bravo for brevity: using short paper assignments in international relations classes

Bravo for Brevity:Using Short Paper Assignments in

International RelationsClasses*

SAMUEL LUCAS MCMILLAN

Lander University

This paper examines the use of short writing assignments in undergrad-uate international relations courses. It gives instructors ideas aboutthinking beyond traditional research papers and instead focuses onshorter assignments that demand critical thinking skills. The ability towrite concisely is useful for students with future careers in government,business, nonprofits, journalism, electoral politics, or academia. Byrequiring application of theoretical frameworks (perhaps as policy rec-ommendations in a memo), students can see how policymakers employinternational relations theories, thereby simulating the work inside theNational Security Council or US State Department. This highlights theconnections between theory and policy. Short papers can also bettershowcase role playing and connect with active learning techniques.Research papers of 10 pages or more may not be as useful as shorterassignments that focus students’ attention on analyzing an issue, present-ing a case study, or writing a policy brief.

Keywords: writing assignments, role playing, teaching, simula-tions

For too long, students in higher education have been expected to write a 10-page research paper for many undergraduate political science courses. Bob(2001) notes that the “method of choice for many instructors is the termpaper.”1 Instead of traditional research paper assignments, shorter writing assign-ments may serve the same purposes of encouraging students to develop criticalthinking skills, conduct research, and provide evidence to support their argu-ments. The ability to write in a concise fashion is a useful skill for students withfuture careers in government, business, nonprofits, journalism, electoral politics,or even academia.2 Professional positions in these fields are much more likely torequire persons to write memos, letters, policy briefs, and articles rather than fullresearch papers. Some examples include Congressional staffers writing letters to

*Author’s note: The author thanks the editors and anonymous reviewers for their help in improving thismanuscript.

1Although some faculty members have gone away from the 10-page research paper, it remains the default writ-ing assignment model. For example, Bob (2001) discusses undergraduate writing assignments and says that his tem-plate of instructions is appropriate “for a 10- to 15-page research paper” (653), and Josefson (2005) discusses hisown 10-page essay assignment used in introductory classes for eight years.

2For example, the first two basic tools of writing in Writing Classified and Unclassified Papers for National Security

are clarity and conciseness (Major 2009:4–7).

McMillan, Samuel Lucas. (2014) Bravo for Brevity: Using Short Paper Assignments in International RelationsClasses. International Studies Perspectives, doi: 10.1111/insp.12003� 2013 International Studies Association

International Studies Perspectives (2014) 15, 109–120.

constituents outlining the reasons behind a Senator’s vote; nonprofit leadersinvolved in grant-writing exercises; journalists being told to only convey the mostimportant elements of the relevant history and policy proposals related to astory; or campaign staff being asked to write memos articulating a new electoralstrategy and the reasons behind such a change.Shorter assignments may also allow instructors to better teach students how to

apply theories as well as more adequately examine policy-making processesthrough role playing and connect to active learning techniques. All ideas forshort writing assignments in this paper ask students to write to a “real audiencethat has a genuine need for information” (Center for Teaching and Learning,Stanford University 2009), a key ingredient in convincing students of the rele-vancy of politics and particular assignments. As a recent article about the Ameri-can Political Science Association makes clear (Jaschik 2009), there are manydebates about how to make political science more relevant and interesting forundergraduates.Although research papers of 10 pages or more still have a place in some

courses, instructors should consider shorter assignments as an alternative or acomplement to term papers. Today’s students do not have enough experiencein formal writing and need to understand why writing skills are imperative formost professions. Shorter writing assignments offer a practical connection withmany careers and can build skills in both writing and critical thinking becausestudents will have to rigorously examine what language is needed to constructan argument that is supported by evidence. Unlike the term paper that mayinvite some students to take a casual attitude in what research is cited, shorterpapers demand that students thoroughly examine the research possibilities andonly employ the best evidence to support their arguments in a concise way. Infact, shorter pieces give students less ability to insert opinion into their papersbecause they must stick to presentation of pertinent data and evidence neededto cover a topic or assess an issue.As with longer research papers, these writing assignments should require that

