Project
General Guidelines
Each student will write a paper that does not exceed 6 pages (double-spaced, one-inch margins,
12-point font). In addition to the paper, each student is required to give a 5 minute PowerPoint
presentation summarizing the main points of their paper.
The Paper
The format for the paper is a “policy brief” in which each of the following 6 points must be
clearly and thoroughly addressed in your paper. The discussion of each point should be clearly
marked with a separate subheading as follows:
1. Background
– A brief historical background of the issue, focusing more on recent developments
than on temporally distant times.
2. Relevance for U.S. foreign policy
– What are the U.S. interests in this issue?
– Make sure to clearly spell these out.
3. Challenges
– What are some of the main challenges that this issue poses for U.S. foreign policy
(i.e., competition with other states, potential for conflict, etc.)?
– Identify and explain.
4. Domestic Politics
– What are the domestic political challenges associated with this issue (i.e., public
opinion, partisan differences, etc.)?
– Identify and explain.
5. Policy Alternatives
– Provide at least two valid options for the U.S. to pursue on the same issue.
– What are the pros and cons of each alternative?
6. Policy Recommendation
– Which of these policy alternatives do you recommend and why?
– Why is this alternative better than the others?
Research Sources
Only the sources provided below can be used toward developing your project. For the finished
paper, each student must cite at least 10 different sources and the printed equivalent of these ten
sources must not be less than 100 pages. A student’s failure in either of these respects will result
in an automatic grade of F for the project. Also, given the limited length of this assignment (only
6 pages), do not quote or paraphrase the sources, but use only your own words. This will also
count against the grade if violated.
Since much of what can be found on the web is unreliable and/or biased, you should not be using
any other sources unless I approved it well in advance (these requests for additional sources
should be made two weeks before the scheduled presentation at the latest).
The Day of the Presentation
On the day of the presentation, you must submit me a hard-copy of your essay. The failure to
present the project as scheduled will result in F for 5% of the final course grade except in
documented cases of serious illness or family emergency.
Plagiarism Statement
Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class
and will result in an automatic grade of “F” for the course. Students should be familiar with the
definition of academic misconduct and the Code of Student Conduct: http://saa.lsu.edu/codestudent-conduct.
Citations & Bibliography
You must properly cite your sources either in the text or on the separate, last page listing all web
pages you consulted for your project (do not list only general websites). This last, reference
(bibliography) page does not count toward a 6-page limit. You should use the Chicago Manual of
Style for citing electronic sources. Since this is a relatively short paper, avoid quotations if
possible and use only your own words. However, if you do find it necessary to quote the source,
keep it short and use proper quotation marks, citing it according to the citation manual.
Citing electronic sources
A citation to website content can often be limited to a mention in the text (“As of July 19, 2008,
the McDonald’s Corporation listed on its website . . .”). If a more formal citation is desired, it
may be styled as in the examples below. Because such content is subject to change, include an
access date or, if available, a date that the site was last modified. In the absence of a date of
publication, use the access date or last-modified date as the basis of the citation.
Example #1
Citation in the paper:
(Google 2009)
Listing in the bibliography (at the end of the paper):
Google. 2009. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.
Example #2
Citation in the paper:
(McDonald’s 2008)
Listing in the bibliography (at the end of the paper):
McDonald’s Corporation. 2008. “McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts.” Accessed July 19.
http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html.
