Essays / How to pose the thesis & structure: Intervention in Bosnia, Rwanda and Somalia. [3]

Hi Thomas,

Your thesis thrives on three things:

1. Specificity
2. Your opinion
3. Whether your thesis can be debated

In this case, you don't want to pose a question, but give a forceful statement backed by evidence.

Perhaps you should look at why peacekeeping operations failed in Rwanda and Somalia, but "succeeded" in Bosnia. Why was the UN successful with Bosnia? Was it the mix of peacekeeping tactics?

If you simply go with "How much do major powers affect UN peacekeeping operations and decisions," it might be too vague.

Your second choice, "What drives member states of the United Nations to affect peacekeeping operations? Military success? Security? Strategic importance?" is better. But maybe narrow it a little more and say why the UN got involved with these countries.

As for your structure: Case studies is one way to go. But you have to make sure to tie everything together. Otherwise, you're essentially writing three different papers (as there is no connection among the topic countries).

Good luck!

-Nick

Essays / Film Essay - Techniques / Significant event (how to answer the question?) [2]

Hi there,

I can't really answer your first question, as I don't know much about film techniques.

But as for your second question, it sounds like you need to talk about how visual or audio cues accented a particular scene.

I'll give you a general example, as I've not seen Invictus. Weather is a visual cue. In most stories, when there's rain, something bad happens. Conversely, when it's spring, good stuff happens, because spring indicates new life, blooming, and a fresh start.

Take note of the setting in which something happens. Ask yourself, "Why here? What is the significance?"

Again, this may not directly apply to the film you're writing about. But make note of the visual aspects of significant scenes. Because odds are, those visuals are impacting the story on a deeper level.

-Nick Nordstrom