleandisoftenreferredtoasChicagoA.Itisalso
thestyleadoptedbythejournal,WorldPolitics,ifyouwouldliketoseea
concreteexampleofitsuse.FurtherdetailsareprovidedintheChicago
ManualofStyle,availableathttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.orgoras
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th edition. Chicago: The University of
ChicagoPress,2003.

26

Followingaresomeexamplesofhowdifferenttypesofdocumentsshould
appearinyourfootnotes.

Singleauthoredbook:

Hussin Mutalib, Islam in Malaysia: From Revivalism to Islamic

State?(Singapore:SingaporeUniversityPress,1993)

Coauthoredbook:

Paul G. Buchanan and Kate Nicholls, Labour Politics in Small

Open Democracies: Australia, Chile, Ireland, New Zealand and
Uruguay(London:PalgraveMacmillan,2003)

Editedvolume:

Andrew Martin, and George Ross, eds., Euros and the

Europeans: Monetary Integration and the European Model of
Society(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2004)

Chapterinaneditedvolume:

ReubenWong,TheEuropeanisationofForeignPolicy,ineds.
ChristopherHillandMichaelSmith,InternationalRelationsand
theEuropeanUnion(Oxford:OxfordUniversity,2005),134153.

Articleinjournal:

Ethan Putterman, "Realism and Reform in Rousseau's

ConstitutionalProjectsforPolandandCorsica,PoliticalStudies
49,(2001),395418.

27

Newspaperarticle:

He Zongying, US grad students to get a taste of research in

Singapore,TheStraitsTimes.June172008:H4.

Report:

OECD, Education in OECD Developing Countries: Trends and

Perspectives(Paris:OrganisationforEconomicCooperationand
Development,1974).

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform [Ireland],

Immigration and Residency in Ireland: Outline policy proposals
foranImmigrationandResidencyBill(Dublin:StationeryOffice,
2005).

Paperpresentedatconference:

Alan Chong, The Foreign Policy Potential Of Small State Soft

Power Information Strategies, (paper presented at Sixth Pan
European Conference on International Relations, Torino, Italy
1215Sep2007).

Bookreview:

Robert W.T Martin, review of Rethinking the Foundations of

Modern Political Thought by Annabell Brett and James Tully
eds.,PerspectivesonPolitics5(2007),80304.

Thesisordissertation:

ErikMobrand,"InternalMigrationandStateRetreatinChinese
and South Korean Industrialization", (PhD dissertation,
PrincetonUniversity,2006).

28

Website:

National Trade Union Congress [Singapore],Our vision,

http://www.ntuc.org.sg.Accessed19May2008.

FurtherNotesontheFootnotingStyle

In addition to the above, there are a few other points that you should
keepinmindwhenusingthefootnotingstyleinordertoreferenceyour
work. Some of this also applies to writing up bibliographies in general
andthereforetothebracketsintextstyleaswell.

It is customary to use in before the book title when citing a

chapter in an edited volume (see above), but do not place in
beforeajournaltitlewhencitingajournalarticle.

According to publishing and academic convention, underlining

somethinganditalicizingmeanthesamething.Thismeansthat(a)
youshouldneverdobothatthesametime,anywhere,andthat(b)
you should italicize or underline journal and book titles, but dont
alternateorusebothatthesametime.

Dont italicize or underline titles of articles. These should be in

plaintext,withinquotationsmarks.Italicizebookorjournaltitles.

Dont use pp for just one page. It is p.16 for something that
appearsonasinglepage,orpp.7073ifyouarecitinganargument
orideathatoccursoverseveralpages.

It is quite common for students to need to cite the same source

morethanonceinasinglewrittenpieceofwork.Thesecondtime
you cite a source, you may shorten the reference, but again, be
consistentinthewaythatyoudothis.Herearesomeexamplesof
howtoshortenreferencesthesecondtimethatyouciteawork.

29

Singleauthored book, first and second times cited in the same

essay:

TerryNardin,Law,Morality,andtheRelationsofStates(Princeton:
PrincetonUniversityPress,1983),16.

