You are required to submit your assignments as email attachments sent to me at jim.butterfield@wmich.edu. I won't accept hard copies. Your papers must be in either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect (the version is immaterial.) Note: Microsoft Works is not acceptible. If your computer does not have either Microsoft Word or Word Perfect, plan a little extra time to either write your paper in a lab or take a USB flash drive with the file on it to the lab and convert it.

There is some flexibility in your first major paper topic. You're taking the first step toward your major project. You'll be doing a search for and assessment of resources at the same time you are determining your project.

Your project ultimately will be to research one aspect of development connected to poverty. That's extraordinarily broad, so let me narrow it down a bit.

Your major paper will deal with policy (after all, we are political scientists). Keep this in the back of your mind as you work on this assignment. Many of the concepts and issues we've discussed to date are not about policy, but provide the foundation upon which policies are both built and evaluated.

Your assignment at this stage is to choose the aspect of development you want to know more about. Now, that sounds easy, doesn't it? Read on.

One very important factor in choosing a topic is the resource base. Here is where the bulk of the work load will take place for this Assignment #1.

Note: If you are an honors students and you want your honors thesis to grow out of this class (fully or in part), then this is the time to be thinking about that. (If you are, then you and I should have a separate conversation before you finalize this assignment.)

Specifically, your task is to:

• Go to the Eldis Gateway to Development Information. On the right-center side of the page you'll find a whole column of issues. One of them is poverty (you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it). Other relevant ones could include education, aid, gender, food security, and globalization. (You'll find many issues cross-listed under "Poverty".) Eldis is a gateway, which means it provides links to useful resources, including the type of development reports you've already been reading.
• Look for resources under interesting topics. Your first key question: What are the sub-topics under debate, and which of them interest you? For example, let's suppose you choose "gender and poverty". That's a good start, but it's way too broad. Sub-topics might include "gender and land,""gender and business opportunities,""overcoming cultural stereotypes toward gender in education," and more.

Your goals for this assignment are twofold:

• first, to select the sub-topic of the issue that interests you that will serve as the research focus for your major paper; and
• second, to demonstrate to me and to yourself that you have a handle on the resources that will allow you to analyze the sub-topic (from here on, I'm just going to refer to it as your topic).

Your assignment is to write an annotated bibliography. You can get some guidelines on how to do one at several library sites at other universities (Cornell, Purdue, UNC). Each annotation should be at least 100 words in length and should summarize the key points you expect to utilize in the article. Start each entry with a full citation, just as you would format it for the bibliography of a research paper (see below).

The requirements for the first assignment:

• The paper should be five pages in length. There is no maximum, but I will not be impressed by long papers that are full of fluff.
• Title your document "lastname4.doc" (or "lastname4.docx" or "lastname4.wpd," whatever extension is appropriate for the word processing program you use). So, for example, my first major writing assignment file would be called "butterfield4.doc".
• Don't include a title page. Put the title and your name at the top of the first page just like in the mini-writing assignments.
• There should be no spelling mistakes, typos, grammar mistakes, or syntax problems. Verbs should agree with subjects. Sentences should officially end before the next one begins. Don't jump around among tenses. Never use "you". Don't capitalize nouns unless they're supposed to be capitalized. Don't put apostrophes in plurals.
• Avoid both fluff and excessive verbiage. Don't wander off into tangents. Be concise, but sufficiently detailed to make your argument.
• I doubt if I need to say this to advanced students, but it needs to be on the record: don't play games with margin width and font size to make your paper longer. Margins should be no greater than 1" on the sides and 1" at the top and bottom. Font size should not exceed the equivalent of 12 point Times New Roman or Calibri. Don't skip lines between paragraphs either. (You'd be amazed what some freshmen will try to pull. I've seen two-inch margins, 16 point font and two-inch gaps between paragraphs in order to try to stretch a paper to length requirements.)
• Stick with a conventional font in black color. I won't be impressed by, say, a cursive font in lemon chiffon or tutti-fruitti.
• Adhere to the deadline. Late penalties are draconian, and could result in your premature death or dismemberment. (Actually, I'm serious. See the late penalty policy on the syllabus page).
• Don't forget the instructions on submitting above.

  Note: I will in all cases send you a confirmation that I have received your paper as soon as I notice it. If you don't receive the confirmation, assume it didn't go through. Given that deadlines are midnight, however, don't wait for an immediate confirmation. Look for it the next morning.

Some of you will no doubt ask how many sources are enough. I don't have a magic number; it depends on what you find. But I can't imagine anything less than 15-20 articles or reports providing you with much confidence that you've adequately surveyed the field.

