Foreign policy

Guidelines & Grading Rubric for Policy Paper Topic: Foreign policy analysis of one chapter from the Fawcett book.

Prompt: Identify your chapter from the book International Relations of the Middle East, sort out the main foreign policy themes and decisions in the chapter, and reflect on them by using the foreign policy theories and paradigms covered in class.

Format: Your paper should be approximately 1000-1500 words (4-5 pages) in length, and written in doubleâ€Âspaced, Times New Roman, size 12 font with 1 inch margins.

Grading Criteria:

Essay Structure/Organization: The paper must be organized in sections which are separated by clear titles. The sections of the paper must include the following:

• ï‚·  Introduction: The audience is introduced to the chapter and its contents. A brief paragraph must explain what the rest of the paper will specifically focus on (which foreign policy themes/decisions will be examined and what foreign policy paradigms will be used to analyze those themes).
• ï‚·  The Analysis: The analysis section must connect the foreign policy theories/paradigms to the empirical material covered in the chapter. After you identify the main foreign policy themes/decisions, you must reflect on how certain foreign policy paradigms help us better understand those decisions. For example, were the decisions a result of personalities of the leaders? How did the domestic factors impact that particular foreign policy decision? Did the regional power dynamics play a role in impacting the foreign policy decision under investigation? etc. If you think outside research will help better clarify your arguments, incorporate those outside sources into your discussion as well.
• ï‚·  Conclusion: Wrap up your arguments and present your opinion regarding which foreign policy theory/paradigm you found most useful in understanding the topics in question.

  To get a good assessment, make sure the following elements are reflected in your paper:

  Argument/Evidence: All elements of the assignment are completed with an inâ€Âdepth examination of the issues. The arguments of the paper are adequately supported by evidence. The student thoroughly addresses counterarguments, and the central claims of the paper are well supported.

  Quality of Research: If you use outside sources to support your arguments, evidence must come from a variety of academic sources (books, academic journal articles and online pieces only from nationally and internationally recognized news agencies/think tanks/research institutions) that are properly cited. The essay has a bibliography/references at the end (which does not count toward the page count). Wikipedia and blogs are not acceptable academic sources.

  Structure/Style: The paper is wellâ€Âorganized: paragraphs have clearly defined topic sentences and logically follow from and build on each other. The paper is succinct in that it does not contain tangential information (e.g.: filler). The paper is wellâ€Âwritten and largely free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.

  It is recommended that you have a draft of your final paper reviewed by the TAMUC writing center; visit:http://www.tamuc.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiessocialsciencesarts/departments/literatureLa nguages/writingCenter/default.aspx