POLI394 Due date : January 23rd, 2019

Instructor: S. Langlois-Bertrand

Editorial
Due date
This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade for the course. All assignments must be submitted
online through the link on Moodle, by 11:55pm on the night of Wednesday, January 23rd. Please refer to
page 2 of the course outline for information on late penalties.

General instructions
An editorial presents a position on a controversy or a contentious topic. The position is formulated as a
thesis and supported by arguments, which in turn are based on concrete evidence or reasonable claims. As
a result, the editorial presents an opinion on the topic and aims to convince the reader through a well-
structured demonstration.

For this assignment, write an editorial aimed at a broad public audience, answering the following
question: is democracy compatible with sustainability?

Format and content instructions

• The text is an exercise in concision, and a limit of 500 words will be strictly enforced (including
footnotes but excluding the cover page);
• Your paper must include a cover page with your name, the course number and title, and the date;
• The paper must be double-spaced with a 12-point standard font;
• Be clear, use full sentences, and do not use abbreviated language without defining it; assume you
are writing for a public of interested but non-professionals readers (in terms of sustainable
development issues), who understands general concepts but explain the more specialized terms if
any;
• The quality of the presentation, including the fluency and logic of the writing, are part of the
evaluation criteria;
• Make sure to proof-read your paper before submitting it: multiple grammatical, spelling and
punctuation errors will be severely penalized.