The International Criminal Court is Not Biased Against Africa (Essay Sample)

Content
• This essay gives you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of a particular issue which we covered in class.
You are advised to use the module’s reading list as a starting point and then continue to read and explore the topic, following your own particular interests 

• Make sure that you understand the question before you start working on the essay.
If you are not entirely sure you understand the question, get in touch and ask
• It is vital that you engage with academic literature in these essays.
You can use additional media references, or references for official statistics, for example, but these sources do not substitute academic references.
• Be sure to support your arguments with data and examples
• For these essays, you can use literature from several related academic fields (law, sociology, criminology, etc.), but make sure that some of this literature is focused on international law and human rights
• There is no set number of academic references you need to provide for the essays (it’s not compulsory to have 10 or 12, for example).
What’s more important than the number of references is the depth of your engagement with them.
Good engagement with 7 sources is great. Superficial engagement with 15 sources may be insufficient.
• You are expected to engage critically with the essay topics and the literature you discuss. Being critical doesn’t mean you that need to find a fault in any theory/argument (though, if you think a theory you cite has shortcomings, or is missing out on something important, please do include this critique in your essay).
Being critical means working with literature rather than just finding relevant sources and gathering them all on a piece of paper.
Being critical can mean that you compare or contrast different arguments in the literature you cite. It can also mean discussing an example which either supports or disproves a theory.
• You cannot re-submit academic work that you’ve already submitted (for this module or others). This would be self-plagiarism, which is academic misconduct Structure
• Begin your essay with an introduction presenting the essay question and your key arguments. A good introduction makes clear to your reader your essay narrative
• Work on the structure of the essay – make sure that the order of arguments makes sense, and try to write one key point per paragraph.
Make sure that all your arguments directly address the essay question 

• Include a clear conclusion. A good conclusion goes back to the essay question, briefly sums up your key arguments and gives a final answer to the question.
Do not bring in any new points into the conclusion. 
 Presentation
Leave enough time for editing and proofreading.
Ideally, get a friend/family member/anyone willing, to read the essay and tell you if you are communicating your ideas clearly.
• Try to write in a simple and clear style, avoid unnecessarily complicated phrases or very long sentences
• For extra support on writing, you can use Studiosity or schedule a meeting with the Academic Achievement team
• Use either 1.5 or double spacing
• Include a word count (excluding the reference list)
• You can go 10% over or under the word count.
Essays that go above or below the requested word count beyond 10% may be marked down