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Posted: September 12th, 2022
Multi-Step Writing Exercise: Write a Persuasive Memorandum The Prompt
Instructions
International Law Massoud, He, Singh, Trobitzsch POLI 160B/LGST 160B Multi-Step Writing Exercise: Write a Persuasive Memorandum The Prompt: “I was taught that ‘states are the primary actors in international law.’ But activists, NGOs, and individual people like you and me matter a lot too. International law was closely connected with colonialism and imperialism many years ago. Today, international law is an effective weapon for the weak to use against the strong, for grassroots NGOs and activists to use against oppression, and for those who struggle to build peace and environmental and social justice. This is the new legacy of international law.” -Jayden Harper, influential blogger and environmental activist (they/them) Assignment: Imagine that you are an intern with the Legal Adviser’s Team of the U.S. State Department. The State Department oversees all diplomatic affairs with foreign countries and international organizations. You are on a Zoom call with a senior lawyer on the team named Crystal Freedom (she/hers). Crystal says to you, “I heard you are studying International Law at UC Santa Cruz.” Crystal asks you to write a persuasive memo to the Legal Adviser’s team that responds to Jayden Harper’s assertions in the quote above, based on what you are learning in the class. Ending the call, Crystal says to you, “Given what you are learning about the functions and limits of international law and about the major approaches to and debates within international law, draft a response to the quote and submit it to me to share with the Legal Adviser’s Team. The quality of your response will help us decide whether to hire you permanently after your graduation from UCSC. Clearly state a position.
Provide a coherent thesis at the start of the first paragraph, and then try to convince us with sound reasoning. To support your thesis, draw only on materials from your course and historical or current news events related to international law (there is no minimum or maximum number of readings/events to use for support). Provide supporting and countervailing evidence and take account of the various approaches you are learning. Strive for concise, incisive, creative, and elegant analysis, and frame your argument with a good title. Anticipate, acknowledge, and deal with opposing views and contrary evidence. Do this in under 1050 words (approximately four double-spaced pages), not including footnotes and bibliography.” Begin your memo with the following format: To: Crystal Freedom and the Legal Adviser’s Team, U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C. From: Your Name and Student ID, Intern, Legal Adviser’s Team, U.S. State Department Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022 Re: [Here, insert an outstanding title for your memo.] Submit your response via Canvas as a Word (.docx) or PDF document titled “LastName FirstName Memo 1.” The word limit is strictly enforced. Write your word count at the end of your paper. Citations: Sources. Limit your answer to the materials assigned in the course and relevant news events. If you would like to cite news events relevant to international law, you may cite any of the following sources: BBC News, Economist, Le Monde Diplomatique (English), Al-Jazeera (English), El País (English), AP News, Reuters, The New York Times, and Washington Post. You will be penalized for using or citing any sources other than those listed here. Before you write, re-read UCSC’s academic integrity and plagiarism policies. Style. Use footnotes and prepare a bibliography conforming exactly to the Chicago Manual of Style (not in-text citation). Familiarize yourself with the style guide found on the Politics website: http://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/citation.html. 1 Fall 2022 For additional citation Helpance, see http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Use footnotes for citations only; refrain from making substantive comments in the footnotes. Learning Objectives: The assignment aims to develop several skills crucial to critical thinking and analytical writing, including 1) reflecting critically on an issue of importance in international law by applying the concepts, theories, and tools of international law in a real-life context; 2) evaluating competing arguments about international law’s functions and limits in light of various approaches to international law; 3) writing concisely and strengthening your writing in response to reviews of your work; and 4) carefully reading and scrupulously following written rules. Structure of the assignment: Two papers. Memo #1 is not a draft. Treat it as a polished, final product. Do your very best. It will be read carefully, commented upon in detail, graded, and returned to you. Consider these comments and then revise accordingly and resubmit the memo (memo #2). This memo #2 will also be read carefully and graded. With memo #2, you must submit the following packet in this order: 1) a cover note of not more than 125 words explaining specific improvements that you made to your memo’s argument and quality, and your rationale for the changes; 2) memo #2; 3) the original graded version of memo #1; and 4) a copy of your and your peer reviewer’s assessments. We will take note of progress in assessing memo #2; however, you should strive for your best in both memos. Grading. You will be graded according to the 3-part rubric explained in the syllabus (a purposeful argument, logically organized evidence, and a pleasant style). To help you succeed, please review this rubric in the syllabus section titled, “What We Expect from Your Written Assignments.” Consider all aspects of good writing – content, style, organization, strength of argument, length, following instructions, spelling, punctuation, grammar, typographical errors, sentence construction, citation use, bibliography format, and the like. The goal is to produce an authoritative argument, a gem without weakness of argumentation or distracting blemishes. Grades may be lowered one letter or more for every three or four errors in citation forms, spelling, grammar, and the like. Use dictionaries and proofread. Before submitting your memo(s), refer to the syllabus for the grading guidelines.
