Seminar syllabus
TF: Sima Biondi
My sections: D004 (Wednesdays 3:00-4:15pm) and D005 (Wednesdays 4:30-5:45pm)
Contact: sbiondi@g.harvard.edu
What Gov 99R is for
Gov 99R supplements the advice and support you get from your primary thesis advisor, and runs through the end of the writing process in March 2027. All Government concentrators (or joint concentrators with Government as primary field) writing a thesis must complete both semesters to submit for honors consideration.
Your thesis advisor remains the person responsible for your thesis; Gov 99R is here to help you structure your writing process, refine how you present your findings, get constructive peer feedback, and stay on track.
Fall 2026 assignments
All assignments are due by 11:59pm on Canvas and to your thesis advisor, unless noted.
- 9/13: Preliminary statement of research question and methods (1-2 paragraphs)
- 9/20: Thesis proposal draft (1,500 words)
- 9/27: Revised thesis proposal (submit with a coversheet signed by your thesis advisor, not your Gov 99R TF)
- 10/18: Academic engagement chapter draft (10-15 pages, e.g. a literature review)
- 11/8: Draft of a substantive empirical or analytical chapter (15-20 pages)
- 12/6: Revised substantive chapter — at least 7,500 words (~30 double-spaced pages) submitted to your thesis advisor; this plus seminar participation forms your fall Gov 99R grade
- ~March 2027: Final thesis due to the Undergraduate Program Office (exact date TBD per Canvas)
Policies
Attendance: Mandatory. Come prepared to give thoughtful, constructive feedback on your peers' work — minimal or unhelpful comments count as an incomplete assignment.
Readings: No required textbook. You'll get an electronic copy of A Guide to Writing a Thesis in Government at the first meeting (read it before the second session); your TF may assign additional articles, chapters, or thesis excerpts tailored to your seminar.
Collaboration: You're encouraged to discuss your topic with peers in and out of class, but no collaborative research or writing is permitted — all submitted work must be your own, with standard citation practices.
AI policy: Generative AI tools (ChatGPT or otherwise) are forbidden at every stage of the work process, including preliminary ones. Using them constitutes academic misconduct.
1) September 16
Introductions; framing questions and puzzles; how your thesis is graded; structuring your thesis-writing process; making the most of meetings with your thesis advisor.
2) September 23
Discussion of the thesis proposal draft; theories and hypotheses or normative arguments; research or argument design; finding and managing sources.
No class the week of September 28.
3) October 7
Discussion of the final thesis proposal and brainstorming on the components of the academic engagement chapter; writing literature reviews; peer review guidelines.
No class the week of October 12.
4) October 21
Thesis organization; variables and data collection (empirical); textual analysis and logical reasoning (theory).
No class the week of October 26.
5) November 4
Discussion of the substantive chapter assignment; describing and presenting different kinds of evidence (empirical); structuring and ordering reasons in a normative argument (theory).
6) November 11 (last Gov 99R meeting of the fall)
In-class review of the substantive empirical or analytical assignment drafts.
Note: seminars are grouped by thematic/regional/methodological interest, so not every Gov 99R seminar covers exactly the same material each week — the topics above are the general syllabus; your specific readings and discussion will be tailored to our seminar.