Assignment: Write a 4 -5 Page Essay on One of the Questions Below
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American Politics – Editorial
Due Date: 12/5
Assignment: Write a 4 -5 page essay on one of the questions below:
Option 1: To what extent and in what ways was the 2008 presidential election historic? While obvious race and gender are a natural part of this question, you need to go beyond pointing out the obvious. What is the significance of a woman and African American being on the ticket, how did race and/or gender affect the election and its outcome? What did it teach us about racial and gender issues? What else may have made the election of historical significance? You might consider issues relating to voter turnout, fundraising, party realignment, or the dynamics of the campaign itself.
It is possible that we are on the verge of a historical re-alignment though we will not know for sure for a number of years. However, in terms of providing a historical perspective on this election, if you are writing on this topic, you really should consider the how alignment has shifted over time. Is the New Deal Coalition re-emerging, or is it a new democratic majority in the works? What groups does/will this comprise of. And what about the Republicans? Is the Reagan coalition dead? What led to its demise and can it be resurrected? What other directions can the party go to reestablish itself? These are things you should think about as you prepare to write.
You required to read and reference at least 6 articles that analyze the election. Your required articles should be meaty, not tidbits, that is at least 1,000 words long.
Weekly journals such as Time or News Week will be useful. Visiting PEW, CNN, PBS, NPR and the New York Times online is highly recommended. Both CNN and the New York Times have exit polls that will give you all sorts of demographical information on the election that shows the vote based on race, gender, income, religion etc. (You can also Google CNN 2004 exit poll to compare elections) and other sites that break down the results to help you with your analysis. The Political Junkie and the Democratic Strategist would be a couple of other sites worth checking out
Option 2: To what extent did the government’s response to the financial crisis reflect a success of failure of our political institutions? You should consider most of the following: To what extent was the crisis the result of a failed government policy in the first place? Did the president and his administration raise to the occasion in responding to the crisis? Did Congress and the presidential candidates respond appropriately? Were the branches and parties able to come together to provide a reasonable response? As with Option 1, you are required to read and reference at least 6 articles which are at least 1,000 words long.
Requirements: Length: about 4 -5 pages pages, 1 1/2 spacing, 12 point font
Format: Your paper must have a title, an introductory paragraph, 3 to 5 body paragraphs and a conclusion and a List of References (bibliography).
Reference List: Minimum of 6 sources. However, you may use more, and you must list all sources you make use of. At least one non-internet text is required as part of this list
Any standard format is acceptable. You may use the following Political Science Association format: Last Name, First. Date. “Article Title”. Journal/Magazine Title. City of Publication: Publisher Last Name, First. Date. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher Examples: Ackerman, Sam. 2005. “The Rich and the Rest.” New York Times. New York: August 9th. 2007
Pearson Aldrich, John H. 1980. "America’s Disappearing Middle Class." American Political Science Review 74:651-69.
Web Sources: If the web source has a hard copy equivalent, treat the web just like a library (in other words simply the place you found the article). In that case, cite it just like you would an article found in a newspaper or journal in the library. If the web source has no hard copy equivalent, then you need to wing it a bit. However, you must provide the essentials: Author. Date. Article Title. Source. (This is a one sentence description of who put out the main site.) Example: Fealy, Greg. “In Fear of Radical Islam: A Critical Look at the Evidence”. The United States Society. Posted: 6/3/2007. Accessed: 11/8/2007. www.usindo.org/Briefs/2005/Fealy
Quote Requirement: You must include one or two quotes, properly cited. Don’t just chose anything, pick something that adds you your essay in a way your own words can’t. Thus, something that is very well said or especially captures your article’s point of view is what you are looking for. You might also quote specific factual evidence that supports the article’s main contention. Following the quote in parenthesis, identify the source of the quote by author’s name and page if available. In the example below Ackerman has quoted Pizzagatti. (In other cases, the source of the quote and the person you are quoting are the same.) The bibliographical information on the article by Ackerman will found in your reference list at the end of your piece. Example: Pizzagati notes that “the highest incomes come overwhelmingly from the ownership of property (Ackerman p.31). He goes on to say that the most …..