Important dates. Late papers are accepted. However, one letter grade will be deducted for every 24-hour period a paper is late (e.g., if you submit at 12:05pm when it was due at 12:00pm, that equates to a one-letter-grade deduction from A to B). While it is in your best interest to submit on time, we appreciate that life comes up, so you’ll have an opportunity to request a no-penalty 24-hour “life comes up” extension. Requests must be made in writing to your TA at least 12 hours before the paper is due (before midnight). You may use this “life comes up” no-penalty extension once on this assignment, not for both memos. Life always comes up, so be prepared. Thursday Oct. 13, 2022: DRAFT (This is a target date for your own edification. This draft is not to be submitted. Drafts will not be reviewed.) Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022: MEMO #1 due no later than 12:00PM via Canvas. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 (estimated): MEMO #1 returned to you via Canvas, with comments. Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022: In-class peer assessment of papers. Bring your revised paper to class. Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022: MEMO #2 PACKET due 12:00PM via Canvas. Tuesday Nov. 29, 2022: (estimated): Your materials, with MEMO #2 grade and any relevant comments, will be returned to you via Canvas. The following page provides guidance on how to write a persuasive memo and how to construct your argument. 2 How to write a persuasive memo and how to construct your argument: What is a memo? A persuasive memorandum (or “memo”) is a short, formal written communication used in work and diplomacy. Your goal is to persuade a specific reader or audience of your argument. Here, your audience is a team of lawyers at the U.S. State Department (a government agency) where you are an intern. In a memo, you begin with your conclusion or position demonstrating your understanding of the issues and how you would like the audience to understand them. Consider whether you agree or disagree with the prompt, in whole or in part, and why. State your reasons in the opening and then take up those reasons one by one, including by drawing on news events (past or current) and class materials for evidentiary support. Rather than summarize course materials or provide definitions, apply them to the problem at hand. Finally, be sure to discuss the implications of your argument for the future of international law and/or the organization where you work, typically at the end. Dealing with opposing arguments may require you to stop writing and, simply, to think and re-think. Review the citation guidelines in the syllabus before you begin and again before you submit each memo. Clearly state your thesis (the primary argument) at the start of your paper, present evidence to support it, cite to your sources for all ideas, acknowledge the opposition and show its weaknesses, and write clearly. Do all this succinctly. The best way to write well is to write, and then revise, revise again, and revise some more – or even rewrite and revise. This holds for both memo #1 and memo #2. What should I do next? This assignment is both thinking-intensive and writing-intensive. The first part of good writing is good thinking. Good thinking has three steps that you should complete before you begin writing your paper. First, think about and analyze the quote on page 1 of this assignment. What does it say? Do you agree or disagree with the premises, for instance, that international law does a lot to fight power and oppression? Second, think about this quote from the different perspectives or approaches you are learning in class. That is, put the approaches, and the prompt, into conversation with one another. Third, think about how to put your ideas into a logical format that flows from paragraph to paragraph. Thinking involves going back into the readings, your journal, and your notes, and considering relevant news events too. Next, before you start writing the paper, spend time outlining your argument. What is your central argument, and what are the main features of your memo, and how do they flow from one idea to the next? Organize details into topics and sub-topics, and be sure the reader will understand this organization. (Oftentimes things seem clearer in the writer’s head than they do on the paper.) Outlining helps you because writing in international law requires both brevity (here, you only have 1050 words) and compelling argumentation. How do I approach writing my memo? Start thinking and writing early. After you read this assignment sheet, review the readings, review your notes from class, and review your notes from your journal (including the PECC, if you did it, for each reading).
Try to outline your argument. For every argument you make, consider the counter-arguments. You may even change your argument once or twice after considering the counter-arguments. Also, once again, remember your audience and remember that you are trying to persuade them of your ideas. In this memo, your audience is a team of senior lawyers who work for the U.S. government. For the second memo, you should correct any issues from the first paper, refine further, and reconsider your argument and your evidence in light of the newer material in the course that you learned – or possibly newer events that occurred that might better support your argument – since writing the first paper. 3
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