university politics essay

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the Political and Global Issues College Essay

Essays are one of the best parts of the college application process. With your grades in, your test scores decided, and your extracurriculars developed over your years in high school, your essays are the last piece of your college application that you have immediate control over. With them, you get to add a voice to your other stats, a “face” to the name, so to speak. They’re an opportunity to reveal what’s important to you and what sets you apart from other applicants and tell the admissions committee why you’d be an excellent addition to their incoming student class.

Throughout your college applications process, there are many different types of essays you’ll be asked to write. Some of the most popular essay questions you’ll see might include writing about an extracurricular, why you want to matriculate at a school, and what you want to study.

Increasingly, you might also see a supplemental college essay asking you to discuss a political or global issue that you’re passionate about. Asking this type of question helps colleges understand what you care about outside of your personal life and how you will be an active global citizen.

Some examples from the 2019-2020 cycle include:

Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service : Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.

Yeshiva University Honors Programs : What is one issue about which you are passionate?

Pitzer College : Pitzer College is known for our students’ intellectual and creative activism. If you could work on a cause that is meaningful to you through a project, artistic, academic, or otherwise, what would you do?

Your GPA and SAT don’t tell the full admissions story

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographics, and other holistic details. We’ll let you know what your chances are at your dream schools — and how to improve your chances!

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details.

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details. We’ll let you know what your chances are at your dream schools — and how to improve your chances!

Tips for Writing the Political and Global Issues College Essay

Pick an issue close to your life.

When you first see a political and global issues prompt, your gut reaction might be to go with a big-picture topic that’s all over the news, like poverty or racism. The problem with these topics is that you usually have a page or less to talk about the issue and why it matters to you. Students also might not have a direct personal connection to such a broad topic. The goal of this essay is to reveal your critical thinking skills, but the higher-level goal of every college essay is to learn more about who you are.

Rather than go with a broad issue that you’re not personally connected to, see if there’s just one facet of it that you  can  contend with. This is especially important if the prompt simply asks for “an issue,” and not necessarily a “global issue.” While some essay prompts will specifically ask that you address a  global  issue (like Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service), there are still ways to approach it from a more focused perspective.

For example, if you were to talk about world hunger, you could start with the hunger you see in your community, which is a food desert. For your solution, you can discuss your plan to build a community garden, so the town is able to access fresh produce. Food deserts, of course, aren’t the only reason world hunger exists; so, you should also explore some other reasons, and other solutions. Maybe there is a better way to prevent and recuperate produce currently being wasted, for instance. If the prompt doesn’t specifically ask for a global issue, however, you could simply focus on food deserts.

For another example, maybe you want to talk about climate change. A more personal and focused approach would deal with happenings in your community, or a community you’ve had contact with. For instance, perhaps your local river was polluted because of textile industry waste; in this case, it would be fitting to address fast fashion specifically (which is still a global issue).

Remember your audience

As you’re approaching this essay, take care to understand the political ramifications of what you’re suggesting and how the school you’re addressing might react to it. Make sure you understand the school’s political viewpoints, and keep in mind that schools are hoping to see how you might fit on their campus based on your response.

So, if you’re applying to a school known for being progressive, like Oberlin or Amherst, you might not want to write an essay arguing that religious freedom is under threat in America. Or, if you’re applying to Liberty University, you should probably avoid writing an essay with a strong pro-LGBTQ stance. You don’t have to take the opposite position, but try picking a different issue that won’t raise the same concerns.

If you have no political alignment, choose economics

If you find yourself applying to a school with which you share no political viewpoints, you might want to consider if the school would even be a good fit for you. Why do you really want to go there? Are those reasons worth it? If you think so, consider writing about an economic issue, which tend to be less contentious than social issues.

For instance, you could write about the impact of monopolies because your parents own an independent bookstore that has been affected by Amazon. Or you could discuss tax breaks for companies that keep or move their production domestically, after seeing how your town changed when factories were moved abroad. Maybe tax filing is a cause you’re really passionate about, and you think the government should institute a free electronic system for all. No matter what you write about here, the key is to keep it close to home however you can.

Pick the best possible framing

When you’re writing an essay that doesn’t fully align with the political views of the school you’re applying to, you’ll want to minimize the gap between your viewpoint and that of the school. While they still might disagree with your views, this will give your essay (and therefore you) the best possible chance. Let’s say you’re applying to a school with progressive economic views, while you firmly believe in free markets. Consider these two essay options:

Option 1:  You believe in free markets because they have pulled billions out of terrible poverty in the developing world.

Option 2:  “Greed is good,” baby! Nothing wrong with the rich getting richer.

Even if you believe equally in the two reasons above personally, essay option 1 would be more likely to resonate with an admissions committee at a progressive school.

Let’s look at another, more subtle example:

Option 1:  Adding 500 police officers to the New York City public transit system to catch fare evaders allows officers to unfairly and systematically profile individuals based on their race.

Option 2:  The cost of hiring 500 additional police officers in the New York City public transit system is higher than the money that would be recouped by fare evasion.

While you might believe both of these things, a school that places a lower priority on race issues may respond better to the second option’s focus on the fallible economics of the issue.

Structuring the Essay

Depending on how long the essay prompt is, you’ll want to use your time and word count slightly differently. For shorter essays (under 250 words), focus on your personal connection rather than the issue itself. You don’t have much space and you need to make it count. For standard essays (250-500 words), you can spend about half the time on the issue and half the time on your personal connection. This should allow you to get more into the nuance. For longer essays, you can write more on the issue itself. But remember, no matter how long the essay is, they ultimately want to learn about you–don’t spend so much time on the issue that you don’t bring it back to yourself.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

You can Choose category

Political Science Essay Examples

Draw inspiration from your predecessors. Browse our free database of political science essays and research reports.

The complexity of our essay examples varies, but all have been checked for accuracy. Our database items have been written by the school, college, and university students.

Comprehensive database

The essay collection covers all political science topics and study fields.

Regular updates

If you haven't found the necessary example, repeat your search in several days.

Make your writing sparkle

We are glad to meet you on Politzilla.com, where you can learn from perfectly written political science essay examples. Besides, our resource features several helpful educational tools, lists of exam answers, homework solutions, professional academic assistance, and an extended multinational community.

This database will give you a second wind in creativity, enhance your writing skills, and facilitate the entire process of studying.

Most Searched Essay Topics

4,000 words

Latest Inquiries

Israel’s possession of nuclear weapon: pros and cons, effectiveness of body-worn cameras in law enforcement, american political candidates’ social media over time, the “third parties” article by kimmel & kalambakal, realism and liberalism theories of international relations, community policing in the united states, strategic significance of hr policies”, geronimo: obama’s legal authority, the celebrity political culture in the us, utilitarianism in guin’s “the ones who walk away from omelas”, joint operational training with partner forces, community-based correction facilities, operation anaconda in afghanistan: adaptation in battle, china’s politics and nationalism, aspects of the norwegian process party, gambling legalization in texas, statistical evidence is not the same as the truth, aspects of the non-government organizations, paper classifier.

We have grouped our enormous database by categories of papers to make the sample search easier and more efficient.

Our Clients Ask

How did you collect such a vast database, is the service 100% free, or will you ask me to pay for a subscription, what if i’d like to donate my writing, if there is no sample on the topic i need, can i ask for a custom-made one, what is the plagiarism level in your database papers, do you check the papers students donate.

