Crisis in Syria Paper

Paper topic: Current crisis in Syria

Paper length: 10 pages

You will need to identify the event/issue and briefly explain what happened (or is happening), when, and where. You will then analyze the event/issue by determining why it happened as it did. In doing this, you will identify the state and non-state actors involved. Once you've identified the actors, you will use the theories of international relations to help you understand why this event/issue was important to each of them and why each responded as it did. The impact of balance of power, globalization, economics, culture, politics, and many other factors will help you analyze your topic.

Your final paper should contain a title page, abstract page, 10 pages of content, an endnotes page (if endnotes were used), and a bibliography. Note that the bibliography included with the paper is not annotated. Papers are to be double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12, with one inch margins all around. Papers significantly shorter or longer than this will be penalized. Part of learning to write well is learning to write in a clear, concise manner, while providing a sufficient level of detail. Remember that all papers must contain an introductory paragraph which explains the topic and the argument the paper will make AND a concluding paragraph which wraps up the main points of the paper without introducing any new information.

Title pages should include the title of your paper, your name, the date, the course designator, and the instructor's name - all centered on the front page. The abstract page should be the second page of your paper and should contain your single-spaced up to a half-page abstract. The endnotes page should be a separate page following the content of your paper, which lists all citations in numerical order. You will not need an endnotes page if you use parenthetical notes or footnotes. Your bibliography will be the last page(s) of your paper and should provide a list of all sources, alphabetized by authors' last names. Each item should be single-spaced with a double-space between items.

Papers must use a minimum of 8 sources, with a minimum of two primary sources and two academic journals. Restrict your sources to newspaper articles from major national and international papers (use these sparingly as they tend to be biased and are not often written by experts in the field), published journals and magazine articles, and websites from major organizations and government agencies. Avoid using more than one book, as you most likely won't have time to read additional books with the load of reading in this course. Unless you read the entire book, you risk taking information out of context. Encyclopedias and textbooks may be referenced minimally in your paper, but do not count toward the minimum number of sources.