1. IR 1501 Essay Guide Issues in International Relations

2. IR 1501 Essay Essay due date: –5pm, Thursday 15 March, Week 7 Essay length: –2000-3000 words Essay weight: –30% of course mark

3. IR1501 Essay Questions 1.Are the UNs weaknesses also its greatest assets? Discuss in relation to how and why the UN gets involved in international relations. 2.A European Union of 40 is inevitable Critically discuss this statement with reference to the post-1995 EU enlargements.

4. IR1501 Essay Questions 3.What mechanisms do International Organisations employ to prevent human rights abuses and how effective are they? 4.Does the creation of an international organisation necessarily imply the sacrifice of sovereignty? Discuss with reference to the European Union. 5.Critically assess the assumptions of realism with regards to the maintenance of international peace.

5. IR1501 Essay Questions 6.The policies of the IMF and World Bank do more harm than good. Critically discuss this statement with reference to the international debt crisis in the Third World. 7.Assess the successes and failures of social movements since the 1960s in securing change in both national and international politics. Discuss with reference to two case studies of your choice.

6. Essay Preparation Where to start? –IR text books Baylis and Smith Jackson and Sorenson Jack Goldstein http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/978 0199271184/http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/978 0199271184/

8. Essay preparation Resources –Journals vs. Books –The Times vs. the Daily Mail –BBC Online vs. Wikipedia –Government documents

9. Essay preparation Finding journals –Journal for everything Security – International Security, European Security IOs – International Organization –General Journals International Studies Quarterly, BJPIR, Review of International Studies

10. Finding Sources Databases –Google! Google Scholar –Web of Knowledge http://portal.isiknowledge.com/portal.cg i?Init=Yes&SID=W1jJi6la2godbkpKKML http://portal.isiknowledge.com/portal.cg i?Init=Yes&SID=W1jJi6la2godbkpKKML –JSTOR http://uk.jstor.org/http://uk.jstor.org/

11. Finding Sources Play detective –Who does someone else cite? http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/(ms koccmvbcnxq5vmadlurn55)/app/home/conte nt.asp?referrer=contribution&format=2&pag e=1&pagecount=12http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/(ms koccmvbcnxq5vmadlurn55)/app/home/conte nt.asp?referrer=contribution&format=2&pag e=1&pagecount=12

12. Essay preparation Resources –What to do if you encounter publications that use numbers? Dont panic!

13. Writing your essay 3 aspects to every IR essay –The theoretical (realism, liberalism) –The conceptual (the state, power, development) –The empirical (the UN, Bosnia, Africa)

14. Writing your essay Note taking –Main points –Main questions –Cases Used –Conclusions –Interesting sources used that may be relevant

15. Writing your essay In the beginning... –Question(s) –Perspective –Structure

16. Writing your essay Structure Example: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ ftinterface~content=a768756924~f ulltext=713240930 http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ ftinterface~content=a768756924~f ulltext=713240930

17. Writing your essay Coherent? Explicit? Grammatically correct? Relevant? Words cited correctly? http://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/about/docu ments/Handbooklevel1and22006_7.dochttp://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/about/docu ments/Handbooklevel1and22006_7.doc

18. Finishing your essay Proof read your essay Have someone else proof read your paper Student Support Services: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/ http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/

19. Submitting your essay Turnitin submission is required or else you will not receive a mark for the essay and will fail.