The final essay must be formatted as follows:

The final essay must be formatted as follows:

1. 1.25″ left- and right-side margins, 1″ top and bottom margins, and Times New Roman 12-

size font. For information on how to change margins, please go to

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-or-change-page-margins-in-word-

72fa6264-7df4-48f3-b805-2ffb6f32bd54. For information on how to change units for

margin measurements, OSX users can go to

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-units-used-for-margin-measurement-

c65a06a7-2555-45d2-8912-f33c7e6fa404; Windows users can go to

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-units-used-for-margin-measurement-

c65a06a7-2555-45d2-8912-f33c7e6fa404#ID0EAABAAA=Windows.

2. A simple cover page stating the evaluation format, the student’s name, student number,

course code and section, instructor’s name, and the date of submission.

3. Excluding the title page, all pages must be properly numbered. Specifically, the first written

page must be numbered page 1. For more information on how to number pages, Windows

and OSX users can go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/page-numbering-in-

word-5a12ea00-be26-4c88-8802-797bd53f71a9.

4. Assignments requiring citation and a bibliography must conform to APA. For more

information on APA, please go to

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples.

5. Use either parentheses or endnotes when citing sources. Footnotes are not permitted.

6. Not exceed the maximum page limit. Anything written beyond the maximum page limit will

not be read.

7. Meet the minimum page requirements

v A deduction of 1.8 points will be applied to the final essay for each of the first six

requirements that are not followed.

v A deduction of 1.8 points will be applied to each page that is under the minimum page

requirements for the final essay

Final Essay, 8-10 pages (double-spaced): This assignment asks students to select a topic on their

own that (1) is related to the theme of this course, (2) addresses change in a policy field, (3)

compares a policy field between Canada and the USA, Australia, or an EU member state, or (4) deals

with a weekly topic that appears in this course. The essay must develop a narrow argument and

stay within the prescribed minimum and maximum page limits. (Endnotes, the bibliography, and

the title page do not count towards the minimum and maximum page lengths.)

Students are expected to have a minimum of eight academic sources that do not appear in this

course. While students may certainly incorporate course materials into their essays, the assigned

readings should not be relied on to construct arguments.

With the exception of (1) on-line academic journals, government documents, newspapers, and

reports from international and non-governmental organizations available through the University of

Ottawa’s library system and (2) government websites, Internet sources cannot be used for this

assignment. A penalty of 1.8 marks will be applied to each inappropriate Internet source.

Students are strongly encouraged to regularly liaise with the course instructor about the essay

during office hours or through e-mail.

The following is used to assess the final essay:

1. Does the essay clearly state its thesis? (/5 marks)

2. Immediately after the thesis statement, does the essay state how its argument will

unfold? E.g., “First, the essay will examine X. Second, it will look at Y. Third, the essay

will explore Z.” (/1 mark)

3. Is the essay well organized, which enables its arguments to flow? (/3 marks)

4. Does the essay demonstrate conceptual understanding and variety? (/5 marks)

5. Does the essay engage with other arguments? Strong essays take arguments seriously,

even those they may not necessarily like. (/5 marks)

6. Is evidence provided to support an essay’s arguments? What is the quality of that

evidence? (/5 marks)

7. Are arguments properly developed as opposed to being rushed and/or presented as

self-evident? (/5 marks)

8. Is the essay free from grammatical and/or spelling errors? Poor grammar and spelling

immediately create a negative impression. More important, poor grammar and spelling

prevent the clear communication of an essay’s arguments and ideas. (/4 marks)

9. Is the research adequate and relevant? (/1 mark)

10. Did the essay use proper citation and bibliographical form? (/1 mark)