Nardin,Law,Morality,andtheRelationsofStates(1983),5658.

Journalarticle,firstandsecondtimescitedinthesameessay:

Yoshinori Nishizaki, The Moral Origin of Thailand's Provincial

Strongman: The Case of Banharn Silpaarcha, South East Asia
Research13,(2005),189.

Nishizaki, The Moral Origin of Thailand's Provincial Strongman

(2005),190192.

30

BracketsintextStyle

Ifyouchoosetoadoptthisstyleofreferencing,thecitationsappearinthe
body of the essay in abbreviated form rather than in footnotes. A
completelistofreferencesisthenprovidedattheendoftheessay.
Further advice on the bracketsintext (sometimes referred to as the
Harvardsystem),canbefoundat:
http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/guides/Endnote/whatisharvard.htm
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/library/resources/general/info_study_skills/harva
rd2.htm

Thefollowingrulesshouldbeobservedwhenusingthisreferencingstyle:

By shortened reference it is meant that you need to cite the

authors family name and the year that the work was published
forexample(Nardin1983).

If you are referring to a specific page or pages, add in the page

numberornumbers:(Mutalib1993:45).Dontuseporppin
thissystem.

If the reference has two authors, the citation should include both
theirnames:(BuchananandNicholls2003).

Iftheworkyouarecitinghasmorethantwoauthors,includeallthe
names the first time you cite the source, then subsequently
abbreviateforexamplefirsttimecited(King,KeohaneandVerba
1994),thereafter(Kingetal1994).

If the reference appears at the end of a sentence, place it before

thefullstop.

31

 Ifyoumentiontheauthorsnameinthesentence,youdontneed
tomentionitagaininthereference:AtulKohlihasmorerecently
usedtheconceptofacohesivecapitaliststate(2004:2).

If you need to cite more than one work published by the same
author in the same year, you can differentiate between them by
using a, b, c etc, after the date of publication. You need to then
note this in your bibliography as well: (Wang 1998a: 65), (Wang
1998b:12)

If you want to cite more than one source as part of the same
reference, enclose all references in the same set of brackets in
alphabeticalorder:(Haque1981:12,Lee1983:34,Nardin2000)

Ifreferencingaworkbyanorganizationorgovernment,theauthor
is the organization or government and the above rules apply:
(GovernmentofSingapore1995:89),or(OECD2002:56).

Anexampleofthebracketsintextstyle:

Source: Herbert Kitschelt, Linkages Between Citizens and Politicians in

DemocraticPolitics,ComparativePoliticalStudies,33(2000):845
876.

Two other critiques of spatial political competition models also

confirm rather than challenge the idealization of programmatic
linkages as the essence of democratic accountability and
responsiveness. First, Kirchheimers (1966) claim that catchall
partiesreplaceideologicalpartiesonlysaysthatthedimensionon
which parties distinguish themselves from one another in spatial
programmatic issue competition shrinks dramatically and
explodes into a multiplicity of disparate issues on which
opportunistic politicians take positions as they see fit to satisfy
theirdesiretomaximizeelectoralsupportandwinpoliticaloffice.
Second, theories of directional voting confirm the significance of
politicianspolicy appealsforelectoralcompetitionbutsuggesta
calculus of how voters compare alternatives that is slightly
32

different from standard spatial models (Iversen, 1994; Merrill &

Grofman,1999;Rabinowitz&McDonald,1989;Westholm,1997).

Thesereferencesappearinthebibliographyas:

Iversen,Torben,PoliticalleadershipandrepresentationinWest
European democracies. A test of three models of voting,
AmericanJournalofPoliticalScience38(1994):4574.

Kirchheimer,Otto,ThetransformationoftheWesternEuropean
party systems, in eds. Joseph LaPalombara & Myron Weiner,
Political parties and political development (Princeton, NJ:
PrincetonUniversityPress,1966),177200.

Merrill, Samuel, & Bernard Grofman, A unified theory of voting.

Directional and proximity spatial models, (Cambridge, UK:
CambridgeUniversityPress:1999).