Political Science

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you to recognize and to follow writing standards in political science. The first step toward accomplishing this goal is to develop a basic understanding of political science and the kind of work political scientists do.

Defining politics and political science

Political scientist Harold Laswell said it best: at its most basic level, politics is the struggle of “who gets what, when, how.” This struggle may be as modest as competing interest groups fighting over control of a small municipal budget or as overwhelming as a military stand-off between international superpowers. Political scientists study such struggles, both small and large, in an effort to develop general principles or theories about the way the world of politics works. Think about the title of your course or re-read the course description in your syllabus. You’ll find that your course covers a particular sector of the large world of “politics” and brings with it a set of topics, issues, and approaches to information that may be helpful to consider as you begin a writing assignment. The diverse structure of political science reflects the diverse kinds of problems the discipline attempts to analyze and explain. In fact, political science includes at least eight major sub-fields:

• American politics examines political behavior and institutions in the United States.
• Comparative politics analyzes and compares political systems within and across different geographic regions.
• International relations investigates relations among nation states and the activities of international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and NATO, as well as international actors such as terrorists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multi-national corporations (MNCs).
• Political theory analyzes fundamental political concepts such as power and democracy and foundational questions, like “How should the individual and the state relate?”
• Political methodology deals with the ways that political scientists ask and investigate questions.
• Public policy examines the process by which governments make public decisions.
• Public administration studies the ways that government policies are implemented.
• Public law focuses on the role of law and courts in the political process.

What is scientific about political science?

Investigating relationships.

Although political scientists are prone to debate and disagreement, the majority view the discipline as a genuine science. As a result, political scientists generally strive to emulate the objectivity as well as the conceptual and methodological rigor typically associated with the so-called “hard” sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, and physics). They see themselves as engaged in revealing the relationships underlying political events and conditions. Based on these revelations, they attempt to state general principles about the way the world of politics works. Given these aims, it is important for political scientists’ writing to be conceptually precise, free from bias, and well-substantiated by empirical evidence. Knowing that political scientists value objectivity may help you in making decisions about how to write your paper and what to put in it.

Political theory is an important exception to this empirical approach. You can learn more about writing for political theory classes in the section “Writing in Political Theory” below.

Building theories

Since theory-building serves as the cornerstone of the discipline, it may be useful to see how it works. You may be wrestling with theories or proposing your own as you write your paper. Consider how political scientists have arrived at the theories you are reading and discussing in your course. Most political scientists adhere to a simple model of scientific inquiry when building theories. The key to building precise and persuasive theories is to develop and test hypotheses. Hypotheses are statements that researchers construct for the purpose of testing whether or not a certain relationship exists between two phenomena. To see how political scientists use hypotheses, and to imagine how you might use a hypothesis to develop a thesis for your paper, consider the following example. Suppose that we want to know whether presidential elections are affected by economic conditions. We could formulate this question into the following hypothesis:

“When the national unemployment rate is greater than 7 percent at the time of the election, presidential incumbents are not reelected.”

Collecting data

In the research model designed to test this hypothesis, the dependent variable (the phenomenon that is affected by other variables) would be the reelection of incumbent presidents; the independent variable (the phenomenon that may have some effect on the dependent variable) would be the national unemployment rate. You could test the relationship between the independent and dependent variables by collecting data on unemployment rates and the reelection of incumbent presidents and comparing the two sets of information. If you found that in every instance that the national unemployment rate was greater than 7 percent at the time of a presidential election the incumbent lost, you would have significant support for our hypothesis.

However, research in political science seldom yields immediately conclusive results. In this case, for example, although in most recent presidential elections our hypothesis holds true, President Franklin Roosevelt was reelected in 1936 despite the fact that the national unemployment rate was 17%. To explain this important exception and to make certain that other factors besides high unemployment rates were not primarily responsible for the defeat of incumbent presidents in other election years, you would need to do further research. So you can see how political scientists use the scientific method to build ever more precise and persuasive theories and how you might begin to think about the topics that interest you as you write your paper.

Clear, consistent, objective writing

Since political scientists construct and assess theories in accordance with the principles of the scientific method, writing in the field conveys the rigor, objectivity, and logical consistency that characterize this method. Thus political scientists avoid the use of impressionistic or metaphorical language, or language which appeals primarily to our senses, emotions, or moral beliefs. In other words, rather than persuade you with the elegance of their prose or the moral virtue of their beliefs, political scientists persuade through their command of the facts and their ability to relate those facts to theories that can withstand the test of empirical investigation. In writing of this sort, clarity and concision are at a premium. To achieve such clarity and concision, political scientists precisely define any terms or concepts that are important to the arguments that they make. This precision often requires that they “operationalize” key terms or concepts. “Operationalizing” simply means that important—but possibly vague or abstract—concepts like “justice” are defined in ways that allow them to be measured or tested through scientific investigation.

Fortunately, you will generally not be expected to devise or operationalize key concepts entirely on your own. In most cases, your professor or the authors of assigned readings will already have defined and/or operationalized concepts that are important to your research. And in the event that someone hasn’t already come up with precisely the definition you need, other political scientists will in all likelihood have written enough on the topic that you’re investigating to give you some clear guidance on how to proceed. For this reason, it is always a good idea to explore what research has already been done on your topic before you begin to construct your own argument. See our handout on making an academic argument .

Example of an operationalized term

To give you an example of the kind of rigor and objectivity political scientists aim for in their writing, let’s examine how someone might operationalize a term. Reading through this example should clarify the level of analysis and precision that you will be expected to employ in your writing. Here’s how you might define key concepts in a way that allows us to measure them.

We are all familiar with the term “democracy.” If you were asked to define this term, you might make a statement like the following:

“Democracy is government by the people.”

You would, of course, be correct—democracy is government by the people. But, in order to evaluate whether or not a particular government is fully democratic or is more or less democratic when compared with other governments, we would need to have more precise criteria with which to measure or assess democracy. For example, here are some criteria that political scientists have suggested are indicators of democracy:

• Freedom to form and join organizations
• Freedom of expression
• Right to vote
• Eligibility for public office
• Right of political leaders to compete for support
• Right of political leaders to compete for votes
• Alternative sources of information
• Free and fair elections
• Institutions for making government policies depend on votes and other expressions of preference

If we adopt these nine criteria, we now have a definition that will allow us to measure democracy empirically. Thus, if you want to determine whether Brazil is more democratic than Sweden, you can evaluate each country in terms of the degree to which it fulfills the above criteria.

What counts as good writing in political science?

While rigor, clarity, and concision will be valued in any piece of writing in political science, knowing the kind of writing task you’ve been assigned will help you to write a good paper. Two of the most common kinds of writing assignments in political science are the research paper and the theory paper.

Writing political science research papers

Your instructors use research paper assignments as a means of assessing your ability to understand a complex problem in the field, to develop a perspective on this problem, and to make a persuasive argument in favor of your perspective. In order for you to successfully meet this challenge, your research paper should include the following components:

• An introduction
• A problem statement
• A discussion of methodology
• A literature review
• A description and evaluation of your research findings
• A summary of your findings

Here’s a brief description of each component.

