VIII. CONCLUSIONS
Writing for publication can be a challenging yet satisfying endeavor. The ability to
examine, relate, and interlink evidence, as well as to provide a peer
‐reviewed,
disseminated product of your research labors can be rewarding. A few suggestions have
been offered in this commentary that may assist the novice or the developing writer to
attempt, polish, and perfect their approach to scholarly writing.
IX. References
X. Write the paper
Proofread the paper. Rewrite the paper. Ask your roommate to proofread the paper.
Rewrite the paper again. Ask your mom to proofread the paper. Rewrite it again. The
more times you proofread and rewrite the paper, the better the paper will be and the higher
your grade will be.
Remember, for your paper, you need to add something to the work of other authors,
you should not just repeat someone else’s thesis.
Organize your paper in the following way:
Introduction: Begin the paper by identifying your research question. Then explain
why your question is important. Offer your thesis – a quick version of your answer to the
research question (one or two sentences).
Literature Review: Discuss the existing scholarly literature that relates to your
question and explain why the existing literature does not sufficiently address the question
you pose, thus telling the reader why your research had to be conducted and why your
paper must be read if the reader is interested in the answer to your important question.
Data: Present your evidence so that it supports your thesis (that is the answer to
your research question)
Conclusion: Summarize your findings and restate your thesis, which answers your
research question. Do not add new information in the conclusion – all evidence should be
in the Data section.
You may not write “this year …” or “this week…” You must specify particular
dates. A reader should understand your time frame whatever date they happen to read
your paper.
* To write a sophisticated paper, you should conduct your research in light of the
important theories of political science. You might ask a question and offer an answer that
either confirms or disconfirms a theory in the discipline. You might research a question
and discover that there does not exist any good theory in the field to offer insight into
your research question. In this case, you might analyze the existing literature and explain
how your research offers a hypothesis to explain why some phenomena occur.