American Politics

You are assigned a writing assignment worth 150 points on American politics, requiring a comprehensive discussion of a key concept or topic, with evidence-based arguments, a work cited page, and MLA formatting.
Note
Use only approved sources and do not use generative artificial intelligence programs.
Utilize the Writing Lab resources in Blackboard and the Research Paper Review service from the library before submitting the assignment. here
Review the Purdue Online Writing Lab for MLA style. here
Get instructor’s permission to write about any topic not listed.
Submit the government writing assignment.

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This writing assignment is worth 150 points. The purpose of this essay is to provide students with an opportunity to discuss a key concept or topic in American politics and to show a basic understanding of academic research and reporting skills (approved writing prompts are below). Students should offer evidence for their arguments. Thus, a submission that is more comprehensive and detailed will earn a higher point total. The assignment should be a minimum of 750 words. The submission MUST include a work cited page (Note: there must be a parenthetical citation at the end of each sentence that contains information from a source). The textbook can be one of the sources included on the works cited page (sources other than the textbook may/should be used as well).

You should use Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spacing, and one-inch margins on all four sides of the paper. The assignment is to be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style which includes a works cited page but does NOT include a title page. Students should research this style in order to properly format the assignment (see the Purdue Online Writing Lab).

All writing assignments will be analyzed using SafeAssign. DO NOT cut and paste information from an online source or copy information directly from the chapter without using quotations and citing the information. DO NOT use generative artificial intelligence programs (such as ChatGPT) to prepare your assignment. Essays that contain plagiarized material will receive a significant reduction in points or a zero. Students may receive a failing grade in the course for submitting plagiarized material.

Online assistance for writing assignments is available through the Writing Lab in Blackboard. Select Enroll from the dropdown box by the EnglishTutor link. Also, you may use the library’s Research Paper Review service to get helpful feedback on your work before you submit it.

Writing Prompts

Select ONE of the following topics to discuss in the Writing Assignment. You must get your instructor’s permission to write about any topic not listed below before you submit your writing assignment. Writing about more than one of the listed topics or failure to get the instructor’s permission before writing about another topic will result in a significant decrease in points. See the Writing Assignment Instructions above for more information.

The U.S. Constitution creates a federal system of government whereby powers are distributed between a national government and fifty state governments. There are times when the federal government and state governments clash over state laws that may violate federal law. Provide a specific policy example where federal law and state law may be in conflict (for example marijuana, same-sex marriage, etc.) and explain how these differences have been resolved (if your chosen issue has actually been resolved). Should federal law always be supreme to state laws? Explain why or why not.
The number of people represented by each member of the U.S. House of Representatives in their individual districts has increased greatly since the size of the House was permanently set at 435 members in the 1920s. How does the size of the House of Representatives compare to democratically-elected legislatures in other countries? Provide at least two examples to compare to the House. Discuss whether or not expanding the House would lead to better representation for Americans. Is there a limit to the size the House can reach before it harms the effectiveness of the body? Why or why not? Explain your responses and positions on these questions in detail.
The Founding Fathers wanted the federal courts to be protected from political influence. In what ways does the Constitution try to limit the role of political influence on court rulings? What criteria are examined when the Senate discusses and votes to confirm or reject a presidential nomination for a position on the federal courts? Provide an example from the past ten years. Should the president and the Senate be solely responsible for deciding who becomes a federal judge? Should federal judges have lifetime terms or term limits in office? Explain your responses and positions on these questions in detail.
Find three polls on the same policy issue (for example, the death penalty, marijuana legalization, or any other policy topic) from three different time periods. The polls MUST be about policy issues (not about politicians, candidates, or election campaigns) and there must be eight years between each poll concerning your policy topic. Highlight the characteristics of these polls that make them “scientific” and compare the polls to each other (wording of the questions, possible answers to each question, the kinds of respondents, etc.) Finally, discuss how public opinion has changed on this policy issue. What may have caused the variations in opinion on that issue over the years? Be specific in your analysis. [Hint: Pew Research and Gallup are good sources for public opinion data on policy issues.
There are numerous economic and non-economic interest groups that seek to influence public policy in America today. Choose one economic or non-economic interest group and briefly describe it. You should review their mission statement, history and current activities. Is it a citizens’ group, single-issue group, ideological group, or economic group? (Review the Patterson chapter on interest groups to help you answer this question.) What are some characteristics of this group that put it in the interest group category you have chosen? Explain an issue they have been pushing Congress on and assess how successful they have been in reaching their policy goals. Which of the numerous interest groups in America would you potentially join? Which of the four types of interest groups is it and what policy goal would you personally like that group to reach on your behalf?
Read “Turnout in U.S. has soared in recent elections but by some measures still trails that of many other countries”. According to Patterson (the assigned textbook for the class), what are some of the causes of low voter turnout in the U.S.? Discuss at least three ways that are already used or proposed to increase voter turnout (used in states or other nations or proposed by voting rights advocates). How successful have these proposals been at increasing turnout? If the voter turnout proposal you highlighted has not been tried, discuss whether you believe it will increase turnout? Why or why not? Should the American government encourage higher turnout in its national elections? Why or why not?
This paper must be your own work. DO NOT submit a paper written by an AI program. Suspicious papers may receive significant point deductions or a zero.

Complete your assignment as instructed using word-processing software such as MS Word 365 (download free software at https://products.office.com/en-us/student?ms.officeurl=getoffice365), LibreOffice (download free software at https://www.libreoffice.org/download), or other per course requirements. Save your file as a .doc or .pdf file to ensure that it can be opened on any computer.

Submit your assignment by dragging the file into the submission box below. Do not enter text into the submission box.

Book used for citation:

Patterson, Thomas E. We The People: 2025 Release. Available from: Central Texas College, McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US), 2023.