Constructing and defending a policy paper is an appropriate way to test your comprehension of the subject matter. Thus, rather than taking a final examination for this course, you will demonstrate your grasp of the topics through a policy paper. Please choose a terrorist organization to analyze and prepare a proposed solution to this organization. This paper must include a brief history, goals, and methods of a terrorist group, and a proposed solution to that group’s terrorism, and to show capability in researching and presenting findings and proposals in a logical and coherent manner.
The final assessment for this course is designed to address the following subset of course objectives:
use effective writing, research, analysis, advocacy, and coalition-building skills to develop and influence policy at the national and international levels
evaluate the threat of terrorism to the public and private sectors to improve offensive and defensive planning
construct a defeat strategy for a terrorist threat based on its attending characteristics: centers of gravity, critical vulnerabilities, and strategic seams
Research Paper
This research paper project is divided into five stages, each of which is graded separately and required in order to receive a passing grade in the course. The purpose behind dividing the paper into four checkpoints is that it encourages you to work on it throughout the term and to ensure that the group chosen is acceptable to the instructor.
Topic Selection/Thesis Statement
Choose a topic based on the above information and write a thesis statement summarizing the main argument you will be making in your final paper. This may change as you move forward, but it will be your general road map.
Annotated Bibliography
Provide a list and brief description of at least six sources that you have identified for the paper. Two of these must be a primary source document and two must be an academic journal article. These should be specific sources, not just places where you can find sources. The goal here is to see that you have dug in a bit and actually found something that pertains to the issue you will be researching.
Abstract
Prepare a short abstract (less than one page) with a brief overview of your paper and a summary of the main arguments of your paper.
Final Paper
The final paper must contain 10-12 full pages of content, double-spaced, with standard 1inch margins and 12-point standard font. You must use APA or Chicago/Turabian style for citations. All papers must use a minimum of five primary and five secondary sources. You may use the sources assigned for this course, but you may not count them toward the minimum sources for your project. At least two of your secondary sources must be academic journal articles.
Your paper should have a minimum of 10 sources, five primary and five secondary sources. (If you are unfamiliar with this distinction, check out the information here: http://subjectguides.library.american.edu/primary .) Restrict your sources to newspaper articles from major national and international papers, published journals and magazine articles, academic sources, and websites from major organizations and government agencies. Course materials may be used as a reference, but it does not count toward the minimum number of sources. Encyclopedias and dictionaries are not appropriate sources for college level work. Online sources are fine, but they must be authoritative sources. Wikipedia, About.com, and other nonacademic websites are not acceptable sources. (Bear in mind that anyone can submit an article to Wikipedia