In the introduction of your research paper, you need to give the reader some basic background information on your topic that suggests why the question you are investigating is interesting and important. You will also need to provide the reader with a statement of the research problem you are attempting to address and a basic outline of your paper as a whole. The problem statement presents not only the general research problem you will address but also the hypotheses that you will consider. In the methodology section, you will explain to the reader the research methods you used to investigate your research topic and to test the hypotheses that you have formulated. For example, did you conduct interviews, use statistical analysis, rely upon previous research studies, or some combination of all of these methodological approaches?

Before you can develop each of the above components of your research paper, you will need to conduct a literature review. A literature review involves reading and analyzing what other researchers have written on your topic before going on to do research of your own. There are some very pragmatic reasons for doing this work. First, as insightful as your ideas may be, someone else may have had similar ideas and have already done research to test them. By reading what they have written on your topic, you can ensure that you don’t repeat, but rather learn from, work that has already been done. Second, to demonstrate the soundness of your hypotheses and methodology, you will need to indicate how you have borrowed from and/or improved upon the ideas of others.

By referring to what other researchers have found on your topic, you will have established a frame of reference that enables the reader to understand the full significance of your research results. Thus, once you have conducted your literature review, you will be in a position to present your research findings. In presenting these findings, you will need to refer back to your original hypotheses and explain the manner and degree to which your results fit with what you anticipated you would find. If you see strong support for your argument or perhaps some unexpected results that your original hypotheses cannot account for, this section is the place to convey such important information to your reader. This is also the place to suggest further lines of research that will help refine, clarify inconsistencies with, or provide additional support for your hypotheses. Finally, in the summary section of your paper, reiterate the significance of your research and your research findings and speculate upon the path that future research efforts should take.

Writing in political theory

Political theory differs from other subfields in political science in that it deals primarily with historical and normative, rather than empirical, analysis. In other words, political theorists are less concerned with the scientific measurement of political phenomena than with understanding how important political ideas develop over time. And they are less concerned with evaluating how things are than in debating how they should be. A return to our democracy example will make these distinctions clearer and give you some clues about how to write well in political theory.

Earlier, we talked about how to define democracy empirically so that it can be measured and tested in accordance with scientific principles. Political theorists also define democracy, but they use a different standard of measurement. Their definitions of democracy reflect their interest in political ideals—for example, liberty, equality, and citizenship—rather than scientific measurement. So, when writing about democracy from the perspective of a political theorist, you may be asked to make an argument about the proper way to define citizenship in a democratic society. Should citizens of a democratic society be expected to engage in decision-making and administration of government, or should they be satisfied with casting votes every couple of years?

In order to substantiate your position on such questions, you will need to pay special attention to two interrelated components of your writing: (1) the logical consistency of your ideas and (2) the manner in which you use the arguments of other theorists to support your own. First, you need to make sure that your conclusion and all points leading up to it follow from your original premises or assumptions. If, for example, you argue that democracy is a system of government through which citizens develop their full capacities as human beings, then your notion of citizenship will somehow need to support this broad definition of democracy. A narrow view of citizenship based exclusively or primarily on voting probably will not do. Whatever you argue, however, you will need to be sure to demonstrate in your analysis that you have considered the arguments of other theorists who have written about these issues. In some cases, their arguments will provide support for your own; in others, they will raise criticisms and concerns that you will need to address if you are going to make a convincing case for your point of view.

Drafting your paper

If you have used material from outside sources in your paper, be sure to cite them appropriately in your paper. In political science, writers most often use the APA or Turabian (a version of the Chicago Manual of Style) style guides when formatting references. Check with your instructor if they have not specified a citation style in the assignment. For more information on constructing citations, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial.

Although all assignments are different, the preceding outlines provide a clear and simple guide that should help you in writing papers in any sub-field of political science. If you find that you need more assistance than this short guide provides, refer to the list of additional resources below or make an appointment to see a tutor at the Writing Center.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Becker, Howard S. 2007. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article , 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cuba, Lee. 2002. A Short Guide to Writing About Social Science , 4th ed. New York: Longman.

Lasswell, Harold Dwight. 1936. Politics: Who Gets What, When, How . New York: McGraw-Hill.

Scott, Gregory M., and Stephen M. Garrison. 1998. The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual , 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Politics and International Studies

Examples of essays.

Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

Systems & Services

Access Student Self Service

• Student Self Service
• Self Service guide
• Registration guide
• Libraries search
• OXCORT - see TMS
• GSS - see Student Self Service
• The Careers Service
• Oxford University Sport
• Online store
• Gardens, Libraries and Museums
• Researchers Skills Toolkit
• LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
• Access Guide
• Lecture Lists
• Exam Papers (OXAM)
• Oxford Talks

Latest student news

CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

Try our extensive database of FAQs or submit your own question...

Ask a question

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Additional menu

Student voices

Get the student perspective on life at York

Tips for writing Politics essays

15 February 2023 by Kitty

Hiya! I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! In my blog post, I share the methods I’ve developed to write a good Politics essay. Academic writing is very different to anything I had done before, and it took me a while to understand how to go about developing the correct skills.

Expectations vs reality

When I started university, I felt confident that I’d have no issues with writing essays, as it was something I was well practised in thanks to my A levels. When I received feedback suggesting that my approach to academic essays and writing wasn’t quite right, I felt my confidence waver and I was unsure how to adapt my skills. Through a bit of trial and error, I have developed an approach to essays which has drastically improved my confidence and skill.

Essay preparation

Throughout first year, I noticed that my skills improved as I read more academic articles. These exposed me to academic writing, and just through reading them for seminar work, I noticed that I was becoming more accustomed to the style. When I first started writing essays, I found looking back at articles an easy way to remind myself of the style and format.

I also started putting more effort into the formative assessments, as this is the main opportunity to receive feedback on your essay style. If the feedback is ever unclear or leaves me with questions, I make sure to go to the tutor’s feedback and guidance hours. I often find verbal discussions more useful than written feedback, so I try to make a note of any important information. This way, I am able to remind myself of what was said while I’m writing the essay.

Do some wider reading

When I plan an essay, I like to start by reading some of the key resources on the topic to ensure that I have a good understanding of the central debates. I usually look through the reading list on the VLE, as this tends to have the most relevant resources. As I’m reading these, I will make a note of the resources they reference, as this is another quick way to find the relevant texts. While reading, I make notes of any nuggets of information or quotes that I think could be useful to include in my essay. I always try to note the page numbers as I go, to save myself from having to search through again later.

Give your essay some structure

Once I feel that I have read enough resources to give me a good overview of the topic, I think of how I want to structure my essay, using the existing literature to develop my own argument. I start by creating a rough structure of the essay using bullet points and brief notes of what will be said where. I then start to expand the bullet points by adding in references to resources and my own opinion. Slowly the bullet points transform into sentences, paragraphs, sections, and eventually an essay.

Often, I find that I need to adapt the essay as I write, and I always try to leave enough time to have a few days break from it. This allows me to re-read the essay with fresh eyes. Having some distance from my work helps me identify any errors in the writing or overall structure, and gives me time to make any changes I see necessary. I also try to get a friend or family member to read over the essay to ensure it’s understandable to someone who’s not as close to the topic. This is important, as sometimes I phrase something in a way which I think is digestible, but actually isn’t very clear.

I have developed this approach to essays through a lot of trial and error, but find that a methodical and steady style works best for me.

Best of luck in your future essays!

Read more student experiences of studying Politics at York.

About Kitty

I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! I’m in my final year, and have found the course incredibly engaging and enjoyable!