Don’t over stuff your essay with quotes, put it in your own words, 3 or 4 well chosen quotes should for this length essay should be sufficient.
If you use a quote that is longer than three lines you need to use the long quote format. The quote is indented left and right, no quotation marks are used and a semicolon precedes it. You may additionally use italics and/or single spacing to further off set your quote.
The long quote would look some like this. In fact Professor Respini once said:
Many students make the mistake of adding quotations marks to their long quotes. It is probably because they are fearful of leaving them off and then being accused of plagiarism. However, if you set it off like this and acknowledge that you are quoting someone, you got your bases covered. (Respini – unpublished source)
Hopefully this example will help you insert longer quotes into your essays in an acceptable and graceful style. Of course finding something quotable is the next task.
Some Writing Guidelines: If you are at all uncertain how to structure an essay read the following carefully. Introductory Paragraph: The hook: Make your first sentence interesting. Grab my attention. Example: If Bill Gates spent $50,000 a minute for the rest of his life, he would still die a wealthy man if he lived for 40 more years.
Background: Explain the general issue that you are writing about and the controversy surrounding are assessing, including the title and author’s full name. Example: Many economists lament the growing division of wealth that has marked America in the last two decades. While some this is the basis for America’s economic strength, others feel reversing this trend should be a top priority. In fact, Sue Ackerman in her article “The Rich and the Rest”, suggests that there should be a ten-times rule, whereby the top wage earners could earn no more than tens times the minimum wage. Thesis Statement: This tells me what your position on the topic is as well how you are going to support it. Example: Her suggestion is ridiculous and should be opposed for three reasons. First of all, it is arbitrary – why should it be 10 times the wealth of the poor and not 8 or 15. Secondly, it is un-American by going against basic liberal values of freedom and one’s right to pursue their economic dreams. Finally, it is likely to be destructive to economic growth. Indeed, numerous studies show that the type increased taxes Ackerman supports have hurt us in the past.
Body paragraphs: The body paragraphs should be a minimal of five or six sentences and no more than ½ to ¾ of a page long. Most importantly, they should be centered on a main theme and have an introductory sentence to identify this theme. For my mock essay I might write 4 body paragraphs; 1st – a brief summary and elaboration of Ackereman plan and rationale 2nd – a discussion of the arbitrary aspects of the plan 3rd – a discussion of how it goes against my perception of American values 4th - support for my point that it would hurt the economy (maybe this is where I would bring in info from another article to buttress my point.
Conclusion: Students often put little though into their conclusion, but remember this is what will leave a lasting impression on the reader. It is also where you have the most freedom. Your should first summarize or restate your thesis in a sentence or two, but then you should reflect on the whole debate that has just been presented. What does it all add up to and mean? Where do we go from here? In my mock essay, I might suggest what I would do about the income gap or poverty, or even suggest that maybe we need to simply learn to live with it. Or, I might claim that we do too much for the poor already and liberal need to stop complaining.
How to Find Sources: 1. Google: You might start here, just be sure to assess validity of what you get. Remember any guy in his garage can get something online. Look at who is putting it out and what perspective or bias they may have. Are they qualified?
2. Go straight to the sites of major media: PBS (public TV), NPR (pubic radio), sfgate (the SF Chronicle), Time, Washington Post, the LA Times, the NY Times. These sites all offer lots of political analysis for without requiring a subscription.
3. Use the school library’s data base. For recent news, I suggest Lexus-Nexus or Pro-quest to get access to a wide selection of newspaper articles. Get help from the reference desk! Librarians love to do more than stack books, and are usually amazingly helpful.
4. Search KQED’s program “Forum” - Many of these topics have hour long programs dedicated to them that you download online.
5. You may use Wikepedia or other similar web sources for you own background, but unnamed sources such as this can not be used as one of your required 6 sources.
6. A great idea is to go to the library and get assistance from a librarian. To love to assist students and are experts at finding and locating source material.
Grading: Your essay will be graded out of 100 points: Up to 50 points will be awarded for writing. I will be looking for: Clear and Grammatical sentences. Clear well focused paragraphs including a thesis paragraph and a conclusion. Minimal spelling errors. Proper lead in and inclusion of quotes. Proper citations and reference list.
