My thesis statement will be “Taiwan has the four things that make a country a country”.
You should use scholarly references (references from peer-reviewed books and from articles in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals). If you use references from newspapers or weekly news magazines, these references can count for no more than two of the 10-12 required references in a 20-page research paper.
How to Cite. It is recommended that you follow the citation format used by the American Political Science Review (APSR), the flagship journal of the political science discipline. This format involves using short in-text citations (see example on page 2 of these guidelines) and including a detailed reference list (see examples on page 2 of these guidelines) at the end of the paper. The APSR citation format is detailed in Style Manual for Political Science (American Political Science Association: 2001). If you cannot obtain access to this book, consult the following web sites for extensive details and examples:
Basic Example for an In-Text Citation:
A basic in-text citation for a reference from a book should include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number, all in parentheses and before the period at the end of the sentence (Smith 2003, 23).
Basic Examples for a Reference List:
• Articles: Jones, William B. 2002. “Article Title.” Journal Title 14 (June): 33-45. • Books: Smith, Adam P. 2001. Book Title. Baltimore, MD: Columbia University Press. • Chapter in a Book: Filmore, Adolph J. 1999. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title in Italic Type, ed. Frank Demarest. Baltimore, MD: Publisher, Pp. 224-49.
• Newspapers: “Article Title.” 2004. Newspaper Title, 20 April: B2, B12.
• Websites (when author and publication date are known): Huff, Kelly. 2004. ADR Program Resolves Case. . Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. April 23, 2004. [date you downloaded the material from the internet site]
• Websites (when author and publication date are unknown): Federal Election Commission. ND. Compliance Cases Made Public. <http://www.fec.gov/press/
press2004/20040409bmurs.html>. Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. April 23, 2004.
These are just some basic examples. There are many format variations you might need to follow, depending on the types of sources you use, the number of authors, etc. For complete format details and examples, see the style manual or web sites listed above.
Basic Style Tips
Your goal should be to make your paper as easy to read as possible. Begin by developing a clear thesis in your own mind. Then carefully plan how to lay out your argument in such a way that your reader can easily follow it. This is best accomplished by including the following components in your paper:
• Introduction: Offer pertinent background information, present your thesis, and outline how you will try to support it in the paper.
• Body: Develop your argument. Use subheadings to continually alert your reader about where you are in your argument and how each point relates to what came before and what comes next. Subheadings are extremely helpful to your reader.
• Conclusion: Develop a conclusion that reiterates your thesis and summarizes the points you have made throughout the paper to support it.
