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Research Essay

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Research Essay. Write 1,800 to 2,000 words

(A 1-page executive briefing must also be included)

• For the research essay, Outlines says "1. Executive summary contains all of the key points made in the essay and is limited to one page.".
• For clarity, this briefing summary is not included in the world limit. Do note that the executive summary should cover all the key points of the essay. In turn, the actual introduction to your paper can be phrased as you would a regular introduction in an essay.

Research Essay Question: Can the next confrontation between India and China escalate to a full-scale war?

Key marking criteria of major assignment (research essay):

1. Executive summary contains all of the key points made in the essay and is limited to one page.
2. Major assignment is well structured, clear, and follows a logical progression.
3. Referencing is up to standard.
4. Bibliography evidences a wide range of sources. An over-reliance on web references will reduce marks

 

(Below are some notes on the prospects of an Indo-China border war along with notes on Kashmir which may also be a contributing factor. Please use some of these notes where applicable).

The prospect of another Indo-China border war.

Notes:

·       1962 Indian-China War. Tensions rose after due to China’s invasion of Tibet.

·       China wanted Tibet so India could not have it or to prevent an independent Tibet allowing India to base military forces there. In response to China’s annexation of Tibet, India gave a home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan independence movement. This a long term insurance policy, unlikely to ever be cashed in. If Tibet ever gains independence, Tibet would likely remember India and have friendly ties.

·       Arunachal Pradesh, China claims as “south Tibet”. China only recently claimed the Tawang area in the extreme west but in the early 2000s decided all of Arunachal Pradesh was Chinese. This is due to China's confidence growing as it rises as a superpower. India has had sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh since 1955. Two aspects, strategic and political: Arunachal Pradesh borders China, Bhutan and Burma making it strategically valuable. But also, political to show Tibet that independence would not be possible.

·       China has invested in a land route through Kashmir and Pakistan to the deep-water port in Gwadar. Should India take Kashmir blocking China’s route to this port could increase the potential for an Indo-China war.

·       Without the geographical factor of the Himalayas between China and India, their lukewarm relationship would have already been cold.

Conflict over Kashmir

Notes:

• China invested $46 billion into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor linking China to the Arabian sea. China needs Kashmir so it can easily access its deep-water port in the coastal city of Gwadar on the south coast of Pakistan. This would allow China to bypass the Strait of Malacca which is a choke point that could strangle Chinese economic growth. If India takes control of Kashmir, it not only would effect Pakistan economically but would also affect China. Potential to lead to an Indian-China/Pakistan war (task 3 as well). For a resolution to be achieved, negotiations with China must also be considered.
• Kashmir for India is both national pride and strategic. Full control of Kashmir would give India a window into central Asia and a border with Afghanistan. It would also deny Pakistan a border with China and thus diminish the usefulness of a Chinese-Pakistan relationship.
• If Pakistan had Kashmir, it would strengthen Islamabad’s foreign policy options and deny India opportunities. It would also help Pakistan’s water security. The Indus River originates in Himalayan Tibet but passes through the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir before entering Pakistan and running into the Arabian Sea at Karachi. The Indus River and tributaries provides water to two-thirds of the country. Without it the Pakistan’s cotton industry and other areas of Pakistan’s struggling economy would collapse. By a treaty India and Pakistan agreed to share the waters, but population is growing fast, and global warming also diminishes water flow. Annexing all of Kashmir would secure Pakistan’s water supply.
• Currently Kashmir acts as a proxy war between Pakistani-trainer fighters and the Indian army that could spill over into a full-scale war, with the inherent danger of nuclear weapons.
• June 3,1947, Britain withdrew from India and was partitioned into two independent dominions. Millions of Muslims fled to India, whereas millions of Hindus and Sikhs heading west to Pakistan. Therefore, there is a strong religious and cultural differences between both India and Pakistan that makes it difficult for them to understand one another and achieve a resolution to this issue.

 

Please refer to “Tips for good essay writings” when writing paper. Please pay particular notice to highlighted sections. Very important. Thank you.

 

Tips for good essay writing (Please read and refer to when writing essay. Highlighted section 4, 5 ,6 especially important)

The following provides some recommendations about ways to improve your written

assessments.

1. Ensure you thoroughly understand the assessment requirements

• Carefully read through the assessment instructions in the unit outline
• Make sure your paper sufficiently addresses all the required elements
• Focus your paper on addressing the question asked

2. Make sure your argument is supported by research from peer-reviewed literature

• The most important element of your research is quality. You can have too few references, but you can also have too many
• The texts you utilise should predominantly be scholarly. Non-scholarly sources (such as online magazines, newspaper articles and moderated blogs) should be used sparingly and only when there is no up-to-date information within the scholarly literature or when facts and figures are not covered, or discussed, in the main scholarly texts
• Never cite Wikipedia as a reference

3. Plan out the structure of your paper before you begin writing

• Focus on making the key points to support your answer to the question, which you then fully explain, justify and illustrate
• Don’t waste words on peripheral issues (even if they are interesting)
• Start with a list of the main points your argument needs to cover, and elaborate from there
• Use sub-headings

4. The bulk of your paper should be devoted to your analysis

• Ensure you have a clear argument that is consistent throughout the paper
• In my classes, I allow the use of first-person pronouns (i.e. I argue that . . . )
• Take a position in your argument – don’t try and hedge your bets by watering down your claims, be confident in what you are saying
• But make sure you support your claims with evidence
• Any descriptive, background or contextual information should be kept concise and should only be included where it is relevant to your argument (i.e. to explain, justify and illustrate)

5. Include a clear and concise introduction and conclusion

• The introduction must directly answer the question (don’t waffle)
• The introduction should provide an outline of your argument (i.e. a map for
• the reader)
• Don’t hold back any of your key conclusions from the introduction (you are not
• writing a mystery novel)
• Your conclusion should reiterate your argument in answer to the question. It should match the introduction
• Your argument should be clear from the beginning of the paper, and you should regularly remind the reader about it throughout the body of the paper

6. Read through your paper once it is written and ensure the structure and argument

are clear and flow well

• Ensure the transitions between ideas and paragraphs make sense
• Ensure general or theoretical information supports specific key points
• Regardless of the creativity of your ideas or how many good insights you include, you will not receive a good mark if they are delivered in a fragmented way that makes it difficult to read
• Ask a friend or colleague to read your paper with fresh eyes (preferably someone with little or no expertise on the topic). They are more likely to pick up aspects of your paper that do not read well or fail to make sense