students move beyond comprehension of material into higher levels of thinkingin Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy, specifically application, analysis, synthesis, and eval-uation. Synthesis and evaluation are particularly critical since—given the lengthof the paper—students must weave together arguments and make judgments onthe best evidence that can be harnessed to support the thesis as well as makeassessments and recommendations in those papers with a policy connection.Thus, if students learn to write well with shorter assignments, these exercisescould become a good step in learning to write much longer pieces.Especially in international relations courses—where instructors strive to make

both the subject matter and the theories relevant—shorter assignments providesignificant advantages. This paper explores the relevant literature, reviews thebenefits of this type of assignment, and then provides many examples of writingassignments for a variety of courses in international relations. It also seeks toplace these assignments in a setting in which these topics can be critically evalu-ated and tied to course objectives.

The Literature

Writing assignments should always aim to heighten student learning, and shortpapers have practical benefits for undergraduates. Zeiser (1999) recommendsthe use of short writing assignments, but promotes the idea of requiring severalpapers throughout a semester. Multiple short paper assignments may increasestudents’ overall knowledge base because they would have to investigate differenttopics throughout a semester rather than become engaged in one specified areaof research. Lower-level courses that seek to build more foundational knowledge

110 Short Paper Assignments in International Relations Classes

across a discipline may therefore find short paper assignments particularlyuseful. But short writing assignments can also stand alone and still provideadvantages to students. Selcher (2005), for example, provides good ideas forshort writing assignments in which students utilize the Internet as a researchtool. In all these cases, Bob (2001) reminds instructors to provide “explicit, writ-ten instructions with examples” when making writing assignments. He also saysexamples of good work are encouraged (653). Although most assignment ideasprovided in this paper will produce argumentative essays (one way of enhancingcritical thinking skills), short paper assignments can also be framed as reflectiveessays, a tactic that Josefson (2005) says produces a more evaluative exploration.Carlson (2009), for example, describes his three- to five-page essays that ask stu-dents “what’s in your closet?” to better understand globalization, internationalpolitical economy, or international relations.Of course, short papers can also present some problems. Shorter papers—

especially when used in a stand-alone fashion—may be seen by students as aninvitation to shy away from significant research. Therefore, it is imperative forinstructors to put parameters on the number and kinds of sources to be utilized.One idea is to require students to create a list of works cited and works con-sulted in their bibliographies. Another option is to require students to turn in apreliminary bibliography with a larger number of sources than is demanded inthe final paper (Williams, Goodson and Howard 2006:526). Writing assignmentsthat are shorter in length should not be a license for undergraduates to shirkthe necessity for research and/or instructors to put less emphasis on developingstudents’ research skills.3 Another problem is that instructors may be tempted toallow students to go beyond the specified parameters and write longer papers.These requests will likely come from high-achieving students, perhaps future aca-demics. However, instructors should resist these appeals and encourage studentsto better summarize their research findings and choose the best sources to sup-port their arguments. As Sherman and Waismel-Manor (2003) contend, we mustbe “teachers of writing and political science” (755).Shorter writing assignments should not be relegated only to courses in interna-

tional relations or even to political science as a whole. For example, Stanford(1992) promotes the use of short papers in public administration courses. Oneexample of an assignment for an American politics course is to have students writea film review analyzing a movie about the presidency or a particular president. Stu-dents would write a four-page paper in which they assess the selected movie’s storyline and evaluate how the film presents the formal, constitutional powers of thepresident as well as his informal powers, such as shaping public opinion.Other disciplines can also use short papers. History students might be asked

to write a letter from Otto von Bismarck; biology students might be asked towrite a report for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;education students could be asked to draft a speech for an elementary schoolprincipal to give to a parents’ group; and business students could be asked towrite a report for a company’s board of directors.Wade (1995) explains that she uses short papers in introduction to psychology

courses to inspire more critical thinking. With short writing assignments, sheencourages her students to critically examine evidence, analyze assumptions, andavoid simplification. Davis (2009:318–320) recommends using several shortpapers in classes and provides a comprehensive list of alternatives to the tradi-tional term paper. Angelo and Cross (1993:177–180) describe an analytic memoassignment that is similar to some shorter writing assignments the author wouldadvocate. The analytic memo, however, is shorter (two pages) and does not seem

3Williams, Goodson, and Howard (2006) and Davis (2009:316–318) overview ways to encourage students’research skills.

