Undergraduate BSc IR & Politics Study and Exam Skills building 2

Exam Success and skills building task

Last week we discussed the Exam Success system and we also discussed how to write an introduction.   This week we will be examining how to write the first paragraph to three exam questions.

Main Body:

Body — First paragraph:

·       Start off with the strongest point. The first paragraph of the body of your essay needs to contain your strongest argument, hands down and the most significant example, cleverest illustration, or an obvious beginning point. Get to this argument automatically -- it should be in the first or second sentence.

·       The first sentence of this paragraph should include the "reverse hook" which ties in with the transitional hook at the end of the introductory paragraph.   If there's an obvious starting point to your reasoning, use it.   The topic for this paragraph should be in the first or second sentence. This topic should relate to the line of attack in the introductory paragraph.

·       Each paragraph should focus on one clear element of the argument and be well supported by evidence. The final part / sentence should link back to the question - Students should write a BALANCED answer showing an understanding of both sides of the debate - the conclusion is an opportunity for a judgement to be made (however this is an area where there is some contention) and you tie up / summarise the main points of the debate. 

·       Though it's only listed here, each body paragraph should contain the following:

·         Introductory Sentence. This should include the theme of the paragraph and how that loops to the thesis statement.

·         Concrete Examples. These should be facts or evidence that comes straight from text like a quote or plot point. This should somehow prove the thesis. Each paragraph should have 2-3 concrete examples.

·         Commentary. This should explain the concrete example, not summarize. Discuss what this fact shows about/means to the theme and/or thesis. What does it prove? Traditionally, each concrete example should have 2-3 sentences of commentary following it.

·       Conclusion Sentence.   The last sentence in this paragraph should include a transitional hook to tie into the second paragraph of the body.  This should include the theme of the paragraph and how that proved the thesis statement. This is wrapping up the paragraph, not the paper.

ESSAY DOS AND DON’Ts

So, your essay and each paragraph in it should each have a three part structure: intro; main body and conclusion.

DO be confident. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else’s. The most successful historians in the world often have their work very harshly criticised by other historians.

DO plan. 99.9% of people write much better when they plan.

DO support your opinion with evidence, especially when you are given sources to use by the examiner.

DO take time to read through what you have written at the end.

DO prepare properly…
• have a timeline of events when you are revising so that you can use them properly in your essay. Nothing’s worse than a claim that an incident was caused by something that actually happened after it.
• think about the different questions you may be asked.
• make sure your subject knowledge is strong. Structuring will come with practice, but there’s no excuse for not knowing your stuff.

DO leave lines between paragraphs. It takes zero time or effort and makes your structure significantly more clear to the examiner.

DON’Ts

DON’T tell the story. It’s the same as someone asking you whether a film was any good, or why a football team won or lost a game you saw, and you just droning on about every last thing that happened. ANALYSE.

DON’T worry too much in the exam about spellings. But once you’re in the exam, you either know them or you don’t. Try to make sure you remember difficult subject–related spellings, e.g. Stresemann, whipped, armaments, constitutional, but in the exam just write what you think is the correct spelling and leave it at that.

DON’T use informal language.

DON’T think presentation doesn’t matter. If the examiner can’t read your work or even just has difficulty doing so, he or she will not be keen to give you good marks.

DON’T use “I”. The examiner can see your name at the top of your sheet (well, should be able to see, maybe DO write your name on your work should have been included). He or she knows that what is written is your opinion, and he can tell the difference between the evidence you have quoted and your interpretation of it.

Opening paragraph essay work (The following essays are A level Politics essays I will also send some IR & Politics BSc essays next week)

Please see example below:   Review and assess using the above structure and write your feedback in the comment box

Are Supreme Court justices politicians in disguise? (45)

The power of judicial review is the largest job of the Supreme Court. Judicial review is a political role as it gives Supreme Court justices the ability to change laws by declaring acts of Congress unconstitutional. Bills that are struck down by judicial review become null and void, thus giving the Supreme Court the power to undermine the decisions of elected representatives. For many Americans this is infringing upon the liberty installed by the Founding Fathers, who had attempted to create a political system which prevented any one body from gaining too much power and all representatives needed to be elected. For example, the Warren Court (1953-1969) in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) declared that state laws which permitted segregation of public schools were unconstitutional. This countrywide controversial issue was laid in the hands of nine unelected officials who on such a substantial decision, may not have been bipartisan, instead following their own political convictions.   Insightful

