Political Science

Political scientists—as scholars of political theory, American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political methodology—explore an extraordinarily wide range of substantive questions, employ a rich diversity of writing forms, and direct their scholarly findings to diverse audiences. At the same time, there is a long-standing consensus within the department that effective writing in all genres and subfields of political science is grounded in clear, evidence-based argumentation. The Political Science faculty hopes that majors will, through their coursework in the Department, mature from partisan debaters into thoughtful analysts who engage in critical evaluation of evidence. These foundational skills will help graduating students thrive in the diverse careers the department’s alumni pursue.

By the time they graduate with a degree in political science, majors should be able to:

• Identify and formulate analytical questions germane to the study of politics and explain their relevance.
• Synthesize and evaluate existing approaches to these questions.
• Make plausible arguments that answer these questions and that are articulated in clear, contestable thesis statements.
• Search for relevant and appropriate evidence (quantitative, qualitative, textual, etc.) and evaluate that evidence with respect to contending arguments.
• Convey information, ideas, and arguments to diverse audiences and in diverse formats.
• Receive feedback and revise appropriately.
• Learn and apply citation standards, and understand and avoid academic misconduct.
• Convey information, ideas, and arguments clearly, with satisfactory writing mechanics that do not interfere with the transmission of meaning.

Political Science faculty members have articulated the following criteria for assessing student writing:

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1. Analytical Questions

• Identifies questions germane to the study of politics.
• Explains why these questions are germane to the study of politics.
• Formulates these questions in analytical terms.
• Formulates these questions in a way that does not presuppose the answer.
• Clearly articulates analytical questions.

2. Existing Approaches

• Identifies literature (scholarly or otherwise) relevant to the posed analytical question.
• Summarizes effectively main arguments of literature relevant to the posed analytical question.
• Synthesizes existing literature into a limited number of approaches to the posed analytical question.
• Evaluates existing approaches to the posed analytical question by highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and/or gaps.

3. Arguments

• Develops a coherent and plausible argument in response to the posed analytical question.
• Advances this argument using a logical organization.
• Delimits this argument: identifies what the writer is not arguing/what factors do not have explanatory power.
• Articulates this argument in a contestable thesis statement.
• Identifies plausible counterarguments.

4. Evidence

• Identifies evidence relevant to contending arguments.
• Conducts effective searches for relevant evidence.
• Assesses credibility of different sources of evidence.

5. Evaluation

• Interprets relevant evidence—qualitative, quantitative, textual, etc.— appropriately and fairly.
• Presents data effectively and fairly (i.e. not just evidence in support of the thesis).
• Creates and employs effective and appropriate data visualizations.
• Explains clearly why credible evidence supports, or fails to support, contending arguments.
• Identifies implications for, e.g., scholarly debates and/or policy.

6. Formats

• Demonstrates proficiency in writing for scholarly audiences, policy expert audiences, and public audiences.
• Demonstrates proficiency in composing expository analytical essays, presentations, short communications for expert audiences (e.g. policy memos), and short persuasive public-facing pieces (e.g. op-ed columns).

7. Revision

• Processes feedback from professors and peers.
• Composes revision plan based on feedback.
• Implements revision plan.

8. Citation

• Recognizes when citation of sources is required.
• Cites sources appropriately, fully, and consistently.
• Uses AI tools responsibly, transparently, and in line with provided guidelines.

9. Clarity and Mechanics

• Expresses arguments clearly.
• Presents evidence/data clearly and fairly.
• Uses accurate terms precisely to enhance the transmission of meaning.
• Uses standardized grammar and mechanics that do not interfere with the transmission of meaning.

In the Legacy writing plan, the department will:

• Employ a Graduate Writing Assistant to support undergraduate students seeking assistance with their writing in department courses and to advise and support graduate TAs with evaluating undergraduate writing and composing feedback to undergraduates on their writing
• Plan and host an alumni panel sharing information about writing in careers of interest to political science graduates
• Create a department “writing with AI” resource group of interested faculty
• Engage in detailed curriculum mapping and conduct ongoing discussions of ways to support disciplinary writing abilities throughout the curriculum
• Develop a departmental resource site showcasing examples of multimodal assignments, AI policies, AI-related assignments, and writing assignments for large courses
• Host ongoing faculty development workshops related to teaching writing in political science