Reader Interactions

16 August 2023 at 2.00 pm

this is really helpful thank you 🙂

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About this blog

These blogs represent students’ views and reflections, at the time of publish. For course details and the official information please always refer to the University of York website .

To get in contact with us about anything on this blog you can email us .

• My experience as a Social Work student
• My placement experience: highlights and reflections
• What I wish I knew before starting my placement in the Operating Theatre
• My Results Day Story
• City Guide - LGBTQ+ Safe Spaces in York

School of Social and Political Science

Essay writing.

There are no precise rules governing what makes a first class essay at undergraduate level and you are expected to improve this skill as you progress through your degree.

Nevertheless, there are certain criteria that distinguish good essays from weak ones. Of the factors listed below, planning and presentation are a necessary feature of all written work but it is what you achieve in relation to relevance, substance and argument which will affect your grade the most.

You should note that although all of the factors below are important in all essays, the significance of the criteria may vary from essay to essay, depending on the nature of the question.

All essays should be researched and planned in advance.

Work out what you want to say and how you want to say it before the essay is written.

Bad essays tend to be written at the last minute, on the basis of inadequate research and with no forethought about structure and argument.

Does the essay answer the question?

A good essay answers the question fully and concisely. All discussion in a good essay is relevant to the question. Bad essays answer the question not at all or only partially, and/or include a lot of irrelevant material.

Some guidelines to follow are:

• make sure you understand and focus on the topic set
• think about the question, and how to answer it
• when planning, writing and reviewing your essay, check the relevance of the material you want to use
• try to plan out what you want to say, and leave time for editing and if necessary redrafting

Knowledge and sources

Is the essay based on relevant reading?

A good essay displays a knowledge of relevant material gained from a variety of sources. This will include knowledge of both empirical facts (where appropriate) and the debates about them in the reading. 

There is a difference, however, between knowing facts and using them to help make an argument. Carefully select only those facts which back up and challenge your argument and then weigh them up.

Bad essays include little and/or misleading material, are based purely on one source, or consist of a mass of factual material without any analysis.

Some things to think about:

• demonstrate that you have read and understood the material relevant to the subject
• don’t be intimidated by the literature - authors often disagree and they can’t all be right, be critical, but respectful
• remember that the essay is an opportunity to express an informed opinion – yours

Are different views discussed in a detached way?

• try to identify and understand different points of view - do not present only one side of an argument
• have respect for positions you do not agree with
• do not prejudge issues
• be prepared to alter or modify your opinions
• aim to assess the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in the literature

Presentation

Is the essay legible, logical, grammatical and fluent?

• be clear and concise, avoid jargon, keep within the prescribed length
• write clearly and simply, avoid using language which is either colloquial or grandiose
• identify key ideas and arguments, and construct your essay around them write your essay with an introduction, a middle and a conclusion
• set out the issues you discuss, and how the discussion is structured
• sum up the main points at the end use separate sections and sub-headings
• where appropriate make sure your discussion flows, try reading your work aloud to make sure it makes sense
• check for spelling and grammar, and don't just rely on an automatic spell-check

Are sources cited correctly and fully?

• always give sources for the evidence and arguments you present
• use the system of referencing recommended above and always include a full bibliography (or references cited)

Full information on the lunch-time study skills sessions and other resources for study and learning may also be found via the  TLA website .

You must avoid plagiarism, which is the reproduction without acknowledgement of the whole or part of the work of another author.

Referencing and avoiding plagiarism

References are an integral part of an essay and allow you to show your intellectual debts.

You should include references systematically, to indicate the sources of the arguments and evidence presented in your work.

Referencing style

Give references as a matter of course for all quotations, but also for any important points or arguments that are based on your reading.

Most subject areas in SPS prefer the Harvard system, but check your course handbook or look in Learn for details of the appropriate referencing style to use. There can be exceptions, for example, in Canadian Studies.

You can also look at the  University’s referencing guidance  or try out  Cite Them Right , an online referencing tool.

Listing your references

An essay will normally be followed either by a list of References Cited, or a Bibliography. 

References Cited designates a complete list, in alphabetical order, of only those sources cited in the essay. 

A Bibliography, again alphabetical, will normally include both works cited and any other works you have used in preparing your essay.

You may want to check with course organisers about which (if either) is preferred.

Avoiding prejudicial language

Avoid prejudicial language. You should avoid such overtly sexist terms as the use of ‘man’ or ‘he’ when you mean to include both sexes.

Alternatives are available, such as ‘people’ for ‘man’ and ‘s/he’ or ‘they’ instead of ‘he’.

In general you should be sensitive to the assumptions embedded in language. For example, unqualified reference to ‘white’ and ‘black’ people may reflect unwarranted assumptions about the homogeneity of very diverse populations.

Talk of ‘the poor’ or ‘the unemployed’ ignores the flows of people into and out of poverty or unemployment.

Be careful not to pigeon-hole people into categories such as ‘the disabled’ or ‘the elderly’. Try to avoid expressions which may be patronising or offensive.

Pay attention to spelling and grammar. Poor spelling creates an unfavourable impression and bad grammar may make it difficult for the reader to understand your arguments.

Accuracy and clarity are important aspects of effective communication and you should take steps to recognise and remedy any problems you have with spelling and grammar.

If you have (or suspect you have) a particular difficulty, such as dyslexia, make sure you draw this to the attention of your Director of Studies as soon as possible, so that due allowance can be made.

Student Disability Service

You can also seek advice and support from the Student Disability Service .

The University's  Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment  runs lunchtime sessions in study skills in the first semester.

These cover note-taking, essay-writing, tutorial work and preparing for exams, as well as other more general problems.

For details, check the notice-boards or get in touch with the Centre.

The R.A. Butler Prize for essays in Politics and International Studies is a competition that can be entered by students in Year 12 or the Lower 6th. Candidates are invited to submit an essay on a topic to be chosen from a list of general questions announced in March each year, and to be submitted in August.

The Prize is jointly organised by Trinity College Cambridge and Cambridge University’s Department of Politics and International Studies. The Prize was established in memory of the former Master of Trinity College, Lord Butler, who most famously served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and who was responsible for the introduction of free secondary education for all students in the UK.

The objectives of the R.A. Butler Prize are twofold. Firstly, it aims to encourage students with an interest in modern politics and world affairs to think about undertaking university studies in Politics, International Studies or a related discipline; it is not limited to those already studying these subjects or indeed other social sciences. Secondly, its intention is to recognise the achievements both of high-calibre students and of those who teach them.

The questions for the 2024 competition are available here .

Format:  Essays can be up to 3,000 words, including all footnotes and references but excluding the bibliography.  It’s worth considering the use of examples in your essays: the best essays often use a diverse selection of contemporary, historical or literary examples.  We encourage you to provide references to your sources of information, and to include a bibliography at the end of the essay.  Please include your name on the document and save the file as “Surname, First name”.

Eligibility:  The Prize is for students in Year 12 or Lower 6th at the time the questions are released in March.  Students based abroad are most welcome to participate. To be eligible, you must be in your penultimate year of school. That is, to be eligible for the 2024 competition, you should be expecting to receive your final school results in the year from September 2024 to August 2025. This condition is held to strictly and, to be fair to the participants, no exceptions are made.  Each entrant to the competition is allowed to submit only one essay.

