Be Accurate
•Southeast Asia is implementing a hedging strategy. (X)
•Many Southeast Asian states are implementing a hedging strategy. (O)
q
Don’t be Overly Conclusive
•China is challenging the U.S. position in the world. (X)
•It is often said that China is likely to challenge the U.S. position in the world. (O)
•Many scholars point out that China is likely to challenge the U.S. position in the world (O)
q
Use of Acronyms and Abbreviations
•Spell out the full term at its first mention, and indicate its acronym or abbreviation in parenthesis. Then, use the acronym or abbreviation thereafter.
-China, Russia, and other Central Asian countries established the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2001. It is argued that Beijing, since then, has used the SCO as a platform to project its power and influence beyond its territory.
If a term is used only one time throughout the entire paper, you don’t need to indicate its acronym or abbreviation.
Don’t Exaggerate
•Kenneth Waltz is the greatest thinker in IR history. (x)
•Kenneth Waltz is one of the best-known contemporary IR scholars who has had a significant influence on the development of the realist IR theory. (o)
Be Specific
•People have been interested in this thing for a long time. (x)
•Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years.
•
Please Note that a Country does not use IR theory.
•Washington is adopting a realist theory to address the rise of China. However, we should take a constructivist approach to avoid the two country’s confrontations.
Common Mistakes
•U.S.’s foreign policy (x)
•U.S.-Sino relations (x)