Rabinowitz, George, & Elaine Stuart McDonald, A directional

theory of issue voting, American Political Science Review, 83
(1989):93121.

Westholm, Anders, Distance versus direction: The illusory

defeat of the proximity theory of electoral choice, American
PoliticalScienceReview,91(1997):865884.

33

PlagiarismandHowtoAvoidIt

WhatisPlagiarism?

Plagiarism means taking ideas from sources without proper

acknowledgement.Unfortunately,plagiarismissometimesdeliberate.In
suchcases,studentsmightdownloadanessayfromtheinternetorcopy
whole or parts of an article or book, then pass the words off as if their
own. However, plagiarism can also be unintentional. Sometimes
studentscopywholesentencesoutofbooksintotheiressays,orforgetto
add footnotes when they are borrowing arguments from specific
authors. This latter form of plagiarism is very common, and you must
makeaspecialefforttoavoidit.Someadviceforavoidingaccusationsof
plagiarismfollows.TheFacultyofArtsandSocialSciencestreatsallcases
ofplagiarismveryseriously.ForfurtherdetailsontheFacultyspolicysee:
http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/pol/undergrad2_2_3.htm.

HowtoAvoidPlagiarism

Taking notes as you gather data and ideas for your written assignments
insteadofhavingbooksandarticlesinfrontofyouasyouwritewillhelp
you avoid copying passages straight into your assignment. This will be
especially true if you make a good effort to rephrase ideas in your own
wordswhenyoutakenotes.Itisusuallyobvioustolecturersandtutors
whenastudentisusingsomeoneelseswordsinsteadoftheirown.

Anotherwaytoavoidplagiarismistomakesurethatyouputfootnotesor
bracketsintextreferencesasyouwrite,ratherthanleavingthistaskuntil
you have finished your draft. It is far too easy to forget to fill in
referencesorrememberwheretheyaresupposedtogoafteryourhave
finishedyourwriting.

34

HandinginYourWrittenAssignments

PresentationofAssignments

Thereareseveralthingsyoucandotomakeiteasierforyourlectureror
tutortoreadandgradeyourworkand,moreimportantly,provideuseful
commentsthatwillhelpyouimproveyourwritinginthefuture.

Please use a simple and conventional font, such as Times New

Roman,12pointsize.

Remembertoprovidepagenumbersonyourassignment.

Pleaseoneandahalfordoublespaceyourwork.

Leaveoneinchmargins,whichsomelecturersandtutorswillwant
tohaveinordertowritecomments.

There is no need to place assignments in plastic folders. In

particular,pleasedonotbindassignments,asthismakesitdifficult
towriteinthemargins.

Do provide a cover page. This should have your name,

matriculation number, module code, tutors name, and tutorial
group.

Students sometimes forget to include their bibliography, missing

pages,orstaplingtogetherpagesinthewrongorderwithoutusing
page numbers. You may lose marks because of these errors, so
make sure that you have enough time to check through your
assignmentbeforeyouhanditin.

35


HandinginWrittenAssignments

Essays and other written assignments should be placed in your tutors

mailbox(yourlecturersboxifthelecturertakesyourtutorial)by5pmon
the day that the assignment is due, unless otherwise specified by your
lecturer.

LatePenaltyPolicyandExtensions

If you hand in assignments late without penalty and without official

approval, this is extremely unfair to your classmates who have handed
their work in on time. This is one reason why your marker will deduct
gradesforlateness.

Lecturers may grant extensions in exceptional cases, but all extensions

are at the discretion of the lecturer. Exceptional cases include serious
illness and unexpected bereavements. However, even in these
circumstances,thelecturerisonlylikelytograntanextensiononlyiftwo
conditionsaremet:

Therequestismadebeforetheessayisdue.Ifyouareathomesick
orcantmakeitintouniversityjustbeforetheessayisdue,callor
emailyourlecturertonotifythemoftheproblem.

The request is accompanied by appropriate documentation if the

lecturer requests it. This might mean a doctors certificate in the
case of physical or mental illness or evidence that a death in the
familyhasoccurred.