Submissions:  Essays must be submitted by 12 noon (UK time) on Thursday 1 August 2024.  Please submit essays using the form below.

Prize:  The competition carries a First Prize of £600, to be split equally between the candidate and his or her school or college (the school or college’s portion of the prize to be issued in the form of book tokens), and a Second Prize of £400, which again is to be shared equally between the candidate and his or her school or college. Winners will be announced in September, and will be invited to visit the College to meet some of the teaching staff.

Contact:  Any queries from students who may be interested in submitting work for the prize, or their teachers, should be directed to Dr Glen Rangwala by email to:  [email protected] .

About your school

Past prize-winners.

1st Prize: John Paul Cheng (Winchester College, Winchester) 2nd Prize: Fela Callahan (Harris Westminster Sixth Form, London)

1st Prize: Eunju Seo (North London Collegiate School Jeju, Republic of Korea) 2nd Prize: Luke Grierson (High Storrs School, Sheffield)

1st Prize: Saumya Nair (Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Gloucestershire) 2nd Prize (joint): Liyana Eliza Glenn (Home-schooled, UK) 2nd Prize (joint):  Amr Hamid (St Paul’s School, London)

1st Prize: Lydia Allenby (Gosforth Academy, Newcastle upon Tyne) 2nd Prize: Louis Danker (City of London School, London)

1st Prize: Matthew Gursky (Hall Cross, Academy, Doncaster) 2nd Prize: Evie Morgan (Ipswich School, Ipswich)

1st Prize: Gergely Bérces (Milestone Institute, Budapest, Hungary) 2nd Prize (joint): Tatyana Goodwin (Varndean College, Brighton) 2nd Prize (joint): Eloise George (Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge)

1st Prize: Folu Ogunyeye (Aylesbury High School) 2nd Prize: Eve McMullen (Minster School, Southwell)

1st Prize: Silas Edwards (St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, Bristol) 2nd Prize: Eliza Harry (Greene’s Tutorial College, Oxford)

1st Prize: Stephen Horvath (Westminster School, London) 2nd Prize: Grace Elshafei (Sevenoaks School, Kent)

1st Prize: Oscar Alexander-Jones (St Paul’s School, London) 2nd Prize: Sam Maybee (King Edward VI Five Ways School, Birmingham)

1st Prize: Eleanor Shearer (Westminster School) 2nd Prize (joint): Stephanie Clarke (Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School) 2nd Prize (joint): Will Barnes (Manchester Grammar School)

1st Prize: Kiah Ashford-Stow (King Edward VI School, Southampton) 2nd Prize: Jamie Sproul (Stamford School)

1st Prize: Aman Rizvi (Winchester College) 2nd Prize: Frans Robyns (Kings College School, Wimbledon)

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share via email
• previous post: Philosophy Essay Prize
• next post: Robert Walker Prize for Essays in Law

Access and Outreach Hub

Privacy overview.

• How it works

Sample Undergraduate Politics Essay

Here is a sample that showcases why we are one of the world’s leading academic writing firms. This assignment was created by one of our expert academic writers and demonstrated the highest academic quality. Place your order today to achieve academic greatness.

View a different grade

Karl Marx’s Critique of the Social Contract Theory of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke ( Study Subject – Political Thinkers )

Introduction.

In this essay, Karl Marx’s critique of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke’s Social Contract views are analyzed. In this regard, the views of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke concerning Social Contract are analyzed, and the reasons based on which Karl Marx has criticized their views of Social Contract will be identified. Moreover, analyzing Karl Marx’s views about the Social Contract and his justifications for the criticism will be outlined.

Karl Marx’s Critique of the Social Contract of Thomas Hobbes

Hobbes came forward with explaining social contract theory, where he defined it as ruler powers that cannot be challenged. Hobbes also pointed out that human beings are naturally considered selfish as they tend to do what is in their best interest. The social contract would apply only to the people and be binding towards them but not the ruler. Given this, the rulers would be free to decide what is right and wrong and have absolute power.

Moreover, according to Hobbes’s views on property, rewards, and equality, people should be rewarded equitably according to their respective abilities and capacities. Different people have different abilities and capacities, and therefore, it is ‘just’ if they are given unequal rewards. (Harrison, 2003)

As a critique of liberal theories, Karl Marx had different views on property, rewards, and equality, which Hobbes proposed. As per Marx, everyone’s moral equality should be respected by justice. If some people have life necessities that others do not have, then it amounts to injustice in moral equality.

Therefore, it is the ruler and the government’s responsibility to provide life necessities to the public without any form of discrimination. However, the social contract theory of Hobbes is discriminating. Therefore it can be considered as unjust and exploitation of human rights, particularly if the ruler or government have absolute rights without depending upon the will of people (Falaky, 2014)

Marx has criticized the social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes based on the following further points. Marx disagrees with the view of Hobbes that fear of death or severe differences compel people to form the social contract and give power to a person, an authoritative body, or a Government.

Marx suggested that forming a social contract requires people to trust the ruler. According to Thomas, people are selfish by nature; therefore, it can be argued that they are not likely to trust absolutely anyone, including the leaders, which challenges the theory’s core concepts. The literature further reveals that Marx believed that Hobbes has incorrectly analyzed human nature by thinking that selfish people can become civilized by making a contract.

Marx greatly criticizes hobbes’ view of a contract that has the binding on the ruler. As per Marx, as a liberalist, Hobbes had intentionally stated that ‘contract is not binding on the ruler.’ He probably wanted the rulers or government to have absolute rights irrespective of what the people want.

Such a contract will not be appealing to human nature and so to the people as they would not be given equal opportunities and human rights. In conclusion, Marx had greatly criticized Hobbes social contract theory where the government grants the rights of the people, and so people depend upon the will of the ruler, which is unjust (Kercher, 2004)

Karl Marx’s Critique of the Social Contract of John Locke

In the 17th century, John Locke presented a social contract view based on liberty and liberal state concepts. According to him, in the social contract, people have rights to liberty and life, but they give up their rights in return for ‘just and impartial protection’ for their government’s property.

Locke’s views were quite different regarding the nature of the relationship between people and authority. He has written two treatises related to a social contract. In his first treatise, he had explained that political authority is based on religious authority. However, in his second treatise, he had given justification for civil government as a political authority under social contract (Waldron, 2002)

According to Locke’s second treatise of government, it is something natural for humans to possess a certain kind of private property. In turn, the role of the government would be to safeguard the private properties of people. According to Locke, the property owner would have their rights upon all they have owned.

For example, if a person owns a garden and puts labour on it, it would come under his possession based upon his contribution. Eventually, all the fruits and flowers gain from this garden would belong to him only. Furthermore, Locke even commented on the freedom of human actions. He elaborated that the owners should have full rights to their property and do whatever suits them best.

Marx had a different view on private property, so he had criticized Locke’s property rights views. Marx argued that the right to the private property leads to the division of society into different social classes.

Moreover, since others can harm private property, Locke believed that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the property and its owners’ associated rights. (Falaky, 2014).

However, Marx’s view was different, as he suggested this practice would further strengthen the powerful stakeholders, leading to a way to oppress poor people. For instance, a factory owner owns the factory and enjoys all the rights and the lion’s share in the factory’s income.

