Writing
in Political Science
Margit
Herrmann
University
of Iowa
Abstract
Writing
in political science is often thought of as simply being news articles about
day-to-day politics such as presidential elections or other political events. In reality, writing in the political science
field is very prominent, and can be as informal as a blog post or as formal as
an academic paper. My assumptions of
what writing in this field encompassed were limited to simple emails, academic articles,
and some kind of diplomatic writing.
After research and speaking with a diplomat, I saw that professions in
political science take specific writing skills such as different forms of language,
format, and references in both academic and non-academic writing.
Writing
in Political Science
Writing
in the political science field is often brushed off to just be newspaper
articles involving current affairs or the most current scandal involving a
politician. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are many different
professions available in the political science field besides being a politician,
such as a diplomat, an ambassador, or a professor. These jobs require different
kinds and amounts of writing. I assumed that being a diplomat or an ambassador
would require copious amounts of writing to explain political affairs involving
other countries. Speaking to professionals in the political science field
provided insight into the different kinds of writing done, such as diplomatic
cables, newspaper articles, blogs, and scholarly articles. Non-academic and
academic writing in the political science field use different styles of structure,
diction, and references.
Structure
Structure
is the way that a text is set up, or the way that it is formatted. All genres
of writing have different and commonly known structures, such as poems, novels,
and newspaper articles. A lesser known genre is a diplomatic cable, a
non-academic text with a very specific and consistent format that has a clear
goal of informing policy makers of an analysis of a political situation. Ronald
McMullen, a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Iowa and former
diplomat wrote a cable summarizing political problems in Eritrea, arguing that,
“Eritrea's resilience as a country is based on 1) a strong sense of nationalism
forged over four decades of war, and 2) the capacity of most Eritreans to
withstand suffering and deprivation with forbearance and toughness” (2009, p.
1) McMullen came to this conclusion after spending time researching and talking
to officials in Eritrea, understanding the problems arising, and then reporting
not just what happened, but why, and what he thinks should be done about it. McMullen
explains that “In academic writing, you can often be as long as you want, in
diplomatic writing, you needed to be short and concise.” McMullen describes that cables were a new structure
of writing for him, not the same as the lengthy writing done in college, but
short, to the point, and with an analysis that can be used by policy makers
without being a time consuming read. He learned this skill on the job, with
bosses explaining what was expected. It was not a skill he learned in college,
and is something a diplomats learn early on in their careers.
Cables are a form of
writing very specific to diplomats, but other kinds of informal writing, such
as blog posts, can also be a part of a profession in political science meant
for the general public to read. Blog posts have the structure of a short,
informal essay meant to inform the general public of various topics, in this
case, the issue of unilateral succession in Kosovo. Ronald McMullen posted to a
political science blog to inform readers of the issue of states recognizing
unilateral succession, like in Kosovo. He explains why Kosovo’s independence
has not been recognized by all countries, including Russia and China: “some
argue that Kosovo’s independence would undermine the international community’s
consensus about when to recognize break-away countries. The general rule
of thumb is: widespread international recognition follows recognition from
the “mother country” (McMullen, 2016, p. 1). Since Serbia does not recognize
Kosovo’s independence, other countries feel they also cannot recognize it. The
information about Kosovo is conveyed with a structure similar to a short essay,
with informal language. This structure may not be the usual format of writing
for a political scientist, especially one used in academic articles. A political
scientist needs to be ready to write in many different genres, depending on the
specific profession.
Non-academic writing has
differing formats varying with genre, but academic writing has a structure more
solidified across the academic community. Academic writing is much more formal,
generally longer, and meant for other colleagues after publication. These
articles also require extensive research and often include multiple authors. In
Immigration Enforcement and the Redistribution of Political Trust, background
information is provided on the topic of minorities being affected by politics,
and then a hypothesis and research is discussed. One of the hypotheses is “that
foreign-born Latinos who live in communities with high levels of Secure
Communities enforcement will have less trust in government and less political
efficacy” (Rocha, Knoll, Wrinkle, 2015, p. 8). This prediction is made after
ample background is provided, with a format that is clearly academic. This
format is made for other political scientists to follow, with headings and
distinctions between research and predictions clearly defined.
Diction
Diction is the words and
style authors use to change the style of their writing. Diction varies between
genre, especially between non-academic and academic writing. For example, newspaper
articles have different language than published articles in a journal. McMullen
wrote an article for the Des Moines Register about heroin from Afghanistan
being shipped to Iowa, and what he thought could be done to decrease the
amounts being harvested and exported. The article features analytical diction
that gives his opinion on what should be done while also providing factual data.
