The Importance of Writing in Political Science

Political science places a strong premium on written communication. In fact, political scientists wrote some of the world’s greatest books and documents. In his Politics,for example, Aristotle examined the nature of the polis and "the good life." Many centuries later, the authors of The Federalist (Madison, Hamilton, Jay) applied their studies of past political regimes to the immediate problem of designing a large-scale democratic republic.

As a student in Public and International Affairs, you must not only comprehend the writing of others, but be able to effectively communicate your ideas in writing as well. Most of your professors will assign one or more types of writing in their classes. While there is considerable variation in the types of writing you will do, you should always aim to be clear, precise and organized. This is not as easy as than it sounds. All writers must work at their craft, and even good writers produce several drafts of their writing before others see it. The sooner you accept this, the better.

This website is a useful tool to help you write better. It provides help for many writing assignments, and useful advice from department professors and writing tutors in GMU’s Writing Center. It also contains useful links to other writing resources found on and off campus.