SAMUEL LUCAS MCMILLAN 111

to be as oriented toward research as much as the assignments promoted in thispaper. Angelo and Cross note that this type of assignment works well in disci-plines such as economics, education, environmental studies, management, politi-cal science, public health, and sociology. They also explain that this could beexpanded into a longer memo. They suggest dividing students into policyanalysts and policymakers and write that instructors should “have the policy mak-ers respond, in memo format, to the policy analysts’ memos” (Angelo and Cross1993:179). This would seem to lead the class toward the atmosphere of a simula-tion and benefit learning.Pernecky (1993), Chizmar and Ostrosky (1998), and Orr (2005) are among

many others who argue that very short reaction papers or one-minute papers areuseful for students’ comprehension of course material. This may be true, butone-minute reaction papers and 10-page research papers are not instructors’only choices. This paper contends that short writing assignments of three to sixpages can be carefully connected to developing students’ research skills. What-ever the required length, paper assignments should tie to course objectives, bewell defined for students, and encourage learning (see Davis 2009:314–332).This section therefore demonstrates that instructors across many disciplines—especially the social sciences—can use short writing assignments. We now turn tothe five benefits of using shorter writing assignments in classes.

Benefit 1: Emphasizing International Relations Theory

Students should be slowly introduced to international relations (IR) theories sothat they can find them accessible and relevant. If students are taught early onto figure out why they think what they think about politics and what assumptionsthey are making, they can then begin to look at world politics within a more ana-lytically driven framework. Teaching IR theories such as realism, liberalism, andconstructivism always provides its challenges, whether in introducing students tothese perspectives, asking upper-level students to describe the evolution and vari-ants of these theories, or requiring students to correctly identify competingexplanations about how the world works. After students have sufficiently demon-strated their ability to understand the basic concepts and assumptions of theoriesthrough tests and/or writing assignments, a short writing assignment can beused to help move students into higher levels of learning by requiring correctapplication of IR theories. Souva (2007) suggests having students write out theassumptions for their arguments, a useful requirement of students before theybegin writing short papers in which they apply a theory.For example, an instructor could grade students on their ability to identify a

theory and correctly apply it by utilizing key assumptions and concepts to addressa particular topic. This assignment would not require a student to describe a the-ory at length (an objective assessed earlier), but instead apply a theoretical frame-work and gather appropriate empirical evidence, a crucial part of the writingprocess. Students could also be asked to analyze a specific problem using a partic-ular theory. This assignment might be constructed as a policy recommendationand students could more adequately replicate how policymakers employ IR theo-ries. Another possibility is to ask students to address a specific topic and brieflyanalyze it using two competing theories. As Stephen Walt (2005) argues,

Many policy debates ultimately rest on competing theoretical visions, and relyingon a false or flawed theory can lead to major foreign policy disasters. Theoryremains essential for diagnosing events, explaining their causes, prescribingresponses, and evaluating the impact of different policies. (23)


It is imperative for undergraduates to learn the basics of IR theories because theyare likely to already share some key assumptions of one or more theories. Shorterpapers can also have students address their reasoning for choosing a specific levelof analysis. If students are taught to recognize the importance of theories and aresearcher’s choice of level of analysis—as Singer (1961) explains—this willheighten their ability to analyze and critique today’s news reports and political sci-ence scholarship.Therefore, depending upon course objectives, short papers may be used as

complements to longer writing assignments or as an alternative to them. Thosecourses whose primary objectives include theory-building may have to use severalshort papers or assign a short paper to complement a longer research paper.Those courses in which theory development and learning is a secondary goalmay be able to use short writing assignments that require research as an alterna-tive to a term paper.