Workers who work in treacherous conditions could get limited or underpaid remuneration. Marx considers this unjust, where the rich can dupe the poor and snatch all the luxury and rights. (Riley, 2006)

Thus, Marx criticized the views of Locke’s social contract as he regarded private property as a supreme right to be a part of capitalist ideology and an attempt to legitimize the exploitation of the poor working class by the rich. They could continue to do so for a long period until further human rights of the working-class residents are legitimized.

Marx also argued that the supreme rights to a private property lead to society’s division in different social classes, so it is unjust. Similarly, Marx criticized Hobbes’ social contract’s views as it will result in the rulers or government having absolute rights without depending on the ‘will of people.’ Hence, it will also be unjust and could lead to the exploitation of human rights.

Hire an Expert Custom Essay Writer

Orders completed by our expert writers are

• Formally drafted in the academic style
• 100% Plagiarism-free & 100% Confidential
• Never resold
• Include unlimited free revisions
• Completed to match exact client requirements

Falaky, F. (2014). Social Contract, Masochist Contract: Aesthetics of Freedom and Submission in Rousseau. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Harrison, R. (2003). Hobbes, Locke, and Confusion’s Empire: an Examination of Seventeenth-Century Political Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.

Kercher, J. (2004). The Social Contract and its contentious role for Rawls’s ‘Theory of Justice.’ GRIN Verlag.

Riley, P. (2006). The Social Contract and Its Critics, chapter 12 in The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought. Eds. Mark Goldie and Robert Wokler. Vol 4 of The Cambridge History of Political Thought. Cambridge University Press, pp. 347-375.

Waldron, J. (2002). God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke’s Political Thought, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the tips for writing an excellent undergraduate essay.

Tips for writing an excellent undergraduate essay:

• Understand the prompt fully.
• Conduct thorough research.
• Create a clear thesis statement.
• Organise with an introduction, body, conclusion.
• Provide evidence and examples.
• Revise for clarity and coherence.
• Proofread for errors.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

share this!

March 26, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

trusted source

Essays on democracy draw attention to critical threats, explore safeguards ahead of Jan. 6

by Tracy DeStazio, University of Notre Dame

Following the events of Jan. 6, 2021—when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to interrupt the certification process of the 2020 presidential election—experts began to question how to protect the next presidential election from a similar threat. To that end, University of Notre Dame political scientists have partnered with preeminent scholars of democracy from across the country to produce a set of recommendations to strengthen and safeguard democracy in America.

The University's Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy established the January 6th, 2025, Project in an effort to understand the social, political, psychological and demographic factors that led to that troublesome day in the capital.

By pursuing research, teaching and public engagement , the project offers insight into how American democracy got to this point and how to strengthen and protect it, while emphasizing how to prepare for a similar attack many deem imminent on Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress seeks to certify the 2024 presidential election results. The project includes 34 members who represent various disciplines and leading universities—10 of whom hail from Notre Dame's faculty.

Matthew E.K. Hall, director of the Rooney Center, said one of the project's first goals was to create a collection of essays written by its members to be included in a special issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , which was published this month. These essays aim to draw attention to the vulnerabilities in our democratic system and the threats building against it, and to create consensus on ways to remedy both problems.

The authors set out to tackle the following tough questions, but from different perspectives: How serious are the threats to our democracy, how did we get to this point, and what can we do to fix the situation? The 14 essays are broken down into categories, falling under the headings of "'Us' Versus 'Them,'" "Dangerous Ideas" and "Undermining Democratic Institutions." With most pieces being co-authored by faculty from multiple institutions, the collection offers a collaborative approach to evaluating what led America to this crisis and how to avert it.

David Campbell, director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative and the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy in the Department of Political Science, described the project as "an example of how Notre Dame can be a national leader on the issue of preserving American democracy. Not only do we have top scholars working on the issue, but we can provide a forum for a community of scholars across many leading universities. Maintaining democracy will require all hands on deck."

In the collection's introduction, Hall explained the backdrop of what led America to this point and why these essays help acknowledge the challenges we are facing as a nation.

"We are basically living through a revival of fascist politics in the U.S.," Hall wrote, "where politicians are using divisive rhetoric to separate us into an 'us' versus 'them' paradigm—left versus right, white versus Black, rich versus poor, urban versus rural, religious versus secular—the divisions go on and on."

Hall estimated that between 25 and 30% of Americans have consistently endorsed some fascist ideas such as racial oppression, conspiracy theories and authoritarianism. "Ordinarily, this consistent minority is held in check by the democratic process," Hall explained.

"These candidates don't even get nominated for major political positions because their co-partisan allies don't want to lose the general election.

"But when our politics become this intensely polarized, most partisans will support their party no matter who is nominated," he continued. "As a result, politicians pushing these fascist ideas can gain power by taking over one political party and then exploiting the polarization to win elections. Once taking power, they will likely manipulate the electoral process to remain in power."

Consequently, Hall said, fascist leaders are able to exploit these social divisions to break down basic social norms and shared understandings about American politics. This pushes huge swaths of society toward accepting dangerous ideas that would normally be rejected, such as expanded executive power, intense animosity toward political opponents, a wavering support for free speech, and political candidates who deny election losses.

This weakened support for democratic norms enables attacks on our democratic institutions, such as ignoring court rulings, enacting voter suppression laws and—most shockingly (as in the case of Jan. 6)—openly subverting elections.

With the political situation as dire as many feel it to be, the January 6th, 2025, Project's essays outline a few practical steps that can be taken to strengthen and safeguard democracy in America.

For example, Hall said, as the nation moves forward into this next election year, American voters have to stay focused on the "deliberate denial of reality" on the part of some politicians so that they can discern the difference between lies, truths and just plain distractions.

"The more we lose touch with basic facts and accept misinformation, conspiracies and contradictory claims as the norm in our society," he said, "the more vulnerable we are to losing our democracy.

"Even more importantly, we have to be willing to sacrifice short-term political gains in order to preserve the long-term stability of our democracy. That might mean holding your nose to vote for candidates that you would not otherwise support."

Hall added that Americans must redouble their devotion to democratic principles such as open elections and free speech, and states should adopt institutional reforms that remove partisans from the electoral process (for example, employing nonpartisan election commissions). He also noted the importance of paying close attention to efforts that divide groups of Americans, especially those that portray outgroup members as evil or less than human.

The members of the project hope that by honestly acknowledging the challenges our nation is facing, understanding the mistakes that were made and recognizing the vulnerabilities in our system that led us to this situation—and by resolving to fix these issues—we can pull our country's political system back from the edge of the cliff before it's too late.

"The public needs to take these critical threats seriously and we're hoping that these essays draw attention to them, and help to build consensus about the underlying problems in our politics and potential remedies," Hall concluded.

Democracy is one of several University-wide initiatives emerging from Notre Dame's recently released Strategic Framework . The Democracy Initiative will further establish Notre Dame as a global leader in the study of democracy, a convenor for conversations about and actions to preserve democracy, and a model for the formation of civically engaged citizens and public servants.

Provided by University of Notre Dame

Explore further

Feedback to editors

AI improves monsoon rainfall predictions

7 hours ago

82% of EU farm subsidies bolster high emissions foods: Study

Leaves of three, let it be? Wide variability among poison ivy plants makes identification more challenging

Golfers' risk from pesticides used on turf grass is likely low, studies find

'Frankenstein design' enables 3D printed neutron collimator

New antibiotic class effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria discovered

8 hours ago

Computational tools fuel reconstruction of new and improved bird family tree

New method reveals hidden activity of life below ground

A frozen chunk of genome rewrites our understanding of bird evolution

Engineers 'symphonize' cleaner ammonia production

Relevant physicsforums posts, how did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise' .

