Essay Guidelines
HREQ 2030
Overview: The purpose of the essay is to determine the extent of student engagement with the course material in two main ways. First, this assignment is focused on testing students’ ability to understand, incorporate, and expand on the course themes and concepts. For example, we have touched upon the thematic elements of religion, law, philosophy, and social movements as they impact and influence our understandings of Human Rights. In the paper, students will be asked to consider how these themes fit into their essay. Does the paper fit into the discussion that we engaged in along these lines? Also, we have examined a number of important concepts as they relate to how we understand the sources of Human Rights. For example, do students believe that ‘justice,’ ‘morality,’ ‘the practice of non-violence,’ or the ‘technocratic policing’ can make a significant contribution to our understanding of Human Rights? Do these concepts open up new perspectives? Do these concepts have explanatory limitations? Do students agree or disagree with the employment or use of these ideas? Second, this assignment is interested in students’ explorations of how they can take these themes and concepts and apply them to developing their own critical insights. Here students will be asked to think in creative and critical ways. What is the significance of the concepts used in this course? Do you think that Human Rights can offer a paradigm for the betterment of society and its ethical problems? Are there any areas of concern that are missed or ignored in most general discussions of Human Rights? In other words, students will be asked to consider, from their own point of view, the significance and importance of Human Rights to a larger project of societal and global justice.
Requirements: The essay should be in the range of 5 to 7 type-written pages and double spaced. Please make sure that your name, student number, or your TA’s name is visible. Please pay attention to how you cite material and always make sure that the ideas of others are fully accounted for in your source material.
Part 1: The first step in writing a good essay is to choose a topic. A topic should be chosen on the basis of interest. Do any of the questions asked cause you to develop a passionate response. Good papers are made up of good writing that is informed by a real interest and passion. You will always do better if you choose a topic that inspires a passion or a concern. If you choose a topic that you are uninterested in, this will inevitably show up in your paper and that lack of interest will likely pass onto the reader. What are the themes and ideas that have sparked your interest in this course? What do you feel is a major and important issue within the study of Human Rights? You may find interest in a number of ways. For example, does your personal experience intersect with some of these themes and ideas? Has a theme or idea covered inspired you to re-evaluate or re-think your view of the world? These are good ways to begin the process. By beginning with your passion for a topic, you are more likely to be able to sustain an interest that will carry you through your paper. This is an increasingly important notion that will help you develop interests, ideas, and concerns that can be developed and expanded upon in your later studies.
Part 2: The next step that students should take is to develop a working bibliography. By this we mean a list of important texts drawn both from the course readings as well as from research done independently. Students are expected to have a bibliography that contains a minimum of ten academic or scholarly sources. These can include peer-reviewed journal articles, academic monographs, and edited texts. In referencing any of these texts please make sure that reference is always made to the author of the particular piece that is being quoted or used. Students can use non-academic sources, but they cannot count as part of your ten academic sources. Included here could be journalistic sources, documentaries, news reports, etc. Please make sure that you reference your material properly and clearly. If this is not done clearly it can lead to the impression of plagiarism. If you are using a particular style of reference, such as MLA, please make sure that you remain consistent throughout your paper. Also, please remember that students may quote directly (in the form of a quotation); but students may also reference ideas or concepts. Please remember that ideas are also the intellectual property of the author cited.
Part 3: The second step involves the creation and development of a thesis statement. Here students are expected to come up with a clear statement about their general argument. Here statements that begin with phrases such as ‘This paper will argue…,’ ‘This paper will claim…,’ etc. can be used. Please focus on making your thesis statement as clear as possible. The clearer and more directly stated a thesis is, the more likely it is that the reader will have the ability to follow along. A thesis statement should be stated as close as possible to the beginning of the paper in the introduction. Please focus on this thesis development process. It is crucial to writing a good paper.
Part 4: The next step to writing a good paper is to build upon your thesis statement. If the thesis statement makes a particular claim, the next question that the reader may ask is ‘How can this be proven?’ In other words, if a paper seeks to argue that ‘Human Rights are not possible without a moral and ethical grounding in society,’ then what are the proofs for such a claim? In other words, what are the proofs for the thesis statement. If one imagines a court of law, wherein lawyers are assigned with the task of making an argument (arguing, for example, that their client is not guilty) then jurors and judge are going to be focused on how this argument is to be shown through the use of ‘evidence.’ For lawyers, evidence is made up of physical evidence as well as witnesses (eye and expert witnesses), while essay writers sources make up the main source of evidence. Once again, the main question is ‘how do we prove what we are saying?’ How do we convince the reader that what we are saying is true?’ Here students may employ the method of having a number of arguments that can follow the thesis statement in paragraph form. Students can split up their arguments into the formula of ‘one paragraph per argument’ but this is not a rule. Basically, students want to make sure that each argument is distinct while, at the same time, being fundamentally and evidently connected to the thesis statement. Please remember that the thesis statement is something that is like a thread that runs throughout your paper. As a result, you may remind the reader of what you are arguing when you feel that it is necessary.
Part 5: Please try to structure your essay. In order to do this, you must have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Your introduction should include a thesis statement with a summary of the problem or issue that you are dealing with. The body should be made up of your main arguments to prove your thesis. And the conclusion should summarize what you have said and possibly indicate future directions in your research and in area of study.
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