Remember that lecturers and tutors do talk to one another, so that

studentswhoaskforrequestseverysemesterwillbenoted.

36

FinalExams
Final exams really dont have to be as stressful as some students find
them,ifyouworkconsistentlythroughoutthesemesterinsteadofleaving
alotofworkuntiltheend.Youwillinevitablytrytopackalotofstudy
intothelastweekortwoofthesemester,but avoidallnightcramming
sessions. Get enough sleep and exercise, and take proper meals during
theexamperiod.

PoliticalScienceexamsusuallyrequireyoutowriteessays.Keepinmind
that lecturers are looking for many of the same things that they are
lookingforinessayswrittenduringthesemester.Youneedtopresenta
clearargumentinawellorganizedessaythathasashortintroduction,a
conclusion, and a series of complete paragraphs. Spend a couple of
minutesbeforestartingeachanswertocomeupwithanessayplanand
thensticktoitasyouwriteoutyouranswer.

Yourmarkswillbegreatlyreducedifyourunoutoftimeintheexam.Itis
frustratingformarkerswhenthishappenstheycantgiveanymarksfor
ananswerthatsimplyisntthere!Thesecrethereistounderstandhow
muchtimeyouhaveforeachquestion,preferablybeforeyougointothe
exam,takeawatch,andkeeptothetimelimityouhaveworkedoutfor
eachquestion.

Somespecificstudypointersconsistofthefollowing:

Dont review everything you studied during the course of the semester.
Thisisespeciallythecaseifthelecturerhasgivenyouagoodideaofwhat
mightandmightnotbeintheexam.Youmaybeabletofocusonseveral
topicsofinteresttoyouthatyouareprettysurewillbeintheexam,while
not having to study the others so much in depth. Get advice from your
lectureronthis.

Dontstudytoonarrowly.Youshouldalwayskeepareservestudytopic
incaseyourfavouriteonefailstocomeup.

Afinalexamisnotsimplyaplacetoshowthatyoucanrotelearnfactsor
merely repeat arguments or theories learned in the module. Most
37

lecturerswilldesignatleastpartoftheexamsothatyoucandemonstrate
not so much your skills in rotelearning, but your originality, skills of
reflection,andcreativityinresponsetoquestions.Thismeansthatpartof
your study should involve thinking about the general themes of the
module and what some of the big things that youve thought about
duringthecoursemightbe.

38


FURTHERADVICE
GradesandWhatToDoAboutBadGrades

When you get your essay or other written assignment back from your
tutor or lecturer, you will receive some comments and a grade. The
gradescaleisasfollowsandnotethatmarkersdousethefullscale:

Possiblegradesthatyoumayreceive:

A+,A,A,B+,B,B,C+,C,D+,D,D,F

Pay as much attention to any comments as you do to the grade you

receive,asthemarkersadvicewillhelpyouimproveyourwritinginthe
future.

You should see your tutor or lecturer (starting with the person who
actuallymarkedyourassignment)ifyoureceiveaCorbelowandarenot
sure how to improve, or if your grade is seriously below your
expectations.RememberthatreceivingaB+orBisnotnecessarilyabad
gradeatall;noteveryonewillreceiveAs.

39

CounsellingCentre

If you are feeling overwhelmed by work, or more particularly if your

familylife,financialsituation,orrelationshipproblemsaremakingstudy
verydifficult,helpisavailablethroughtheuniversitysCounsellingCentre.

The Counselling Centre is open between 8.30 and 6.00pm Monday to

Thursdayand8.30to5.30onFridays,andislocatedat:

AlumniHouse
20LowerKentRidgeRoad
Ph:(65)65162376
counselling@nus.edu.sg

Academic staff are usually very happy to help out students who are
struggling,buttheyarebesttrainedtohelpoutwiththeassignmentsand
other coursework requirements rather than anything else. If it is the
work itself that is the main problem, make an appointment to see your
tutororlecturerearlyoninthesemester,anddontleavethingsuntilthe
finalweekbeforetheexam!