3 hours ago

Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

Mar 31, 2024

Interesting anecdotes in the history of physics?

The new shogun show.

Mar 29, 2024

History of Railroad Safety - Spotlight on current derailments

Mar 27, 2024

Metal, Rock, Instrumental Rock and Fusion

More from Art, Music, History, and Linguistics

Related Stories

Political rhetoric changes views on democratic principles, study finds

Oct 25, 2023

'On the brink of a new civil war': Survey highlights fragility of American democracy, stark partisan divides

Nov 3, 2022

The majority of Americans do not support anti-democratic behavior, even when elected officials do: Study

Mar 18, 2024

Preventing another 'Jan. 6' starts by changing how elections are certified, experts say

Mar 20, 2024

Report: Political violence threatens health of US democracy

Nov 7, 2023

Democratic backslide a threat to free elections globally: Report

Mar 7, 2024

Recommended for you

Your emotional reaction to climate change may impact the policies you support, study finds

Value-added tax data could help countries prepare better for crises

New study suggests that while social media changes over decades, conversation dynamics stay the same

World Happiness Report: Why we might be measuring happiness wrong

Advanced statistical analysis highlights the role of interaction between US Supreme Court judges

Let us know if there is a problem with our content.

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Essay on Politics

Essay on Politics for Students in English

Politics is a hugely important domain in the world and it has a profound impact on the functioning as well as the policies of the governments. Politics has an effect on all types of government including democratic, autocratic, monarchical, theocratic and others. The government is responsible for making decisions on different matters of public interest, issuing orders for the public health, directing the citizens towards development and growth, and performing a wide range of other related functions.

There are numerous definitions of what politics means. Politics can be described as the disagreement between the various groups on what they like. One of the broad definitions of politics, which is widely agreed, is the art of governance. The government is the entity having the legal authority of regulating people’s actions. The word politics is usually used for defining how the countries are governed and how the governments make the rules and the laws. 

Defining laws and regulations that tell people what they can or cannot do is one of the ways in which the government leads the people. These regulations and laws are enacted by the government for ensuring order and protection in the society. Beyond the laws, the government might also regulate the citizens and the functioning of the country in other ways. Most of the countries have specific groups or political parties for expressing their views and policies. 

The political parties form a consensus on the common policies or path that they should take in communicating their ideas or policies to the people. These parties support legislative bills or reforms and the candidates based on the agenda agreed upon by the members. The election is usually contested or fought between the opposite political parties of different spectrum. 

One of the conventional explanations of politics refers to politics being conducted within the system of checks and balances for avoiding misuse of political power. The several institutions that exist within the governing system include the legislative body that is responsible for making laws, executive body that imposes them, and judiciary that interprets them thus providing a powerful and well-rounded political spectrum.

If you want to study in detail about politics and its various concepts of applications for your essay in English then you can refer to it on the Vedantu website or app. Vedantu is a leading learning platform with a wide range of learning resources, tutorials, solutions, reference notes, and sample questions papers with solutions for students of different branches.

Short Politics Essay in English

Politics, in general, is the platform by which people create, maintain, and change the laws that govern their lives. As a result, conflict and collaboration are inextricably connected in politics. On the one hand, the presence of conflicting views, competing expectations, competing needs, and competing interests is expected to result in conflict over the rules under which people live.

Politics is fascinating because everyone has a different perspective on life and its rules. They have differing opinions about how they should live. What money should go to whom? What is the best way to disperse power to help the powerless? Is it better for society to be built on collaboration or conflict? And so forth. They also talk about how such disputes can be resolved. What is the best way to make decisions as a group? In what conditions does who have a say? How much say should each person have in decisions? The list goes on.

This, according to Aristotle, made politics the "master science," which he described as "the action by which human beings strive to better their lives and build and contribute to a Good Society." Politics is, first and foremost, a social practice. It's still a conversation, but the parties have reduced it to a monologue.

Any effort to grasp the sense of the word "politics" must always grapple with two major issues. The first is the different connotations that this word has in everyday speech. Unlike economics, geography, history, and biology, which most people think of as academic subjects, few people approach politics without preconceptions. The second, more complicated issue is that even well-respected authorities cannot agree about what politics is all about. It has infiltrated nearly every aspect of society.

Hence, we can say that the exercise of authority, the sacred science of governance, the making of unified decisions, the distribution of limited resources, the art of deceit and exploitation, and so on are all terms used to describe politics.

FAQs on Essay on Politics

1. How do we define politics?

Politics is the collection of activities connected with community decision-making or other types of power relations between individuals, such as resource allocation or status.

2. Name the Various national-level political parties in india.

There are several national-level political parties in India. The major ones include:

All India Trinamool Congress(AITC)

Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP)

Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)

Communist Party of India(CPI)

Communist Party of India(Marxist)

Indian National Congress(INC)

National People’s Party(NPP)

Nationalist Congress Party(NCP)

3. What is the definition of politics?

Politics has numerous definitions and explanations. In the basic broad term politics can be defined as the art of governance through a collection of activities that are associated with society, decision-making, and power relations between the individuals, like status or resource allocation. The concept of politics is very important in the governance of a country and it is an important topic related to public life that the students must learn about.

4.  Which are the different major political parties in India?

There are several major political parties in India. Some of these political parties include All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC), Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), and National People’s Party (NPP) amongst a host of others. Each of these political parties have their own political manifesto based on which they conduct their operations.

5. Why is politics an important subject for students to learn?

Politics is related to day-to-day functioning of a country or a society and thus it is important for students to learn and be well informed about it. Politics includes vital policies and decisions that have a direct impact on people and as a responsible citizen it is crucial for students to have a basic grasp of developments in the country that charts out the future path of the nation.

6. How can I prepare for an essay on politics?

If you want to write an essay on politics then you would need to prepare well by understanding the definitions and various other aspects related to politics. One of the ways you can do this is by learning and reading about politics on the internet. You can also find a detailed essay on politics for students in English at Vedantu. This essay incorporates all the important points and provides an excellent guide on how the essay should be done.

7. How can I download the English essay on politics from Vedantu?

If you want to download the English essay on Politics provided by Vedantu then you can do it from either the website or the app. All you need to do is go to the English section and browse to the essay on politics. Here you will have the “Download PDF” option and you just need to click on that button to download the English essay by Vedantu on your device for free. Once you downloaded the PDF file you can access it offline any time you want.

Indian Politics Essay

500 words essay on indian politics.

Politics, simply speaking, refers to the activities surrounding a country’s governance. In the context of a large democratic country like India, politics becomes really complicated. This Indian politics essay will throw light on the politics of India.

                                                                                                                     Indian Politics Essay

Background of Indian Politics

Politics in India, like any other democratic country, involves the ruling party and the opposition. In India, the formation of political parties has taken place on the basis of ideology. Moreover, the Indian political parties belong to the left and the right political spectrum.

Leftist politics rely on the values of secularism , liberalism, and rebelliousness. In contrast, rightist politics favour the values of being pro-government, orderly, conservative, and traditional.

There are no definitions of left-right politics anywhere in the Indian constitution. Furthermore, these terms were given by commentators, authors, and journalists. Also, it has been witnessed in India that some politicians can change their political party and ideology.

