IDSB07H3: Confronting Development’s Racist Past and Present
Confronting Development’s Racist Past and Present
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IDSB07H3: Confronting Development’s Racist Past and Present
Outline for Final Essay
Due Date: Thursday 13 April 2023 (Upload on Quercus by midnight)
Worth 30% of final grade
Objectives: The objective of this assignment is to demonstrate a critical understanding
of an issue, topic, or theme covered in the course. It is intended to evaluate your
research, writing, and analytical skills, and further help develop those skills. It requires
the investigation of an issue in race and development, and thus, may be on any issue
covered in the course, or related to the course.
Nature of the assignment
This assignment is a research essay, that is, a piece of scholarly writing that requires an
in-depth analysis based on independent research carried out on a certain topic area.
The paper should be empirical in nature: It requires an investigation (research) and
analysis of an issue/topic by drawing on and providing empirical evidence to back up
the claims that are made. Theories or concepts may be used to help with the analysis,
but the focus is on the topic/area being investigated, and not the concepts or theories
being used. Writing a research paper requires the demonstration of grasp of the chosen
topic, the ability to consult and cite sources, and offer an analysis that is coherent,
systematic, insightful, and backed by empirical evidence. This is an opportunity for you
to showcase your research, writing, and analytical skills.
Basic requirements
The essay should typically be about 2500 – 3000 words (i.e., 10 - 12 double-spaced
pages) excluding the title page. It should be typed, doubled-spaced, Times New Roman
12-point fonts, 1-inch margin and must include a title page and bibliography of works
cited. A minimum of at least 5 academic sources (journal articles, books, book chapters
etc) may be used; 3 of these must come from the course material. In other words, both
course material and outside sources may be used. However, a minimum of at least 3
sources should come from the course readings.
Themes
Choose a topic area in race and development in which you are interested. That is, any
topic or issues covered in the course, or related to the course. Be sure to narrow the
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focus of your essay to a specific domain. As stated in the course outline, it is the
responsibility of every student to choose their own topics based on individual interests.
However, such topics should be discussed with the professor and/or TAs.
Citations:
For citation and referencing please use only APA or Chicago Manual of Style for all
written work (see the links below for a quick guide):
Also, you may want to consider consulting reference books on research and writing.
An example is:
Margot Northey, Lorne Tepperman and Patrizia Albanese, Making Sense: A Student’s
Guide to Research and Writing: Social Sciences, 4th ed. (Toronto: Oxford University
Press, 2009)
Guidelines on Writing Research Paper
1. Before you start your essay, please refer to the description of the assignment and the
guide on written assignment outlined in the course outline. Follow these rules in
formatting your essay.
2. Choose a topic you are interested in and read around it to see if there is enough
material to support an essay on that topic. Once you have a broad subject area, narrow
it down to a manageable topic that interests you, meets the criteria of the assignment,
and is possible to research. Discuss this topic with your professor and/or TA.
3. Before writing your essay, organise your ideas into an outline in bullet points. Start
with an introduction that states very clearly (a) what the essay is about, (b) what its
main/central argument(s) is/are, and (c) how the essay will be organised. What exactly
is your essay about? What is the main argument that you are making? Organise your
ideas in a way that is easy to follow. Start with a clear thesis statement, that is, the
central idea/argument of your paper. The thesis statement is very important because it
establishes the main purpose of your essay. It should be concise and precise and
should summarize your central argument in a sentence or two. The claim of the thesis
requires further analysis supported by evidence. The rest of the essay is about
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developing that analysis with evidence.
4. Remember, organisation is a key part of writing an essay. It may be helpful to
organise you essay into sub-sections. This will help with organisational issues and help
with coherence and avoiding repetitions. Develop your analysis/arguments by providing
supporting evidence. Do not just make a claim that is not supported by evidence. You
may choose to link your topic to larger concept or longer history, but make sure they are
clearly linked to your topic and that you stay within the parameters of your defined topic.
5. Conclude your essay by (a) restating the purpose of your essay and the arguments
you have made; (b) by considering the implications of your analysis for race and
development. What are the implications of your analysis for race and development?
Important notes:
*Do not over-quote – a quotation is not a substitute for your own analysis. Learn to
paraphrase by putting ideas in your own words. I would recommend a maximum of four
quotes (if your quote is longer than four lines, you must treat it as an extended quote,
and indent it, etc.).
The success of this assignment will be highly dependent upon your research practices.
Do not simply ‘google’ articles as many of them may not qualify as academic sources,
but popular internet articles, or articles from ‘think-tanks’ that are not peer reviewed. I
would also encourage you to, as far as possible, avoid popular websites except if used
and cited to illustrate a point.
Use a minimum of 5 sources of which at least 3 must come from the course readings.
Be sure to proofread your essay for spelling and grammatical mistakes before
submitting it. Please review and follow the ‘Elements of Effective Social Science Writing’
found below.
Elements of Effective Social Science Writing
1. Good writing is clear and precise. When you write sentences that can be
interpreted in many different ways you demonstrate that you are thinking in a
vague way. Write so that you make clear and precise what you mean.
2. Social Science focused thinking is grounded in the use of supporting
arguments/evidence. When you do not use specific examples to make your
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points clear, you demonstrate that you do not know how to clarify your thought as
a social scientist. Give relevant examples and illustrations that are focused on
the argument you are making.
3. Good social science focused thinking is logical. When you do not make clear with
appropriate transitional words and critical vocabulary the logical relations
between the sentences and paragraphs you write you reveal that you do not fully
understand the structure of your own reasoning. Make clear the logical relations
between the sentences and paragraphs that you write.
4. Social science thinking is analytic. When you fail to employ key concepts and to
demonstrate their logic you show that you are weak at conceptual analysis. Use
key disciplinary concepts in your written work wherever appropriate.
5. Good social science thinking does not jump to conclusions. Your position is
weakened when you make sweeping judgments about a position you have not
sufficiently analysed. Show in your writing that you have considered a variety of
reasonable ways of looking at the issue.
The Evaluation of your essay will be based on the following criteria:
Critical grasp/understanding of the topic.
Structure, organization, and analytical clarity.
Familiarity with the material and relevant literature.
Style of presentation, coherence of arguments, and conciseness of expression.
Citation and grammatical rules.
Also consult the notes/guidelines on written assignments in the course outline.