ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES
A) Essay Questions
NOTE: you should focus on events, patterns, processes, etc., since 1990/the end of the Cold
War
Is globalization actually American cultural imperialism?
B) Essay Rules & Structure & Information
1. Read these Instructions; many essays do not do as well because the writer does not
read instructions, heed advice, or follow the counsel of your TA
2. An argumentative essay: your essay must have point to it, an argument you are
making, or some claim you are trying to prove,
3. For my class, please write you thesis as your position/response to the question AND
your three arguments in support of it, e.g. “This essay argues that UN peacekeeping is
ineffective because of the lack of funding, over-stretching, and the growth of non-state
actors engaged in combat”
a) May use “I argue”, “I assert”, etc.)
b) Thesis sentence should state your position + provide your three supporting arguments!
4. Must show both sides of the question/issue – both the supporting and the opposing
arguments BUT only argue one side
5. Must have 3 Arguments SUPPORTING your thesis/position AND must have 2
Counter-arguments OPPOSING your position
6. Must be a minimum of 2500 to a maximum of 3000 words – including parenthetical
notes, but excluding works cited and cover page
7. Note various penalties will be noted on the Essay Grading Sheets
8. Should have a separate Cover Page which has: your name, your student number, this
course’s number & title, and your TA’s name
9. Must be in essay format: sentences and paragraphs
10. Must be typed in 12pt font in Times/Times New Roman or Arial/Helvetica fonts
11. Must be typed on 8.5″x11″ white paper
12. Must be written in formal modern academic English, obeying formal British or
American or Canadian grammar, spelling, and language rules
13. Must have an introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion, works cited & citations
14. Must be double-spaced but Works Cited, and cover page may be singled spaced
15. Must have 1″/2.54 cm – 1.25”/3.17 cm margins on all sides
16. Avoid using contractions, such as ‘don’t’ or ‘won’t’ or ‘can’t’
17. No subheadings; instead use transitions
18. Avoid extra/double line space between paragraphs either – learn to use transitions!
19. Must have MLA style citations/references – when in doubt, cite!
a) Each essay must include parenthetical notes organized according to the MLA Style guide
b) Note: No Citations Penalty = –10%
c) No footnotes or endnotes for citations; if you cite with footnotes & endnotes, you will
be assessed a -5% penalty
d) Cite anything that is someone else’s wording or idea or evidence
e) If you change a word in the quote use square brackets: [ ] (she [sat] in the chair)
f) If you shorten/truncate the quote, use an ellipse: … (he walked … home)
g) Off-set quotes: quotations longer than 3 lines require: 1) you separate the quote out
into a separate paragraph, 2) make the margins on either side 1.5”, 3) get rid of the
quotation marks, 4) single space
h) Always cite statistics – you did not calculate them, so where did you get them?
i) Always cite obscure, unobvious, or controversial dates
20. Must have a Works Cited in alphabetical order
a) A works cited is an alphabetical list of only the sources you have quoted or cited for/in
your essay
• NOT a bibliography which is a list of all the sources you read/researched but may
not have cited
b) Do not “pad” your Works Cited — the marking sheet also assesses whether or not you
have actually tried to use all sources you have in your Works Cited
21. At least/minimum 7 scholarly journal articles or book sources
a) Good scholarly secondary sources: journal articles and edited books through UWO’s
on-line journal retrievals systems
b) If you use authored-chapters from an edited book, no more than 3 sources from anyone
edited book will count toward your scholarly sources count
c) Cannot count tutorial reading sources given to you in this course towards the minimum,
but you can use these readings
d) If you are unsure of a source being scholarly or acceptable, please check with us (your
TA, me, or a Weldon Librarian)
e) Internet sources are acceptable BUT you must know what are good from bad web
sources – you will be penalized for using bad Internet sources
f) No textbooks are considered as part of your academic sources, and should be used
sparingly for only limited factual or statistical data – never for arguments!
g) Grey literature, general websites & newspapers will not count as your minimum
scholarly sources, and you should use them sparingly because relying on them too
much will lose you marks
22. Be consistent in your paper – if you make the same mistake over and over again, that
is not a big problem and you will know what to do next time, but if you keep making
different mistakes of the same type, that is a more serious problem and will require
more guidance to fix
23. Be clear, simple, and precise in your writing – sometimes, this requires using ‘big’,
elaborate, precise words; sometimes it means using ‘small’, simple, direct words
24. Use common sense where possible — if you are not sure, ask or email your TA!
C) Essay Structure
1. Introduction: What are you going to do? (FIRST paragraph – not 2 paras!)
A) What is your question? (state the question as it is given on the Course Outline
and this document)
B) Thesis: What is your response to the question + your arguments to support this
claim?
• Use: “This paper asserts …”, “This essay will show …”
• Do not use “discuss”, “explore”, “examine”, “considers”, etc., as these are not
‘argumentation verbs’ for our purposes
• Thesis in this FIRST paragraph of your essay, and your thesis must be written as
instructed above – we MAY NOT go “searching” for your argument and you
will lose marks!
C) Layout = your Essay’s ‘road map’: What the sequential flow of supporting
arguments in your essay? What are your counter-arguments? How will you essay
close?
” Answer these questions – a), b) and c) – in the same paragraph, do not split them up
2. Topic’s Importance: Why does this topic matter? Why should we consider analyzing
this topic? Is the topic of on-going concern and why?
• Don’t engage in a ‘personal statement’ of the topic’s importance to you personally
NOR should this be so vague as to be analytically mundane
3. Body: What are you arguing? Your proof? Who disagrees & why? Your rebuttal?
A) 3 Arguments with evidence and sources, and link them to your thesis
B) 2 Counter arguments with evidence and sources, and provide a rebuttal
C) How do your arguments & evidence relate to your sources? – cite authors and
their ideas & evidence where relevant
4. Conclusion: What did you do and why should we care? (LAST TWO paras)
A) Paragraph 1 = thesis & summary: restate what your question was and what you
argued: “This essay addressed the question [the question]… and argued that
[thesis].” AND tie your key arguments together: “It proved this by showing ….“
B) Paragraph 2 = implications: What are the implications of your argument? What
actions should be thought about or considered? What other research needs to be
pursued?
Good luck!
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