Benefit 2: Connecting Theory and Policy

Many academics bemoan the large divide between the academic and policyworlds within the United States (George 1993; Walt 2005, 2009; Krasner, Nye,Gross Stein, and Keohane 2009; Nye 2009). The rift between the WashingtonBeltway and the academy has been present for many years, and both communi-ties look down on the other with disdain. This mutual disrespect is due to differ-ent subcultures and professionalization, but also because some policymakers donot find certain theories useful (George 1993). Elegant, simplistic theories donot help policymakers weighing many causal variables. Other factors for thisdivide are the incentives for academics to publish in scholarly journals ratherthan policy-oriented outlets, and the lack of incentives in providing service togovernment agencies (Nye 2009; Walt 2009). In fact, Nye (2009) argues that USacademics—as good citizens—have an “obligation to help improve on policyideas when they can,” contending that this exercise will “enrich academic work.”This can be applied to undergraduates whose interests can be sparked by writingassignments that are relevant and substantively structured to mirror policy-mak-ing processes.The editors of the 2008 Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP)

survey note that almost 40% of the 2,700 survey respondents say that scholarshave “no impact” on foreign policy or public discourse. In fact, the editors beginan article with the statement, “The walls surrounding the ivory tower have neverseemed so high,” (Maliniak, Oakes, Peterson, and Tierney 2009). This connectswith Siegelman’s (2006) finding that the American Political Science Review has notbeen actively contributing to public dialogue and policy prescription in a largeway for many decades. Even if the gap is due to the complexities of the policy-making process as well as the problems facing policymakers, as Krasner (2008)asserts, the divide remains in place.Thus, instructors need to create assignments that put students in touch with

policy-making dilemmas to heighten critical thinking skills and experience thetypes of tasks required of analysts. Shorter writing assignments, such as policybriefs, allow instructors to more adequately show connections between theoryand policy. This means, of course, that students must understand IR theoriesprior to an assignment in which they would connect theory and policy. Morepolicy-related assessments also better emulate the work of staff at the USDepartment of State, National Security Council (NSC), think tanks, or intergov-ernmental organizations. Even if the policy world does not like to use the word“theory” to think about a framework for inquiry (George 1993), it is necessary todemonstrate how theories matter.


Benefit 3: Teaching Role-Playing

Simulations are not the only way to use (and teach) role playing. Writing assign-ments can require role playing, whether in asking students to write from theperspective of a certain type of individual or by requiring students to write to aspecific audience. Role playing requires students to think in new ways and with adistinctive approach. These active learning activities may require students to putaway their own bias about a topic, another way to enhance critical thinking.4 Forsome assignments, it may help students to write in single-spaced format and cre-ate a hypothetical letterhead in order to enhance role playing.5

Sherman and Waismel-Manor (2003) agree with this approach. They contendthat assignments which ask students to write within hypothetical political scenar-ios will “help students both master the subject matter and develop their writingskills” (755). These authors use assignments requiring students to write as jour-nalists, campaign managers, politicians, interest groups, and/or bureaucrats.Importantly, these assignments can amplify students’ excitement about politics.This may be done by allowing students some choice in determining their ownrole or by requiring students to write from a role that would disagree with theirpredisposed conclusion about an issue.Since many simulations require students to write multiple papers, it is impor-

tant to recognize that short papers work well in these environments. Theauthor’s own experience includes having students write short papers to analyzethe particular role they have been assigned to play, followed by policy recom-mendation memos and formal resolutions put before a group that the class issimulating, such as the United Nations Security Council.

Benefit 4: Better Writing

Shorter assignments are also useful when teaching how to write persuasively. Thebest argued papers, of course, address alternative arguments directly. Criticalthinking involves analyzing situations, evaluating arguments and counterargu-ments, and synthesis (Meyers 1986). Consequently, writing assignments of anylength that require students to analyze information and roles, assess variousapproaches or policy recommendations, and synthesize research can help stu-dents move into higher levels of thinking. Pedagogical benefits also emerge fromhaving to write to different audiences. Students must be taught to “not onlythink about who they are writing to but how the situation and context in whichthe audience participates will affect the message” (Pope-Ruark 2011:3).Perhaps students should be taught to realize that every word is critical, like a

newspaper journalist. Copyeditors routinely hassle reporters by cutting thelength of their drafts. Many academics—including the author—have trouble pre-senting a thesis, arguments and evidence, and concluding an essay in a concisemanner. As experienced instructors know, some undergraduate students areexcited when papers have specified word lengths, but others worry that they willnot be able to stick to the guidelines because they have difficulty deciding thebest reference materials to include. These are important skills to learn.Ehrenhalt (2003) says, “A political scientist is somebody who knows all the

right questions but has trouble getting the answers. A reporter is somebodywho’s great at getting answers but has no idea what the questions are.” Even ifonly somewhat true, learning brevity is an advantage for many careers. Oneexample of a very short paper assignment is an op-ed essay, a piece usually

