INCLUDE ALL OF THESE PARTS:
· Find any current and specific issue, story, or event that is occurring or has recently
occurred within the past six months and is focused on the U.S. federal government. You
could write about a proposal or legislation in Congress, a presidential initiative or action,
an administrative decision or action, a 2020 election story, a recent federal court ruling, a
foreign policy story or other interesting national government story that has recently been in
the news.
EXAMPLES:
- Presidential executive orders or actions, such as immigration, military, trade or
foreign policy decisions. - Election news, such as a story about the upcoming 2020 federal elections.
- Administrative news from a department of the federal government, such as a new drug
or medical device recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). - Current legislation moving through Congress in 2019.
- International news that involves the U.S. national government.
· DO NOT cover a state- or local-level issue or a non-government topic area, unless it has a
strong national government angle and you can show a specific and direct connection to the
national government. DO NOT write about a broad topic, such as global warming, stem-cell
research, immigration, gun control or gasoline prices. You must find a story that is narrowly
focused, specific, current and governmental or political in nature.
· Use the Internet, electronic databases, search engines, journals, newspapers, magazines,
etc. to research the topic. Be sure to obtain your information from legitimate, objective and
scholarly sources, and provide research from at least three sources in your essay. You may
find that news sites (such as National Public Radio) provide you with the best start. Avoid
obtaining information from biased sources, such as interest group websites, and do not use
biased or opinionated information as fact.
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· Provide a detailed summary of your topic and be sure to UPDATE it as much as possible
by using the most current research available. You must have up-to-date, 2019 research.
Make it interesting for your reader!
· Explain the significance of your topic within the context of your overall study of American
Government. Tie in and connect the story to information learned in class and from our course
materials. Where possible, you should incorporate specific information from your readings
and Blackboard lessons when explaining the topic. Your grade will be largely based
on your ability to connect the story to what you have learned in this class.
· Provide your personal opinion about and analysis of the story. What do you think about
it? Why did you choose this particular topic to write about? What is so interesting about it?
· Any information obtained from an outside source must be parenthetically cited in the
essay, and you must include a Works Cited or References page at the end of the paper.
Avoid even the appearance of plagiarism.