Grading Policy
The final numeric grade will map to the final letter grade according to SUU's standard number to-letter grade conversion scheme. Final grades ending in .5 or higher are automatically rounded up to the nearest whole percentage point.
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83
C+: 77-79
C: 74-76
C-: 70-73
D+: 67-69
D: 64-66
D-: 60-63
F: 0-59
Final grades will be assessed through various measures of your performance in the course:
Exam 1 (Midterm): 10%
Exam 2 (Final): 10%
Weekly Quizzes 20% (4 at 5% each)
Game Theory Problem Sets: 10% (2 at 5% each)
News Paper Article Essays: 30% (3 at 10% each)
Community Mapping Project: 20%
Exams
There will be two exams, both of which are equally weighted. They will be given on Canvas, and the due dates are scheduled in the syllabus. The format of each exam will be multiple-choice and will include any material covered since the last exam. A study guide will be provided in advance. Questions will be taken from the review sheets and weekly quizzes.
Weekly Quizzes
There will be four weekly quizzes, all of which are equally weighted. They will be given on Canvas, and the dates are scheduled in the syllabus. The format of each quiz be multiple-choice and will include any material covered since the last quiz (or last exam). Questions will be taken from the study guides and readings.
Game Theory Problem Sets
Comparative politics utilizes a theoretical tool known as formal modeling, or "game theory", to develop theory and formalize arguments mathematically. Throughout the semester students will learn how to solve various game theoretic problems. To get practice solving these problems, students will complete two practice problem sets (5% each).
News Paper Article Essays
Students will write two (2) short essays based on a newspaper article of their choice (within given guidelines below), connecting the events of the article to course material. For each essay, students will find a recent (2025) news event/article (from a credible source – email me if you are unsure of a source) on a current event. The article must relate to major topics covered in the course (for example, an article covering a regime transition might relate to the course topics of Democracy, Autocracy, Electoral Systems, Social Cleavages, etc.). A rubric will be provided on Canvas.
Guidelines:
- Articles should come from unbiased and reliable sources. Use the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart (LINK) to ensure your article comes from an unbiased (between -5 and 5 on the Political Bias scale, or X axis) and a reliable (40 or higher on the News Value and Reliability scale, or Y axis) source.
- Articles must be published within the current calendar year (2025).
- Avoid opinion/op-ed pieces. If you are unsure your article meets the criteria, email me.
- Avoid filler material. DO NOT USE BLOCK QUOTES FROM THE ARTICLES OR READINGS. Direct quotes should be no longer than 2 sentences, MAXIMUM .
- Headings should only include your name. Do not include course/section/instructor information.
- Essays MUST connect back to course material in clear, concise, and insightful ways.
- News articles must be focused on places/events outside of the United States. The U.S. may be mentioned in the article, but should not be the subject of the article.
- For example: if the article discusses a new trade deal that the U.S. has brokered with another country, the article must focus on the impacts, negotiations, and economy of the non-U.S. state featured in the article.
Formatting guidelines for the essays are as follows:
- Essays must be 3 pages (no less), excluding works cited/bibliography
- Do NOT include a title page. the title of the essay must only be one line long
- Double-spaced
- 12-point font
- Times New Roman font
- 1-inch margins
- Delivered via Word Doc format (.doc or .docx). PDF's, links to Google Docs, or other formats will not be accepted.
- Works cited page, with a full citation of the article and textbook chapters referenced (minimum of two citations). This is NOT included in your page count.
- Appropriate spelling, grammar, punctuation, and professionalism in the text. Points will be marked down for errors, so be sure to proofread.
Community Mapping Project
This project will have students explore communities in a comparative context through the lenses of institutions and issue areas. There are two parts to this assignment. Students should choose a local community outside the United States, such as a city, town, municipality, or neighborhood, that meets the following criteria:
- Any region in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Oceania.
- It can be a capital city (e.g., Nairobi, Warsaw, Bogotá) or a smaller urban or rural area (e.g., Chiang Mai, Medellín, Accra).
- Your community must be researchable in a language you can read. Smaller or more remote communities may have sparse information available in English.
- Ensure you can access local government sites, NGO/INGO sites.
- The community must have clearly identifiable political and cultural institutions.
Part 1 of your Community Mapping Project asks you to create a Google map of a community as you define it with: (1) at least 7 major landmarks and institutions and (2) at least 7 important institutions and organizations at work in a political issue area of your choosing. Your map will include a minimum of 2 sentences caption and photo/graphic/video for each location you map along with a 1 sentence credit or explanation for each photo/graphic/video. This portion of the project is worth 10% of the final grade.
For Part 2, you will write a descriptive narrative of your community (250 words), an identification of major debates and controversies related to your chosen issue area (250 words), and a reflective discussion of the assets in your chosen community as well as links to the course material (250 words). Showcase the evidence you have found in your research of government websites, NGO/INGO websites, and reputable news media articles. This portion of the project is worth 10% of the final grade (Part 1 + Part 2 = 20% of the final grade).
Further instructions will be given on Canvas.
Assignment Due Dates
All assignments, quizzes, and exams in this course are due on Sunday nights (11:59pm). I schedule it this way to give students the maximum amount of time possible to complete readings, quizzes, and assignments throughout the week at your own pace and according to your own schedule. HOWEVER this means that in most weeks, multiple assignments will be due at the same time. Students are responsible for planning ahead to ensure that all assignments are completed by the deadlines listed in the syllabus. In other words, you should not wait until Sunday to START the assignments/readings/exams for a particular week, and instead should pace yourself throughout the week.