Déjà vu

Why do I always have trouble coming up with a topic for make-or-break papers worth 100% of my course grade?

This time its for Globalization and the Law, a three-hour a week single lecture class that I picked as my one "perspective" option this term. I can say one thing about the course - it has given me tonnes of perspective on everything globalization, but little in terms of foresight on where everything is heading or should be heading. I guess it's my job, in this bloody paper, to try to do some predictive analysis, at the risk of missing the mark (literally).

I have two days to send in my two page paper outline, including the sources I'll be using to support my excellent thesis (when I do think of one). I've spent the last couple of months thinking about various areas where I could possibly come up with something to talk about, and it's largely been a fabulously futile exercise.

I could always forget about the paper and just go for the 100% final instead, but I wanted to have some kind of legal academic writing under my belt before 1L is over (and get away with one less final exam to write). Also, it would give me an idea of how I compare to the writing of others in my class once I get my grade. Do I really need this comparison? After all, most of the people who picked this course and who will opt for writing the paper are probably from political science, international relations and other writing-intensive programs who have covered a lot of the topics in this course already. Some might even rework one of their past papers that they got an A+ on to fit this course (hey, nothing wrong with that - I would have done the same if I could). Where does that leave me?


Update, 2:30 AM: Alright I think I'm coming closer to a vague outline that I can send to the professor. He'll send it back of course with all kinds of questions and criticisms, but at least I'll make the deadline. I'll find some sources tomorrow, open to amendment of course.