McMullen describes what he implemented in Afghanistan and how his plan was not
executed to the extent of the program:
I was not satisfied with a
policy of poppy eradication by a central police unit, and persuaded Secretary
Condoleezza Rice to back a large-scale incentive program to reward Afghan
provinces for reducing poppy production. Unfortunately, due to the change
of U.S. administrations, this new policy was never fully implemented.
(McMullen, 2016, p.1).
McMullen informed the
reader of what he did, and what he would have done if the administration had
not changed. His diction was chosen specifically for the general public,
because he knew it was a newspaper article that was going to be published. Writing
for a newspaper may be part of the different tasks of a political scientist,
with it coming a different style of language.
Diction can change
immensely from a non-academic text like a newspaper article to an academic article.
The diction becomes more formal, not meant for the general public, and with
specific words chosen. An example of this formal diction is shown in Rocha and
Matsubayashi’s Latino Immigration and Representation in Politics: “we rely on
insights from the literature on intragroup heterogeneity and political behavior
to develop a series of hypotheses regarding the effect of Latino immigration
and citizenship status on representation at the local level” (p. 357). This
excerpt has words such as “intragroup heterogeneity” and “political behavior”
without going into depth about what these words mean. The authors assume that
the audience already knows these terms, and that defining them would be
redundant for other political scientists. This diction is very specific to this
formal article, and may be out of place in an informal email or blog post.
Formal language can completely change a text, and when used effectively can
change the tone of the writing. The purpose in this article is to inform, so
the formal language adds to that purpose instead of being too informal and
distracting the reader from the overall point. This kind of formal language is
very commonly used by a professor of political science who also does research.
References
References
are the sources used in writing, usually in academic text. Sources are used to
provide background information, to show other studies over the same topic, or
even to refute a writers own thesis. By showing a source with an opposite
opinion, the writer has the opportunity to make his or her own argument
stronger. In academic papers, sources are used regularly and effectively for
all of these reasons, such as in The Politics of Race and Voter ID Laws in the
States: The Return of Jim Crow? In this article Rocha and Matsubayashi even
cite two different articles in one sentence:
Even if
ID requirements are enforced in a nondiscriminatory manner, which studies
suggest is not the case (Alvarez, Atkeson, and Hall 2007; Cobb, Greiner, and
Quinn 2012), minorities are still less likely to possess required forms of
identification (Barreto, Nuño, and Sanchez 2007). (2014, p. 669)
Rocha
and Matsubayashi demonstrate a common practice in academic writing. The
frequent citing of sources gives important background information to the
reader, such as mentioning a case that shows ID requirements are enforced in a
way that doesn’t discriminate. This common citing of sources is an effective
way of showing the reader all the other studies already done on this topic,
while also making the writer seem more credible.
On the
other hand, in non-academic writing, it is much less common for references to
be used. Very rarely do political scientists cite a source in an informal text
such as an email or a newspaper article. Citing a source in informal writing is
unnecessary, because the audience is drastically different. The audience
doesn’t need to research and read the other sources, because the audience is
more likely the general public.
Conclusion
Political
scientists may write in two very different styles, non-academic and academic,
but the underlying factor is the same: writing in political science is
important and can’t be overlooked. From blog posts to academic articles, each
piece of writing is different in structure, language, and reference, with
different purposes and audiences.
References
McMullen, R. (2009, March 5). Eritrea’s
president is ‘unhinged dictator’. US Embassy.
Retrieved from
McMullen, R. (2016, April 12). Cheap, deadly
heroin headed to Iowa. The Des Moines
Register, Retrieved from
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2016/04/12/cheap-deadly-heroin-headed-iowa/82952996/
McMullen, R. (2016, August 30). Kosovo:
Battling for recognition (with Iowa’s help).
Retrieved from
Rocha, R. R., Knoll, B. R., & Wrinkle, R.
D. (2015). Immigration enforcement and the
redistribution of trust.
Journal of Politics, 1-32.
Rocha, R. R., & Matsubayashi, T. (2013).
“Latino representation and immigration in
local politics.” Urban
Affairs Review, 49, 353-380.
Rocha,
R. R., & Matsubayashi, T. (2014). “The politics of race and voter id laws
in the states: The return of Jim Crow?” Political Research Quarterly, 67,
666-679.