40

PoliticalSciencePeersProgramme

ThePeersProgrammeisaresourceforstudentstoimprovetheirwritten
assignments.PeersareappointedbytheDepartmenttoofferassistance
withwritingtostudentsenrolledinPoliticalSciencemodules.Showinga
papertoafriendortalkingoverideaswithaclassmateisoftenhelpfulin
making our writing better. The Peers Programme operates in a similar
way,asourtrainedPeersfunctionassoundingboardsforyourideasand
as constructive critics of your writing. We provide oneonone
consultations with our Peers. These consultations supplement advice
studentscanreceivefrominstructors.

Writing conferences comprise the core of the Peers Programme. The

formatofthesesessionsvarieswithstudentneeds.Ourtutorsdealwith
studentsatanystageofthewritingprocess.Youmighthaveafullpaper
that you would like to discuss once with a peer before submitting. Our
tutor canthenraise issuesthatyoumight nothave considered. Oryou
mighthaveanassignmentandnotknowhowtoapproachit.Ourtutor
willhelpyoubrainstormpossibleapproachestotheassignment.

Conferencesarescheduledfor50minutes.Duringthistime,thetutorwill
readyourpaperorwhatyouhavewrittensofarofit.Youshouldbring
yourownconcernsandquestionstotheconference,sothatthesession
canbeasproductiveaspossible.

The Peers Programme aims to assist students with writing issues they
encounter.ThePeersProgrammeisnotseveralthings:

Peerswillnot discussthecontentofparticulartopics, readings,or

modules with students. We aim to help you express your ideas
about political science material, not to tell you how you should
understandanysubject.

ThePeersProgrammeisnotaserviceonlyforweakerstudents.We
believethatanyonecanimprovehisorherwritingbytalkingabout
itwithsomeoneelse.Strongwriterscangainfromourservices.

41

 Writingconferencesarenotforpurposesofediting.Ourgoalisnot
tocheckgrammarandspellinginstudentessays.Instead,weshare
our thoughts on bigger issues, such as how well your paper
expressesyourideas.

42

APPENDIX
The following websites maybe of possible interest to students and others
engaged in political science research. The sites (except the one for NUS
Library) are neither associated with nor endorsed by the Department of
Political Science at NUS.
Archives,Bibliometrics,andLibraries

http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/polsci
NUSlibrary

http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm#windows
One of several bibliometric sites; others include ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and many
others(searchGoogleon"bibliometric"...)

http://copac.ac.uk/
SearchengineforUKacademiclibraries

http://thomas.loc.gov/
USALibraryofCongresswebsite.IncludesinformationonUSlegislation.

http://www.nlc.gov.cn/
NationalLibraryofChina(includesEnglishversion)

http://www.ncl.edu.tw/
NationalCentralLibraryinTaiwan(includesEnglishversion)

http://www.hoover.org/libraryandarchives
Hoover Institution's library and archives. Digitised documents on Republicanera China,
MartialLawTaiwan,andColdWarmaterialamongstmuchelse.

http://www.bl.uk
TheBritishLibrarycatalogueonline.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Britishnationalarchives.

http://www.nhb.gov.sg/nas/
Singaporesnationalarchives.

AsianStudies

http://www.asiafoundation.org/
43

AsiaFoundation.InformationonAsia.

http://asiasociety.org/
AsiaSociety.InformationonAsia.

http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/
UCLAAsiaInstitute.

http://www.froginawell.net/
DiscussionsonEastAsianHistory

http://www.drnh.gov.tw/
Taiwan's Academia Historica. Contains digitised government documents from the ROC
governmentfromitsMainlanddaysthroughthe1980s.

http://archive.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/ttscgi/v2/ttsweb?@0:0:1:mctauac@@0.507166436938
DigitalarchivaldocumentsheldattheInstituteofModernHistory,AcademiaSinica.