Indeed for a stable democracy , it is necessary that both political ideologies, the right and left, operate side by side. As such, some times, the country may be under rightist influence while leftist ideals may dominate at another time. The two major political parties in India, BJP and Congress, clearly demonstrate the two different political spectrums of right and left respectively.

Problem with Indian Politics

For a democracy to work properly there must be a proper demarcation between the political ideologies. However, in India, the demarcation between these ideologies tends to get blurry, thereby resulting in the superimposition of one ideology over the other. This is certainly not an indication of a mature democracy.

The political system of India suffers due to the clash of different political ideologies. Furthermore, such clashes can turn out to be quite ugly. Most noteworthy, such clashes are detrimental to the development of the country as a whole.

Various other problems affect Indian politics like hatred, injustice, corruption, greed, and bigotry. Due to all these problems, Indian politics is called a dirty game. Such problems can also force many intellectual and eminent individuals to stay away from Indian politics.

Sometimes the Indian politicians may choose a political party, not because of the ideological stance, but rather due to the winning probability in the elections. This is a really sad reality of Indian politics. Moreover, it shows that such politicians care more about their own personal interests rather than the interests of the common people.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Indian Politics Essay

Indian politics is a colourful drama and, according to some, its the great circus of the country. Despite such negative connotations, no one can doubt the enormously important role that politics has played in India. Most noteworthy, it is a crucial aspect of Indian democracy.

FAQs For Indian Politics Essay

Question 1: How many political parties are there in India?

Answer 1: According to the latest publication from the Election Commission of India, the total number of registered political parties in India is 2698. Furthermore, out of the registered political parties, 8 are national parties, 52 are state parties, and 2638 remain unrecognised. Also, registered parties that contest elections must have a symbol of their own that is approved by the EC.

Question 2: What are the two most powerful political parties in India?

Answer 2: The two most powerful political parties in India are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress or Congress or INC. Furthermore, BJP is the leading right-wing party while Congress is the leading centrist/leftist party in India.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

University of California Could Bar Political Speech on Some Web Pages

With anger rising over pro-Palestinian protests, the university’s regents are set to vote on a proposal that would draw tighter boundaries around speech.

By Vimal Patel

Israel’s bombing of Gaza is “genocidal,” according to the home page of the critical race and ethnic studies department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Such a statement would be considered political and would be prohibited, according to a new proposal by the regents of the University of California.

Under the proposal, academic departments would be barred from posting political statements on their home pages. And any political statement issued by a department — in any venue — would need to meet stricter guidelines.

The regents are considering the plan, which would apply to the U.C. system’s 10 schools, including Santa Cruz, U.C.L.A. and Berkeley.

Higher education abounds in opinions on current events, from Black Lives Matter to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, universities have been under pressure to draw tighter boundaries around speech, sometimes in ways that have alarmed supporters of academic freedom.

The state’s progressive politics have generally insulated the University of California from some of the conservative attacks on colleges. But the regents’ proposal, some faculty and students worry, could represent a turnabout, at a moment when the very language used to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deeply contested.

Many Jewish students, faculty and alumni have accused some pro-Palestinian protesters and faculty of veering into antisemitic speech. At Berkeley last month, an event featuring an Israeli speaker was canceled after a crowd of protesters broke down doors, which the chancellor, Carol Christ, described as “an attack on the fundamental values of the university.”

A political science professor at Berkeley, Ron Hassner, has organized a sit-in at his office, to protest what he says is inaction by the administration on campus antisemitism. And more than 400 professors signed a letter decrying how the university system’s ethnic studies departments posted material on their home pages that “vilifies Israel, rejects the characterization of the Hamas massacre as terrorism, and calls on the U.C. administration to ‘endorse the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions.’”

On Tuesday, Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to university officials requesting documents and information about Berkeley’s response to antisemitism on campus.

To Jay Sures, the regent who developed the proposal, prohibiting such statements on a department’s home page does not limit academic freedom. Professors and students have many other forums to express themselves, he said, but their opinions on department home pages could be misinterpreted as representing the University of California.

“The faculty can have their Twitter accounts,” Mr. Sures said at a January regents meeting. “They can do social media. They can publish peer studies. There are so many other ways.”

Some universities have already tightened their rules.

Universities have canceled or postponed speakers , tried to censor “Israelism,” a documentary critical of Israel, and suspended student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine. Last fall, Barnard College, after overhauling its website policy, removed a pro-Palestinian statement posted by its gender studies department.

There has also been an intense debate about whether universities should adopt the University of Chicago’s famous policy of “institutional neutrality,” which means that the university takes no stance on issues that are not central to the university’s functions.

The debate at the University of California isn’t quite that. The president, board chair and others speaking as the official voice of the university would not be affected by the regents’ proposal.

In fact, a university statement sparked the tussle between Mr. Sures and the ethnic studies faculty.

On Oct. 9, Michael V. Drake, the president of University of California, and Richard Leib, the board chair, issued a statement condemning the Hamas attack as “terrorism” and “sickening and incomprehensible.”

A week later, the university’s ethnic studies council, which represents hundreds of the discipline’s faculty members across the system, objected , writing in a letter that the official statement lacked “a full understanding of this historical moment” and contributed to anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiments.

“We call on the U.C. administrative leadership to retract its charges of terrorism, to uplift the Palestinian freedom struggle, and to stand against Israel’s war crimes against and ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people,” the council said.

Mr. Sures called the letter “appalling and repugnant.”

He responded that he would do everything in his power “to protect our Jewish students, and for that matter, everyone in our extended community from your inflammatory and out of touch rhetoric.”

The U.C. system had already considered the issue of political statements. In 2022, an academic freedom committee argued against the prohibition of department political statements.

Departments, the report said, should instead create guidelines about when to issue statements, be transparent about whose views are represented, and also consider whether they could chill the speech of those who disagree.

For now, political statements are allowed so long as they don’t veer into electoral politics.

But the regents' proposal would limit department home pages to day-to-day operations, which include course descriptions, upcoming events and the release of new publications.

Opinions would be allowed on other university websites. But any political declaration would need a disclaimer, stating that the views are not necessarily that of the university’s.

The regents’ proposal adopts other recommendations of the 2022 academic freedom report. It would mandate that department members vote before issuing a political statement, with ballots collected anonymously to protect dissenting opinions. Departments would need to create and post guidelines about the process.

The proposal did not assuage the concerns of many faculty members, who say it was politically motivated.

The regents proposal “delegitimizes the work that we do in ethnic studies,” said Felicity Amaya Schaeffer, the department chair at Santa Cruz.

The ethnic studies department’s statements, she said, are “based on the academic expertise of almost all of us at the department and especially our faculty who work on Palestine.”

James Steintrager, the chair of the university’s academic senate, worried that the proposal is an invitation for outsiders to police academia.

“It’s not only about straightforwardly political statements about some world events,” he said in an interview, “but also about things like climate change, vaccine science, things like that.”

But Ty Alper, a Berkeley law professor who led the academic freedom committee in 2022, was pleased that the proposal adopted its recommendations. Mr. Alper said he was less focused on rules about department home pages.

“I’m more concerned,” he said, “with ensuring that faculty have the individual and collective right to issue statements on matters of interest.”

Vimal Patel writes about higher education with a focus on speech and campus culture. More about Vimal Patel