4See Amoore and Langley (2001) for more benefits of simulations and role playing.5All page requirements in the short writing assignments described in this paper are for double-spaced text, even

if the author usually asks for single-spaced text to better replicate government memos or policy briefs. These pagelimits do not include those pages needed for a bibliography.


limited between 600 and 750 words. Although published op-ed essays do notusually have sources included, instructors could compel students to includeendnotes on a separate page.By using short writing assignments with real-world connections, these assess-

ments also may fit in to writing across the curriculum (WAC) programs, even ifsome scholars doubt the tangible benefits of such programs (see Boomgard2007). Explicit guidelines for these assignments may not be enough, however.Bob (2001) recommends using writing workshops with undergraduate courses.Workshops in which classmates provide feedback about content and editingwould be useful with short assignments because some students contend thatshorter page limits make assignments tougher.Shorter papers could provide instructors with the ability to nurture students’

writing and their progress in making revisions. The author’s use of short paperssuggests that multiple short papers may sometimes be better than a paper of 10pages or more. As mentioned above, this is particularly true in courses with sim-ulations where students write policy briefs with pros and cons, submit formal res-olutions for debate, or author memos detailing policy recommendations.

Benefit 5: More Career-Oriented

Shorter writing assignments may also more accurately portray the writing tasksfaced by new employees. Few fields require papers of 10 pages or more. Instead,shorter memos, letters, briefs, and reports are expected tasks. New employeesare much more likely to have to delve into research and create a pros and conslist for a supervisor, overview the costs and benefits of a new business or cam-paign strategy, or provide a snapshot of how government or nonprofit servicescould be improved given policy alterations. All of these types of assignmentsrequire research and critical thinking, but supervisors do not expect exhaustivedetail; rather, they only need the “executive summary” of the report. Some schol-ars, such as Stanford (1992), and institutions already recognize that writingassignments for public administration courses should require short lengths andconcise presentation because this connects with the real work within the publicsector (University of Victoria 2012).Another benefit is that many applications for undergraduate internships and

competitive scholarships request a short writing sample. Rather than having toprepare a special paper for these opportunities, students with shorter pieceswould have an advantage in applying for scholarships, internships, as well as per-manent employment. As indicated earlier, one example of a short paper assign-ment is an op-ed essay. Since instructors could encourage those students withthe best essays to submit them for review, publication success may have benefitsrelated to finding an internship or job. Skills that accentuate a student’s real-world connections are always valuable.These short writing assignments can also be tied to student-directed research.

Therefore, they do not simply build on understanding of material and self-reflec-tion like short reaction papers, but instead encourage students to continue todevelop those traits required for successful careers: an investigative mind thatexamines evidence, analyzes assumptions, avoids oversimplification, and toleratesuncertainty (Wade 1995).

Examples of Short Paper Assignments

The following sections overview specific assignments that instructors might usein lower-level or advanced courses. Following the ideas for paper assignmentsare the student learning benefits that have come from the author’s use of suchpapers in the past.


