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Assignment questions
SociologyResearch paperGlobalization

COVID-19 course topic paper writing guide

Choose a topic or theory from the course, find three original-reporting news articles from the last three to six months, then analyse the topic through two assigned course readings in a six-page paper with a thesis, a summary capped at 1.5 pages, one subsection per author, and a conclusion about global integration and interdependence.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 12, 2026

01

What is the page allocation telling you?

The structure is prescribed in unusual detail and each constraint is doing work, so treat the specification as the outline rather than as formatting advice. The summary is capped at 1.5 pages of six, which tells you the paper is not about describing what the pandemic did to your topic; that is the setup. The critical analysis section requires one subsection per author, which means the two readings are not decorative and cannot be blended into a general theory paragraph. And the conclusion must return to global integration and interdependence, which is the course's own frame — so choose a topic that actually has a cross-border dimension, since a purely domestic subject will leave that conclusion unsupportable. The examples the brief offers — a global regulatory institution, a commodity chain, emissions — all share that property, which is why they are there rather than as suggestions to be adopted.

The article requirement has three conditions that are separately checkable: original reporting rather than aggregation or opinion, publication within the last three to six months, and reputable sources of the kind the brief names. Original reporting is the one students miss; a column analysing someone else's reporting does not qualify, and neither does a summary piece. Read all three before choosing your topic if you can, because a topic with thin recent coverage will force the empirical section to lean on older material and the currency requirement is explicit. The three articles are your evidence base for what happened; they are not the argument, and a paper that reaches page four still summarising them has spent its allowance on the wrong section. If a source's status is unclear, the brief says to ask, which is cheaper than losing the empirical section to an ineligible article.

The analysis section is where the marks concentrate and its instructions are unusually precise: explain each author's argument concisely and accurately, show how it applies to your topic, and show how it deepens your understanding of causes and implications. That third clause is the one to build toward. A reading that merely confirms what the news articles already said has not deepened anything, so look for the concept that reframes the coverage — a mechanism the journalism describes without naming, a structural cause behind what is reported as an event, or an implication the reporting does not follow through. Write the two subsections to the same shape so the comparison between them is legible, and then let the conclusion say what the two readings together imply about interdependence that neither says alone. The citation format is specified down to the punctuation, so follow it exactly.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Choose a topic with a genuine cross-border dimension, so the conclusion is supportable.
  • 02
    Select three articles that are original reporting, current, and from reputable outlets.
  • 03
    Keep the summary within its 1.5-page cap.
  • 04
    Give each author a subsection rather than blending the two readings.
  • 05
    Use each reading to reframe the reporting rather than to confirm it.
  • 06
    Follow the specified in-line citation format exactly.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

For this assignment, write a paper that engages with a topic of the class in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, your paper might explore how the pandemic is impacting a global regulatory institution such as the World Health Organization or the UN, a particular commodity chain like medical equipment, or CO2 emissions. Your paper should include course readings and feature news articles from the past three to six months. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to apply the concepts and debates that you learn about in this course to the world around you, and to critically analyze the information you read. Tasks: Topic: Choose a topic/theory covered in class that is of interest to you. Empirical research: Search for in-depth news articles that discuss this topic in relation toCOVID-19. You are required to choose three articles based on original reporting that have beenpublishedwithinthelastthreetosixmonths.Thearticlesshouldcomefromreputable news sources, such as Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, etc. If you have any doubts about the suitability of a news source, ask me. Critical analysis: Choose any two assigned course readings to analyze your topic in a way that goes beyond the newspaper accounts you have read.You are welcome to use additional academic sources – either from the syllabus or your own research – to supplement your analysis. Your paper should include: – An introduction that presents the topic, and a thesis statement articulating your argument about the relationship between the topic and the pandemic. – A clear and concise summary of the topic and the impact of COVID-19 on it. This part should be no more than 1.5 pages; – Critical analysis that applies the course readings to the topic. This requires 1) concisely and accurately explaining the arguments/concepts you are using from each author; 2) explaining how each reading applies to the topic in question; and showing how each reading deepens your understanding of the causes and implications of your selected topic. You should divide this part into one subsection per author. – A conclusion that summarizes your main points and offers your thoughts about the implications of your argument as it relates to global integration and interdependence. – A bibliography that includes each of the sources used in the paper (see below). Format and length:Your paper should be 6pp in length, double-spaced, 1-in margins, Times New Roman 12pt font. I expect clear prose, an organized paper structure with a thesis statement, introduction and conclusion. Your paper should be free of grammatical and spelling errors, and proofread before submission. You must include in-line citations to your sources for direct quotations and information/knowledge that did not originate with you. You will also need a full and properly formatted bibliography (APA style is standard), which lists all newspaper sources and course readings cited. The bibliography does not count towards the page length.The format for in-line citations should be: author’s last name and date published (e.g. Sparke 2013) or author’s last name and date published: page number (e.g. Sparke 2013:6) for direct quotations. Class in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    A six-page paper with a thesis statement in the introduction.
  2. 02
    A summary of the topic and the pandemic's impact, no more than 1.5 pages.
  3. 03
    Critical analysis with one subsection per course reading.
  4. 04
    A conclusion addressing global integration and interdependence.
  5. 05
    A bibliography listing all news sources and course readings.
03

What counts as deepening your understanding?

01

Topic and thesis

Present a course topic with a cross-border dimension and state an argument about its relationship to the pandemic.

02

The empirical picture

Summarise the topic and the pandemic's impact using the three articles, within the 1.5-page cap.

03

Author one, author two

In separate subsections, state each author's concept accurately, apply it to the topic, and show what it reveals that the reporting did not.

04

Conclusion

Draw the two readings together and say what your argument implies for global integration and interdependence.

04

Where is the pandemic evidence?

Recommended databases

  • World Health Organization
  • United Nations
  • Reputable news outlets named in the brief

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Test candidate topics against the interdependence conclusion before committing.
  2. 2.
    Find the three articles first and confirm each is original reporting within the window.
  3. 3.
    Re-read the two chosen course readings for the concept, not the conclusion.
  4. 4.
    Draft the analysis subsections before the summary, so the summary knows what it is setting up.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

    World Health Organization · 2024

    The institutional and epidemiological record against which the news reporting in the empirical section can be checked.

  2. 02

    COVID-19 Response | United Nations

    United Nations · 2024

    The multilateral response material, useful where the chosen topic is a global regulatory institution.

  3. 03

    Business and Industry: Time Series / Trend Charts

    U.S. Census Bureau · 2024

    Dated economic series for topics involving commodity chains, trade or production, where the reporting needs a quantitative anchor.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Choosing a purely domestic topic, leaving the interdependence conclusion unsupported.
  • Using opinion columns or aggregated pieces as original reporting.
  • Letting the summary run past 1.5 pages and squeezing the analysis.
  • Merging the two readings into one theory section.
  • Applying a reading that only restates what the articles already reported.
  • Using a different citation format from the one specified.

Submission checklist

  • Thesis stated in the introduction, not implied.
  • Three articles, all original reporting, all within three to six months.
  • Summary section within 1.5 pages.
  • One subsection per author, in the same shape.
  • Each reading shown to deepen, not merely confirm, the account.
  • Conclusion returns to global integration and interdependence.
  • Six pages, formatted as specified, with in-line citations in the given form.

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.

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