http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/mp?mp=1
Taiwan Foreign Ministry. Includes statements on policy towards various countries,
organisations,andissues.(Englishversion)

http://www.mac.gov.tw/welcome03/welcome03.htm
Taiwan'sMainlandAffairsCouncil.HasinformationoncrossStraitpolicy.(SitehadEnglish
version)

http://www.ait.org.tw/
AmericanInstituteonTaiwan.InformationonUSpolicytowardTaiwan

http://www.siiaonline.org/
WebsiteoftheSingaporeInstituteofInternationalAffairs,goodforupdatesanddigestson
ASEANandEastAsianaffairs

http://asiasociety.org/
TheleadingUSorganizationthatpromotesunderstandingamongthepeople,leaders,and
institutionsoftheUnitedStatesandAsiahasawebsitewithmanyusefulmaps,documents,
articlesandspeeches

http://theonlinecitizen.com/
A critical, independent online newspaper focusing on Singapore news and political/social
issues

ChineseStudies

http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eqing/portal.shtml
44

OneminentChineseduringtheQingperiod.

http://www.chinavitae.com/
ShortbiographiesoneminentpeopleinChinatoday.

http://archive.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/ttscgi/v2/ttsweb?@0:0:1:mctmeta@@0.456698472611606
1
Similartotheabove,butholdingsfocusontheCabinetduringtheRepublicanperiod.

http://isites.harvard.edu:80/icb/icb.do?keyword=k16229&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup61621
Chinabiographicaldatabaseproject

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis/
ChinahistoricalGISdata

http://www.simian.org/jdsjk/index.asp
FulltextversionsoftheChineseclassics(registrationrequired)

http://www.simian.org/classic/index.asp
A database of fulltext versions of modern Chinese thought, philosophy, literature, diaries
(registrationrequired)
http://www.cicir.ac.cn/tbshome/default.asp
China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Information on Chinese
perspectives about major international issues. Historically has close relationship with
Chinesesecurityestablishment.

http://www.cas.fudan.edu.cn/index.en.php
CentreforAmericanStudies,FudanUniversity.UsefulperspectivesonUSChinarelations.

http://www.ciis.org.cn/
China Institute of International Studies. Chinese perspectives on international affairs.
HistoricallyhascloserelationshipwithChineseforeignpolicyestablishment.

http://www.cpifa.org/
ChinesePeople'sInstituteofForeignAffairs.Chineseperspectivesoninternationalaffairs.
HistoricallyhascloserelationshipwithChineseforeignpolicyestablishment.

http://www.siis.org.cn/
ShanghaiInstitutesforInternationalStudies.AnotherChineseperspectiveoninternational
affairs.

http://www.worldchina.org/
WorldandChinaInstitute.InformationonChinesereformpolicies.

http://www.ccps.gov.cn/
The Chinese Communist Party's Central Party School. Official Chinese perspectives on
variousinternationalanddomesticissues.
45


http://bic.cass.cn
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Lots of information on history, society, government,
andeconomicsinChina.

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/gxh/tyb/
PRC Foreign Ministry. Includes statements on policy towards various countries,
organisations,andissues.(Englishversion)

http://www.gov.cn/
PRC government portal. Includes major policy statements, white papers etc. (English
version)

http://ucsdmodernchinesehistory.org/
UCSDModernChineseHistoryResearchSite

http://peacehall.com/forum/lishi/1154.shtml
ChinesesiteontheSinoJapaneseWar19371945.Includeshistoricalphotos.InChinese.

http://www.princeton.edu/~classbib/
Classical historiography for Chinese history. Lots of useful historical and geographic
informationonChina.PuttogetherbyProf.BenjaminElmanfromPrincetoninconjunction
withProf.ChuPingYifromtheNationalTaiwanUniversityandothers.

HumanRights

http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/
HumanRightsandHumanWelfare:tracksnewacademicpublicationsonhumanrightsand
internationalethicsgenerally.