Introduction to World Politics (100- or 200-level)

Students write a four-page paper in which they request funding from theFord Foundation to support the work of a humanitarian non-governmentalorganization (NGO) of their choosing. Each student will (i) pick a humanitarianNGO; (ii) learn about its history, roles, work, and funding needs; and (iii) writea letter that requests funding from the Ford Foundation to support a projectwithin the NGO’s mission. This paper will be written as a letter and will requirestudents to describe the work of the NGO as well as make arguments about whyits work is crucial to world politics. The student must back up the argumentspresented with evidence from relevant research.Writing a paper requesting funding of one NGO from another encourages stu-

dents to think about and debate what realism and liberalism have to say aboutthe importance of different actors in world politics, a key course objective. Forexample, student discussions included remarks that the students who had trou-ble explaining the effectiveness and impact of their chosen NGO may operatewithin a realist framework. Another course objective is for students to recognizethat different theoretical perspectives affect what we see and learn, and thereforehow we interpret what happens in world politics. This is also highlighted. Stu-dents who are not majoring in political science have been drawn to this assign-ment. For example, business students have appreciated the NGO “grant-writingexercise,” and all students have been reminded that work in many fields requiresemployees to be familiar with requesting funds from others.

International Political Economy (200- or 300-level)

A paper assignment asks students to write a five- to six-page paper from theperspective of a political consultant to either a current US Senator seekingre-election or a US Senate candidate. Students are asked to choose a US state,identify the ways in which it is affected by globalization, and examine issuesconnected with two more contexts of globalization—whether economic, environ-mental, military, political, social, or cultural in nature. The paper must be writ-ten as a letter and address the ways in which US domestic and internationalpolitics are intertwined due to globalization. It should analyze a few issues (rank-ing them in importance) and provide policy recommendations backed up byresearch to the politician about how to approach these issues and explain themto the public. This writing assignment connects to two course objectives: (i) rec-ognizing the many intermestic issues that emerge in the globalized world andevaluating related policy-making problems, and (ii) explaining the forces andprocesses behind globalization and the role of the United States.Depending on the level of this course, instructors may want to pair students

together to conduct research.6 This is meant to strengthen the quality ofresearch in all papers. Although partners could work together on research, eachstudent should determine his or her own ranking of the issues and develop hisor her own arguments about how to advise the politician. Students who havewritten this paper indicate a greater ability to understand how different politicaland economic environments affect the prioritization of issues. Students also saythat this assignment highlights the many contexts of globalization and howdifferent political environments are affected by globalization.

6Data in tables and graphs could be attached as an appendix, so the page limit is for text only.


International Relations Theory (300-level)

This paper requires students to choose a topic that they believe to be the mostpressing issue in contemporary world politics and write a letter either to the USPresident or UN Secretary-General, arguing why and how either the UnitedStates or United Nations should address this issue. After picking a topic, studentsdetermine their role for this assignment and write a letter to their chosenofficial. These five- to six-page papers must offer some policy solutions and backup the student’s arguments with evidence. For a superb example of a memo writ-ten in this way, see Haass (2008).This assignment follows several other assessments in which students must dem-

onstrate theoretical learning and their understanding of theory building. Thisassignment therefore requires students to apply their theoretical understandingin terms of (i) the actors in world politics, particularly nation-states and intergov-ernmental organizations; (ii) interdependencies and how they shape actors’behavior; and (iii) concepts such as multilateralism, unilateralism, power, andlegitimacy. Ideas about actors, interdependencies, and these concepts all havetheoretical applications to the primary theoretical traditions and their variants.Thus, students are expected to name the theoretical tradition in which theyoperate and write a paper that remains logically consistent within this frame-work. Souva (2007) contends that an argument outline can help students withthe comprehension of theories. In one of his exercises, students are asked toread an article and “outline its argument by listing the key premises and ahypothesis that follows from these premises” (Souva 2007:560). Using this exer-cise a month prior to the deadline for this particular paper assignment wouldlikely enhance student learning and performance.Students’ letters to either the US President or UN Secretary-General easily

converge with discussions about the following topics: the role of the UnitedStates in the world (a course objective); the future of American power or that ofnation-states such as China; the role of the United Nations in resolving humansecurity issues; and democratization processes. Therefore, this paper assignmentnicely bridges with many topics and also relates to two additional course objec-tives: application of IR theories and evaluation of solutions to policy-makingproblems.

American Foreign Policy (300- or 400-level)

One assignment idea for this course is for students to pick a contemporary issueand prepare a foreign policy briefing paper and presentation.7 These assign-ments describe the pertinent facts as well as provide analysis and policy recom-mendations for a hypothetical audience to consider. Students decide theirtopics, roles, and the audience for their briefing and make oral presentations tothe class. Each student will therefore (i) write a six-page paper (ii), make aneight- to 10-minute presentation, and (iii) serve as an audience member forother classmates by asking questions after presentations.