Well written papers are expected. Read it and edit edit, edit, edit! Don’t write it the night before it’s due. Read your essay aloud – get someone else to read it to you! Up to 50 points will awarded for content. Here I will be looking for: A clear and defendable thesis. Logical and sequential development of your ideas. Substantive evidence and information to support your points. Coverage of the issues central to your topic. Accurate interpretation of your information. Content of quotes – are they meaningful and add to your essay. Choice of helpful and substantive outside sources.
A Couple of Pet Peeves The word democratic is an adjective and does not need to be capitalized. The word democracy is a common noun and also does not need to be capitalized. If I say that he is a Democrat, referring to the party, it is a proper noun and must be capitalized as does mentioning the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. (Notice both Democratic and Party are capitalized.)
A Statement on Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the most common form of academic dishonesty. The following passage, taken from Richard M. Eastman’s book entitled Style, provides a cogent definition of plagiarism:
(P)lagiarism is the offering of someone else’s words, pictures, data, ideas, and even conceptions as if they were one’s own. Writers are indeed encouraged to draw upon the information and wisdom of others, but in the spirit of intellectual inquiry they are expected to state such indebtedness so that (a) their own creativity can be justly appreciated and (b) their use of sources, like a scientist’s experiment, can be verified by others. Plagiarism differs from this productive use of sources in that the similarity of the original to the borrowing is very close; it is acknowledged imperfectly or not at all; and it shows little or no creative application by the borrower.
Plagiarism is a prime intellectual offense in that the borrower is faking discovery process. No community of writers and readers can thrive if its members counterfeit their achievements, deceive their critics, and take unfair competitive advantage of others. (Pages 270-1 of Style by Richard M. Eastman. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984).
Plagiarism comes in many forms which include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following:
1. Copying verbatim another person’s written words without proper acknowledgment. In the case of a direct quote, "proper acknowledgment" entails placing quotation marks around the passage or (in the case of an extended passage) indenting the quotation.
2. Paraphrasing another person’s written words without proper acknowledgment. Rephrasing the words does not remove the writer’s obligation to indicate clearly that the material belongs to someone else.
3. Quoting or paraphrasing words that were found in a secondary source as if they were found in a primary source. Suppose, for example, that another author uses a quotation from Alfred Marshall that you would like to use in your paper. You may not present the quotation in a manner that will lead readers to believe that you found it by reading Marshall. Instead, you should say, "As so-and-so (19xx) observed, Alfred Marshall made the following statement about this issue:..."
Note: The points made in items 1-3 apply to the use of diagrams, tables, and statistics as well as words.
4. Failing to acknowledge editorial assistance that substantially improves the style and/or quality of your writing. If someone merely points out errors in grammar or punctuation in your writing, or awkward passages, or gives comments about the overall structure of the paper, which you then rewrite, it is not necessary to acknowledge their assistance, although courtesy should lead you to acknowledge substantial helpful editorial comments by colleagues. However, if your writing has been edited or rewritten by someone else in such a way that the style and quality no longer reflect your writing ability, you must acknowledge that editorial assistance was received.
5. Presenting an idea, model, derivation, proof, etc. that other researchers have developed or with which you received substantial assistance without proper acknowledgment. Plagiarism is not limited to the use of other people’s words, but it includes the improper use of ideas and methodologies as well. If you choose to present someone else’s model in your written work (for example), you must indicate that the model did not originate with you. If an important idea, proof, etc. was given to you by someone else, you must acknowledge the help that you received.
An exception to this point occurs when the model is so widely used and so well-known that it could not possibly be mistaken by the reader as your own (e.g., basic supply and demand models, or the use of ordinary least squares). 6. "Double submission" of papers. Students may not submit the same paper for credit in more than one course without the explicit permission of all instructors who will be evaluating the work.
Note that these rules apply to all written work that you circulate. Also, even starting with the first drafts given to your thesis advisor, you should work at making the appropriate acknowledgments and discuss any uncertain points with your advisor.
(This description of plagiarism is from the Statement on Academic Honesty, found on the SUNY Stony Brook Economics Department’s web pages: http://ws.cc.stonybrook.edu/economics/instruct/grad/honesty.html