InternationalRelationsandOrganisations

http://www.cceia.org/index.html
TheCarnegieCouncilforEthicsandInternationalAffairsagoodsourceofarticles,podcasts,
linksetc.oninternationalethicsandinternationalaffairsgenerally.

http://www.isanet.org/links/
InternationalStudiesAssociation:linkstoelectronicresourcesininternationalstudies.

http://www.cnas.org/
CenterforaNewAmericanCentury.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

http://www.acus.org/
TheAtlanticCouncil.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

46

http://www.stimson.org/home.cfm
TheStimsonCenter.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

http://www.cfr.org/
CouncilonForeignRelations.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

http://www.ccfr.org/
ChicagoCouncilonGlobalAffairs.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

www.csis.org
Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. Information on various
majorforeignaffairsissues.

http://www.brookings.edu/
BrookingsInstitution.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

http://carnegieendowment.org/
CarnegieEndowment for InternationalPeace.Information onvarious majorforeignaffairs
issues.

www.wilsoncenter.org
Woordrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Information on various major foreign
affairsissues.

http://www.heritage.org/
TheHeritageFoundation.Informationonvariousmajorforeignaffairsissues.

http://www.aei.org
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Information on various major
foreign
affairs
issues.

http://www.iie.com/
This website by the Peterson Institute for International Economics contains many
provocativeanalysisofinternationalpoliticaleconomictrendsintheworld

http://www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Theorganizationforeconomiccooperateanddevelopment.

http://www.undp.org/
ThedevelopmentprogrammerunbytheUnitedNations.

Law

http://www.asil.org/erghome.cfm
AmericanSocietyofInternationallaw,withadditionallinkstointernationallawresources.

47

http://www.juragentium.unifi.it/en/about/index.htm
Anotherinternationallawandinternationallegaltheorysite.

http://www.ndi.org
NationalDemocraticInstitute.InternationaloutreacharmoftheUSDemocraticParty.

http://www.iri.org
InternationalRepublicanInstituteInternationaloutreacharmoftheUSRepublicanParty.

http://www.ecfr.eu/
The European Council on Foreign Relations produces provocative insights on Europe's
relationswiththeworld

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/
Arepositoryofarticles,opedsandviewsoninternationalaffairs,centredonthethemeof
globalizationcompiledbytheYaleCenterfortheStudyofGlobalization,

Maps

http://www.worldmapper.org/
Worldmapsbasedaroundeconomic,demographic,andsocialdata.

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm
Historicalatlasofthetwentiethcentury.

http://bigthink.com/blogs/strangemaps
A blog devoted to weird maps from around the world, many with political relevance
(formerlyathttp://strangemaps.wordpress.com/,wherealotofthecontentstillseemsto
behosted).

http://homepages.stmartin.edu/Fac_Staff/rlangill/HIS%20217/HIS%20217%20Maps.htm
HistoricalatlasesofChinaandJapan.

http://unimaps.com/
Moremaps,includinghistoricalones.

http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/haindex.html
Historicalatlases.

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis/
Dataonpopulationanddemographics,organisedspatially.

NGOs,Charities,andThinkTanks

http://www.amnesty.org/
48

AmnestyInternational

http://en.rsf.org/
ReporterswithoutBorders

http://www.greenpeace.org/
Greenpeace

www.ned.org
NationalEndowmentforDemocracy.

http://www.hrw.org/
HumanRightsWatch.

http://www.brookings.edu/
Thinktankinsightsfromthemostinfluentialthinktankinthebusiness

http://ww.ifrc.org
Theredcrosshaspublicationsonnontraditionalsecurityissueslikehealth,disasterrelief,
andinternallydisplacedpersons.

Official

http://www.state.gov/
USStateDepartment.HasgoodinformationongeneralUSpoliciesandpositions.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/
WhiteHousesite.Canfindpresidentialstatementsonvariousissues.

http://www.wto.org/
WorldTradeOrganisation.Includesinformationonpolicies.

http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm
InternationalMonetaryFund.Includesinformationonpolicies.

http://www.worldbank.org/
TheWorldBank.Includesinformationonpolicies.

http://www.un.org/
TheUnitedNations.