• Examples of topics: US National Security Council (NSC) official briefingthe National Security Adviser on why rebel groups may take control ofparts of Syria; Brookings Institution scholar giving testimony before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee on why the US Agency for Interna-tional Development (USAID) should support food relief in Ethiopia;

7Many of these assignments have a policy edge to them, so instructors may want to review Web sites updatedwith briefing papers such as the Foreign Policy Association (http://www.fpa.org), Council of Foreign Relations(http://www.cfr.org), and reports in the Foreign Press Center at the US Department of State (http://fpc.state.gov/) aswell as policy-oriented periodicals such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy.


NGO official asking a foundation for funds to teach Africans how to carefor their children.

• Examples of roles: US State Department official; Ambassador to the UnitedNations; Member of Congress; Senior Fellow at the American EnterpriseInstitute

• Examples of audiences: Congressional subcommittee; National Press Club;board of directors of an NGO

Other ideas for an American foreign policy course include structuring shortwriting assignments around a simulation of the NSC. There are different ways todo this—Loggins (2009) is one example—but short writing assignments caninvolve papers in which students research their assigned role and evaluate thedecision making of one occupant of this role; a policy recommendation memorelated to the hypothetical situation at hand; and resolutions for the NSC toconsider. The simulation-driven writing assignments offer more consistency in aclassroom environment because everyone is a part of the same group. The for-eign policy briefing paper and presentation idea has the ability for the entireclass to simulate different audiences, but this may be too confusing or too highan expectation in some classes. Whether an instructor chooses the foreign policybriefing paper or short papers connected with a full simulation, the benefits forstudents are similar: (i) using role playing in writing assignments; (ii) applica-tion of IR theories or foreign policy decision-making theories; and (iii) connect-ing theory to policy. Both types of assignments link with the primary courseobjective of understanding the political processes that form American foreignpolicy.

Conclusions

This paper argues that short writing assignments offer many advantages to politi-cal scientists, particularly specialists in international relations. These benefitsinclude the ability to emphasize IR theory and connect it with policy, enhancestudents’ critical thinking and role playing skills, promote good writing, and sup-ply students with writing samples that can be useful for career-oriented activities.Some of these benefits—such as role playing—connect with active learning strat-egies which engage students in more meaningful ways and seem to correlate withpositive outcomes.8 No matter the length, all writing exercises must requirestudents to think critically, conduct research, and make logical arguments thatsupport a thesis. Lots of examples of these types of assignments are provided forintroductory and advanced international relations courses. The literature showsthat shorter assignments have been utilized in other political science subfields,such as public administration, or other disciplines, such as psychology, with posi-tive results for student learning. The above-mentioned assignments connect withmany overall course learning goals such as understanding policy-making pro-cesses, applying IR theories, explaining the United States’ role in the world, andevaluating policy-making solutions. And all assignments allow instructors to showstudents how writing to different audiences matters, producing pedagogicalbenefits.The ideas for shorter writing assignments presented here are only some of

many possibilities. Instructors may experiment with the ideas above or adaptthem to better suit another course setting. For example, the author has experi-mented with allowing students to work in pairs on the research element of anassignment, but continued to require individually written papers. Other instruc-

8Carlson (2009) offers a synopsis of the literature on active learning, noting that “the literature on the benefitsof active learning proliferates” but cannot be fully validated (199).


tors may find that it is helpful to have small groups of students collectively writesome assignments. This may replicate what happens in the real world of govern-ment and business when a committee is charged with writing a report that listsits findings in a concise fashion.It should also be recognized that, in the atmosphere of budget cuts to higher

education, shorter writing assignments may be useful for those instructors withlarge enrollments in lower-level courses. Since writing is vital to student learningand engagement (Light 2001), we must better understand and assess instructors’ability to offer many types of writing assignments. Hopefully, this paper providesreasons why assignments with greater brevity provide advantages to both facultyand students.

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bravo for brevity: using short paper assignments in international relations classes

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