Required Essay 4 Version 1 (RE4v1)

Write a four-page essay that defines and discusses terrorism, using the definitions and information in the slides and assigned readings on terrorism.

Your essay should be at least 3.5 pages in length but must not be longer than 4 pages, when printed in the format specified in the Student Handbook, including the title, headers, and footers. To check this, you should print the exact version you are going to submit. If your paper is longer than 4 pages when printed, it will be given a score of zero.

The Student Handbook provides complete guidance for preparing and submitting writing assignments. Before you turn in your essay, be sure to review the writing assignment submission checklist in the Handbook.

Your essay should have the following structure:

  1. An introductory paragraph that includes a one-sentence definition of terrorism and states the thesis of your essay. Use Richardson's definition. (You could say, for example, "Following Richardson [WTW, p....], we define terrorism as...") Be sure to include all four essential elements of this definition.
  2. Several paragraphs that describe the seven defining characteristics of terrorism identified in class and in the class slides on terrorism. These seven defining characteristics include the four in Richardson's one-sentence definition of terrorism and three additional characteristics she discusses. (Note that unlike Richardson, we do not require that terrorists be sub-state actors.)
  3. A paragraph that introduces and defines state-sponsored (sub-state) terrorism and distinguishes it from state terrorism and war terrorism. Include two historical examples of each of these three types of state-related terrorism.
  4. A paragraph that describes the lethal cocktail of three ingredients that Richardson says lead individuals to commit acts of terrorism. Give one historical example of each of these ingredients.
  5. A paragraph that contrasts the nature of the immediate- and long-term objectives of terrorists and describes the three immediate objectives of all terrorists, according to Richardson.
  6. Several final paragraphs that discuss how nuclear terrorism may be prevented. These paragraphs should describe Allison's "Three No's" and briefly explain them.

Citation of sources:

You do not need to use quotation marks or give citations when the information you use is common knowledge. In deciding what is common knowledge, consider what is known by a typical University of Illinois student who is not a student in Physics 280.

As the sources to use in preparing this essay are specified above, there should be no doubt about which sources are being used in this assignment. Nevertheless, for practice we require explicit citations of all sources used in the Required Essays.

To save space in the Required Essays, which are only a few pages long, we recommend referring to the pertinent sources using the following styles:

   What Terrorists Want   [WTW, p. 64]
   Nuclear Terrorism   [NT, p. 102]
   Terrorism Slides   [12p280 Terrorism, slide 3]

You do not need to place standard definitions in quotes, but you do need to give citations for them.

Do not include a bibliography or a list of references. (More complete citations will be required in the Research Paper for sources other than Physics 280 slides.)

Further guidance:
  • In writing your essay, assume your audience is a typical University of Illinois student who is not a student in Physics 280 and who is therefore unfamiliar with the definitions we use in this course.
  • Omit any information that is not essential.
  • Begin each paragraph with a strong topic sentence and omit any information that is not essential for addressing the points listed above.
  • Make your paragraphs clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid repetition and unnecessary words, especially adjectives and adverbs, and use active voice.