It may have occurred to you by now that this paper will be harder than the one that follows, notwithstanding the fact that the latter is three times longer! The hard work of reading, analyzing and selecting sources is all part of this paper.

Citation Style

The standard reference style in Political Science is Chicago Style or, in some cases, the American Political Science Association style (based on Chicago). You can either refer to a quick guide through the Waldo Library site or look at the full manual (it's the second one on the page). Note two points:

1. IF a web reference refers to a web page AND NOT an academic article, them make sure it is an active hyperlink. I want to be able to click on it while reading your document and go directly to the source. And make sure each works! (Hint: test them before submitting the paper.)
2. IF you read an academic article from a journal or a chapter from a book online, DO NOT give me a hyperlink. It won't work because I have to go through the logon process through the library to get to it. Instead, give me a standard academic reference as if you read a hard copy straight out of the journal in the periodicals section. I can then find it.

Your second major paper -- the major paper of the course -- grows out of your first major paper. Start by figuring out how to organize your paper. Group similar programs and/or policies together and, if appropriate, use sub-headings to demarcate them. Use an introductory sentence to identify the nature of the ensuing section or individual policy/program. If you can think of a logic by which to order the sections, then do so.

Title your paper something other than your research question – pick something appropriate to the topic.

Your paper should have the standard three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The old adage applies: in the introduction, tell your readers what you're going to say. In the body, say it. And in the conclusion, tell them what you've said.

Somewhere in your introduction you should state your research question. Devote a paragraph or two to why it's important.

Then use your introduction to set the structure of your paper. Let's say I'm writing a paper on water and sanitation in rural areas. My sources might divide into issues of appropriate technology, public-private partnerships, education and awareness-raising, and community management. If so, part of my intro might read:

"I will first examine the issue of appropriate technology for water and sanitation systems, focusing on low-tech approaches that don't require huge capital investment or complicated maintenance operations. Second, in some cases the private sector is incorporated into water and sanitation schemes, and I will provide some examples of each. Third, I will look at how education and awareness-raising programs help villagers understand the nature of water-borne diseases and how some simple measure they can undertake can avoid them. Finally, I will examine some cases in which communities take responsibility for the operations maintenance of the schemes, thereby not having to rely on municipalities that are often unable or unwilling to do so themselves."

Once you've done this, follow the structure as you have established it in the introduction.

By now you know the rest of the drill: rely on submission and citation instructions found above. Don't be late. And absolutely bowl me over with your writing skills.

Note: additional writing comments presented in class on 11/15.

Length: 12-15 pages.

Critical essay.

Your final writing assignment is a critical essay. You'll be reviewing some current initiatives to change the way the corporate world does business. The initiatives vary and overlap, but what they all have in common is their critique of the standard method of judging business success: how much profit it makes. Consider the statement by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman: "The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits." (That's actually the title of a famous essay he wrote that you can read here.) He is critical of a growing trend to expect "social responsibility" and "corporate social investment" from businesses. The sites you'll visit below do not accept Friedman's proposition.

You are to write a critical essay on the statement that reflects on this statement:

"Large corporations can and should incorporate ethics into their definition of what it is they try to accomplish. That is, the bottom line must reflect more than profit."

It's irrelevant to me what side you take on the argument. But remember: a critical essay is not just an opinion piece. Instead, you are critically examining the support for the statement above. Do the organizations make the case for their claims? Why or why not? What I want to see - and the key to a good grade on your paper (in addition to writing) - is good argument on your part that supports whatever your conclusion is.

You do not need to (and should not) do additional research.

Corporate Social and Ethical Accountability

• Read about The Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility. Then read its framework on Social and Ethical Accounting (pp 2-5).

Ethical Trade

• Go to the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) web site. First, read about who they are. Then, read "What is ethical trade?" and the ETI Base Code of Ethics. Finally, look at some of the ways ETI advocates and promotes business ethics.

Fair Labor

• Another organization, the Fair Labor Association (comprised of sixteen well-known corporations – see ) has a somewhat similar code of ethics ("conduct"). Read about the organization and about its code.
• Now go to the Ceres web site and see what they're about. On the left click on "Investors", "Engagement and Disclosure", "Industry" and the "Roadmap to Sustainability" and look through some of the Ceres initiatives.

Fair Trade

• Finally, go to the Fair Trade Resource Network, an organization that advocates for fair working conditions and wages. Click around and see what they strive to do.

Length: 5 pages.

Note: late penalties apply. And for this assignment, any paper turned in more than 24 hours late will result in an incomplete for the semester.