This course is designed to help graduate students in political science craft an original piece of high-quality writing. This class is open to students in their first, second, or third years of the graduate program. We will work on developing the skill of academic writing step by step, focusing first on the question of how to identify and articulate a good question, second on the skill of literature review, third on the art of theoretical engagement, and fourth on the presentation of evidence. During the semester, students may choose to turn a set of interests and questions into a prospectus draft. Alternatively, they may decide to use the class to turn a seminar paper into a dissertation chapter, or a revise a dissertation chapter into an article manuscript. Special sessions will bring other faculty to the class to talk about writing a dissertation and the peer- review process.
