Students will submit an original research essay that examines the causes of both
Students will submit an original research essay that examines the causes of both prosperity
and poverty in world order. The essay must provide case studies on 3-4 low to middle
income countries, or countries that were previously low to middle income during the
twentieth century. The paper must be uploaded as a Word doc or pdf to Canvas. The essay
should engage with approximately 12 academic sources (journal articles and books) and 5
primary sources (political memoirs; government or intergovernmental documents; essays,
interviews, or speeches by public figures).
Appendix I
Research Essay Grading Rubric (100 marks total)
1. Introduction 10 marks
-Frame your essay by getting the reader’s attention and communicating the
importance of your topic.
-Include a brief overview of your essay structure.
-Provide a clear, concise thesis statement that anchors your essay with a unique
insight informed by your research.
-Your thesis should be framed as a perspective rooted in a debate, not an obvious
statement where prevailing consensus exists.
2. Research of Existing Literature 15 marks
-Either throughout your essay, or in a distinct section called “Literature Review,”
you must discuss scholarly research
-Reference at least 5 primary sources, such as government documents, political
memoirs, essays by public figures, interviews with public figures, speeches,
historical newspaper articles, etc, where appropriate.
-Discuss at least 12 major scholarly works (articles and academic books) that are
relevant to your topic.
-Properly cite your sources throughout the essay in APA.
3. Theoretical Insights 10 marks
-Provide a commentary on developmental theoretical insights from your research.
-Do your cases align with principles from a major theory on development or
challenge one?
4. Commentary on Prosperity and Poverty 25 marks
-Explain the political issues of poverty and prosperity in 3-4 country case studies.
-Detail the strategies used by these governments and comment on their
effectiveness and limitations.
-You must have a commentary on the international context of development
strategies, such as either on trade relations, investment, foreign aid, or the
international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank).
-You must provide a commentary on the role of a few notable NGOs in your
country case studies, either to demonstrate contributions towards prosperity or to
highlight persistent poverty.
5. Coherence 10 marks
-Ensure the essay flows logically from one sentence or paragraph to the next.
-The thesis statement should be present throughout the essay to provide focus.
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6. Persuasiveness 10 marks
-Does the essay succeed in persuading a skeptical reader?
-The essay must engage and respond to perspectives that are not shared by the
author.
7. Descriptive Statistics 5 marks
-Claims should be supported by reference to descriptive statistics from reputable
sources.
-Examples include economic statistics from the World Bank Open Data
(https://data.worldbank.org) or The Observatory of Economic Complexity
(https://oec.world). Political statistics are available online as well, such as the
Varieties of Democracy dataset (https://www.v-dem.net).
8. Writing Style 10 marks
-The essay should be free from spelling and grammatical errors.
-Aim to balance sophisticated insights with accessible writing that is enjoyable for
anyone interested in the topic to read.
9. Conclusions 5 marks
-Offer to the reader thoughtful reflections on the significance of your research.