1) The goal of a good paper is to answer the question asked in a clear and analytical manner by stating a thesis and supporting it with evidence from course materials. 2) Social science writing is about making an argument to convince the reader of your interpretation. You must cite evidence to support your claims and argue why your position is most convincing. 3) To write a good paper, you must answer the question directly, craft an argument supported by relevant evidence from course materials, and structure your paper with a clear thesis and outline.

1. Gov1780
Fall 2007
How to Write Good Papers
The goal of the paper is to use the theoretical and historical material of the course to answer a
question in a brief and analytically rigorous manner. A good paper states a clear thesis and
systematically supports the thesis with evidence from the course materials.
Some general comments about social science writing are in order. Social science writing is
fundamentally about making an argument. Writing a social science paper is like having a
debate. You, the author, decide upon the position you find most persuasive; it is your job to
convince the reader that your interpretation of the evidence is most convincing. This entails
citing evidence from the course materials to support your claims and making an argument for
why your position is the most convincing interpretation of the evidence. The debate analogy
also implies that you succinctly demonstrate why your interpretation is more convincing than
the other competing interpretations.
These skills take time to perfect.
Answer the question.
Good papers answer the question asked. Read the question carefully, and answer it as it is
asked. Be careful that you do not answer the question you wish had been asked, or a variant
of the question closer to what you know.
Have an argument
Part of answering the question is crafting an argument. The importance of having a clear
argument cannot be overstated. All too often, students submit papers that have the elements
of a good paper but lack coherence. This trap can be avoided by first crafting an argument
and then turning to the evidence. Once you have established the argument, think about how
you can support it using evidence and facts that you have learned. Evidence supports an
argument; it does not constitute an argument. Evidence must be interpreted to explain why it
supports your claim. Don’t waste space explaining what other people have or have not said,
how important the topic is, or why and how it is related to other important themes (on which
you know more and feel more comfortable writing). Make the argument clearly, cogently,
and with logical precision.
Use evidence properly
Use materials from the course to illustrate and support your argument. Make sure that the
evidence is relevant to the argument; make clear how and why the evidence supports your
argument. Simply presenting information that is vaguely relevant to the question is not
marshalling evidence. You need to explain precisely how and why the evidence you adduce
makes it more likely that your argument is correct.
Think about how to use evidence in the most persuasive manner possible. There is a host of
ways to leverage the evidence you have at your disposal. For example, you can compare
evidence for a particular claim across countries and over time to look for further confirmation
(or contradiction) for an argument.

2. Structure
Your paper should present an argument that answers the question posed. Your argument
should be stated in the thesis sentence, which typically is stated in the first paragraph of the
paper.
Write an outline
Writing an outline before you start the paper is imperative to the coherent organization of the
paper. An outline will help you make sure that your thoughts are organized and presented in
the most cogent possible manner.
Style
Be direct. Write precisely, clearly, and simply. This is not a course in creative writing; there
is no premium placed on maintaining suspense or a sense of drama. Obviously, good papers
will be free of spelling and grammatical errors.