Essay Questions

Essay 2

Instructions

Your essay is due on Friday, November 15, 2019 by 4:30 p.m. in the African Government basket hanging on my RAJ office door.

It should not exceed 1,500 words (excluding cover page and bibliography), using the following format:

  • cover page with title, your name, the course number, the Professor’s name and the date. Please write and sign the Honor Pledge on this cover page.
  • Your essay with page numbers and NO headers or footers containing your name (for name-blind grading).
  • Your bibliography, properly formatted (check your list of required readings and articles from the syllabus for formatting suggestions. If referring to class discussion, make sure the date is specified).
  • Sources from outside the course are not permitted. Instead, make maximum use of the various sources with which you have been presented in this seminar, thus far.
  • Please double-space your paper.
  • Please report your word count at the end of the paper.

Cautioning You against Common “Traps”

  1. Make time for proofreading your work.
  2. Check your word processor and printer ahead of time to avoid last-minute technological mishaps (they tend to happen when you least need them).
  3. Check your spelling and grammar before printing out the final version of your essay.
  4. Avoid the temptation of playing tricks with the specified format. It is risky (i.e., you lose points), as the tricks are more visible than the writer may realize.
  5. Plagiarism is a serious offense at Middlebury College. Make sure you avoid this “trap.” If you have questions about what may constitute plagiarism on any of your written assignments, speak to the Professor or consult the Middlebury Handbook.
  6. Your essay is due on November 15, 2019 by 4:30 p.m. Late work will be penalized. Without a Dean’s excuse, no extension will be granted. Please DO NOT ASK.

GRADING CRITERIA

This paper will be graded principally on the criteria laid out in the essay self-evaluation forms distributed in class.

A-range papers are those papers that are simply excellent. They indicate full mastery of the subject and are exceptionally well written. In other words, they are not common.

B-range work indicates a good comprehension of the course material, good writing style, and good understanding of the question addressed. That is, B papers are good papers.

C-range papers demonstrate adequate comprehension of the course material but fail to convey the student’s understanding of the question asked, including the criteria specified above. With reasonable work and effort, C papers have the potential to turn into B-quality papers.

D papers indicate minimal command of the course materials, minimal comprehension of the question asked, multiple grammatical errors and, generally, sloppy work. D papers are unsatisfactory.

F papers fail to address the question altogether or are simply unacceptably late.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

Please answer one of the following questions:

  1. Aid is an increasingly controversial topic. Do you think that aid has done more harm than good in Sub-Saharan Africa? If so, should aid be done away with, as Dambisa Moyo suggests, or should we re-think aid so that it better accomplishes its putative development goals? In answering these questions, be sure to justify your answer using insights from this seminar’s various sources.

2. Democracy works well, if imperfectly, for many societies. For this reason (and many others) the post-Cold War era has been about spreading democracy. What makes liberal democracy a challenge in multiple parts of Sub-Saharan Africa? In light of existing challenges, do you think other regimes should be attempted to make life better for so many Africans? If so, let your imagination run wild and think of and alternative model of governance. Please justify your choice.

Questions? Doubts? Come and see me.

Enjoy your writing!