Term Paper

American Government
Term Paper Assignment
Mr. Steere

Overview:   This assignment requires you to write a term paper on an issue that is likely to be addressed by Congress or otherwise be a political issue.   The paper must be at least seven pages long and cite at least six sources.   Your paper is due on March 24th, however you have due dates for parts of the assignment prior to then.  

Writing Assignment:

You must pick one of the issues outlined below or a topic that you approve with me and address ALL of the assigned questions.

I expect you to discuss and analyze the following for your topic.

• Explain the issue in detail.   What is the problem that the politicians seek to address or are trying to fix? What do those concerned believe with happen if the problem or issue is not addressed?   How has the issue been addressed in the past?   In other words, give me a history of the issue.
• How, if at all, is the issue currently being addressed?  
• What are the various proposals to fix the problem?   What do the candidates and politicians say?
• What are the criticisms of these proposals?
• To what type of voter is the issue most important?
• To what interest groups is the issue most important?
• What are the political implications of the problem?   Will efforts to fix the problem, or the failure to fix the problem, hurt one party more than another?
• How likely is it that Congress will do something to address the problem?
• What is your analysis of the issues?   This can be you opinion, supported by facts and arguments, for what should be done.   This can also be a discussion of what the likely outcome of the issue will be and what the implications of that outcome will be.


Topic Selection:   Each student should select a different topic.   You have one week to make your choice.   Do a little research to make sure you like your topic.   The order in which students will select topics will be determined randomly and will be done in class.   Think... [continues]

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