http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
EuropeanCommission

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/default_en.htm
EuropeanParliament.
49


http://www.asean.org/
ASEAN

http://www.aseanregionalforum.org
ASEANRegionalForum

http://www.apec.org/
APEC

OnlineLearning

http://academicearth.org/subjects/politicalscience
Freevideocoursesfromleadinguniversitiesinartsandsciencesubjects,includingpolitical
science.

http://www.ted.com
Tedtalks is an ideas forum that features short lectures by leading experts on all sorts of
weirdandwonderfulsubjects.

http://www.hnet.org/
HumanitiesandSocialScienceinformationanddiscussions

PoliticalTheoryandPhilosophy

http://www.iep.utm.edu/
Onlinerefereedencyclopediaofphilosophy

http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html
Anotherrefereedencyclopediaofphilosophy.

http://www.guoxue.cn/index.php
Site with information on Chinese philosophy. Like Stanford's encyclopedia of philosophy,
exceptonChinesephilosophyandnotrefereed.SiteisinChinese.

http://www.econlib.org/index.html
Fullysearchablecollectionoffreelydownloadableclassictextsfromthehistoryofpolitical
philosophyandpoliticaleconomy.

http://www.marxists.org/
Collection of material relating to history and theory of Marxism, including some primary
texts.

50

Warfare,Security,andDefense

http://www.gwu.edu/~memory/index.html
SiteonmemoryandreconciliationintheAsiaPacifichostedbyGeorgeWashingtonUniv.

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/sinojapanese/index.htm
JointStudyoftheSinoJapaneseWar

http://www.defense.gov/
USDept.ofDefense.InformationongeneralUSsecuritypolicy

http://www.pacom.mil/
USPacificCommand.InformationongeneralUSsecuritypoliciestowardtheAsiaPacific.

http://www.fas.org/
Federation of American Scientists. Information on nuclear weapons, nuclear policy, and
conventionalweapons.

http://www.sipri.org/
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Information on conflicts around the
world.

http://www.iiss.org/
InternationalInstituteforStrategicStudies.Securityandforeignaffairsinformation.

http://www.correlatesofwar.org/
CorrelatesofWarwebsite
http://www.prio.no/
PRIOwebsite.Informationonconflictsaroundtheworld.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
USNationalSecurityArchivehostedbyGeorgeWashingtonUniversity

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=1409
ColdWarInternationalHistoryprojecthousedattheWoodrowWilsonInternationalCentre
forScholars.IncludesColdWarhistoricaldocuments.

http://ww.crisisgroup.org
The international crisis group has country reports too for those interested in internal
instability/security

Statistics
http://www.gapminder.org

51

Global statistics in visual and manipulable form, covering income, health, and much else
besides.AlsohasafreedownloadableofflineapplicationforyourPC.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworldfactbook
OfficialCIAdataoncountriesaroundtheworld.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=1
FreedomHouseproducesstatisticsonthestateofdemocracyaroundtheworld.

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/
ICPSRwebsite.Lotsofsocialsciencerelateddatasets(subscriptionrequired?)

http://electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html
AttemptstopredicttheoutcomeofthenextBritishGeneralElection.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html
GovernmentportalforBritishnationalstatistics.

http://www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Statistics/langen/index.htm
StatisticsprovidedbytheInternationalLaborOrganisation.

VisualResources

http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/
Databaseofcartoonsfromthe1700stothepresent,maintainedbytheUniversityofKent.

http://www.britishpathe.com/
Archivalnewsreelfootagefromaroundtheworldcoveringtheyears18761976.

http://www.indiana.edu/~league/photos.htm
PhotosontheLeagueofNations

http://ww2db.com/index.php
WorldWarIIphotos,organisedbyvarioustheatresandcampaigns.

http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/index.html
Chinesepropagandapostersafter1949

http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals
Spoofsonpolitics(especiallyUSpolitics)inmusicalcartoonform.

52

DepartmentofPoliticalScience
FacultyofArtsandSocialSciences
NationalUniversityofSingapore

AS1,#0410,11ArtsLink
Singapore117570

Tel:(65)65163985
Fax:(65)67796815

Email:polbox2@nus.edu.sg

Website:http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/pol/

53