Some Supreme Court justices take the position of judicial restraint rather than judicial activism. The Supreme Court as a restrained body aims to make judicial decisions rather than political ones. They focus on whether each case shows someone as breaking a particular law rather than is the law they have broken just. Judges of judicial restraint also aim to interpret the constitution for each case, rather than act as legislators and make laws, leaving that to the politicians. However, as guardians of the Constitution, the Supreme Court justices are effectively politicians through their interpretation. By interpreting the Constitution, they are determining the politics of the present and declaring congressional laws to be constitutional or unconstitutional. This can be seen in the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972) when the court deemed the death penalty in this case to be unconstitutional due to being a cruel and unusual punishment. This shows that although some Supreme Court justices aim to be restrained and avoid political decisions, their role as Constitutional guardians inadvertently propels them into the role of politicians.   Good

Please aware that there is no mark scheme for this essay

Comment box

My feedback

Good essay produced, however please be aware I have no access to the mark scheme, well/tightly focused on the question throughout, good analysis, explanation and evaluation for ways in which the supreme justices wield and do not wield political power, I concur with your class-room teacher that you did not assess or discuss political activism, I understand why you didn’t.  However, it would have been a useful evaluation of the political restraint that you did discuss and could clearly and explicitly have been linked to the exam question, well done

1.  Why are US presidential elections campaigns so long? (15 marks) January 2010

Content for paragraph 1

• Describe the invisible primary, explain that it lasts at least a year, with preparation for running in elections being made even earlier (the 2012 website for Mike Huckabee has already been set up)

Write paragraph 1

A primary can be defined as election to choose a party’s candidate for an elective office, such as the presidency.  The majority of states hold primaries however some states hold caucuses instead. A caucus is a meeting for the selection of a party’s candidate for an elective office. States that hold caucuses are usually geographically large but thinly populated, such as Iowa, North Dakota and Nevada. In 2008, 14 states held Democratic caucuses and ten held Republican caucuses. In a caucus, would-be voters must attend a meeting rather than go to a polling station. Turn-out is generally lower in caucuses than in primaries and those who do turn out are disproportionately more ideological than primary voters. Hence, caucuses tend to favour more ideological candidates. In 2008, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who is on the libertarian wing of his party, had some of his strongest showings in caucus states. For example, he won 21% in the North Dakota caucuses and 19% in the Maine caucuses.  An advantage of the use of caucuses is higher commitment to the party and a greater level of political awareness in comparison with all primaries.  A key disadvantage of closed primaries is lower participation in comparison with all primaries. Furthermore, the two main functions of presidential primaries are to show the popularity of presidential candidates; primaries can therefore be thought of as political ‘beauty contests’.  They are also to choose delegates to go to the National Party Conventions.

See paragraph above evaluate and give feedback

What are the most significant factors that influence a President when choosing the Cabinet? (15 marks)

Mark Scheme

Presidents will have a variety of motives in selecting their cabinets. They may

aim to:

• recruit policy specialists

• build links with Congress through the appointment of serving congressmen

and senators

• bring trusted advisers into government

• strengthen links with key racial groups and with women

• represent different wings of the party and different regions of the country

President Obama could be seen to want to:

• bury campaign divisions through the appointment of Hillary Clinton as

Secretary of State

• send a message of bipartisanship through the retention of Robert Gates at

Defense

• make his Cabinet ‘look like America’ through the appointments of, e.g., Eric

Holder Steven Chu, Hilda Solis and Eric Shinseki

Writing paragraph 1

To what extent does the President control foreign policy?

Write a paragraph 1 for this essay

Review the paragraph below and improve

Henceforth the president’s control of foreign policy is far from straightforward as noted earlier, nevertheless it is often the case that the President is indeed in control of foreign policy.  However, conversely the federal bureaucracy and public opinion may also restrain the president. Nevertheless, evidence which suggests that the president has come to dominate foreign policy includes the following:   US v Curtiss-Wright, establishing the principle of executive supremacy, and the subsequent reluctance of the courts to take up cases involving foreign policy, support the question under discussion.  Additionally, the use of executive agreements to circumvent the need for Senate approval of treaties. 

Provide examples to support this statement

President Truman’s dispatch of forces to Korea without congressional authorisation and President Johnson’s use of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to escalate the war in Vietnam. The massing of 500,000 troops in Saudi Arabia before President G.H. Bush sought a congressional vote on the first Gulf War all support the idea that the President does indeed control foreign policy.  Then finally the bombing campaign in Kosovo, the first major use of force conducted despite an explicit refusal by Congress to authorize it.   Therefore in evaluation of the President’s powers to control foreign policy, all of these examples serve to illustrate and reinforce the idea that the president does indeed control foreign policy especially since World War II and the development of the USA as a superpower.