This course is designed to polish students' writing skills for use in both academic and professional environments. It will give students the opportunity to write various types of policy memos, reports and briefing materials commonly used in professional positions in government, non-profits and international institutions. Online materials and resources will be available from websites such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, the Congressional Research Service and the National Security Archives, among many others. Our theme will be the role of water in international affairs: water and climate change, conflicts over water resources, water security and development, the future of our oceans, modern piracy, and international agreements, among others Students will have a weekly writing assignment (either a summary or a policy memo) and will critique papers written by other students for this class and for other SAIS classes.