Final Research Paper

Final Research Paper

GOVT 2305

Directions: Choose one of the following prompts. Your responses should be 4-5 pages

(approximately 1000 words) typed, full complete sentences. Be sure to cite the outside

sources you use. Your responses should be submitted as a Word file on D2L.

Regardless of your chosen prompt, as a research memo, you are required to (1) make

an argument, and (2) use at least three scholarly sources to defend your

argument. Your scholarly sources can come from a variety of published sources,

including academic books and articles, and may draw any scholarly methods on

qualitative, quantitative, case studies, and theoretical methods. Sources can come from

a variety of fields, including political science, public policy, public administration, urban

planning, psychology, sociology, and economics. Please note that scholarly sources are

high-quality peer reviewed works of science. While you can use non-scholarly sources

(such as blog posts, news articles, and textbook entries) to help build your our argument

or provide content, these do not fulfill the three scholarly source requirement.

You can access scholarly sources through the resources provided by the Lone Star

College Library. You can access the LSC Library Social Science research databases at

http://www.lonestar.edu/library/14631.htm, and the general library search interface at

http://www.lonestar.edu/library/index.htm. Students are also welcome to use other tools

to find articles, including Google Scholar and other academic search engines.

Choose one of the following prompts:

Option A: Campaign Consulting

You are an outside independent political consultant that has been hired to advise a

political party about what they can do to win the next election. Compose a

recommendation outlining what the party should do to flip the seat. In your paper,

you should:

 Specify a specific legislative district (either state or federal, House or Senate)

that the opposing party should target in the next election

 Provide details on why you selected that district (such as past voting behavior

in Presidential and midterm elections) as well as the composition of that district,

and

 (Most Importantly) Develop a strategy for the party to win, including the

qualities the candidate should possess, what issues they should focus on, and

they types of voters they should attempt to persuade.

In your memo, incorporate what you have learned both from the text and from our class

discussions. You may want to consider the implications of our discussions on elections,

electoral rules, the median voter, voter turnout, mobilization, independents, and/or voter

behavior. Regardless of what position you choose to take, you must support your

argument with evidence and analysis. Your goal is to set up the party to do well in the

next election; remember, as a consultant, your salary is directly proportional to how the

party performs!

-OR-

Option B: The Power in Policy

Who has the real power in the U.S. policymaking process, and why? Is it

Congress, the President, Bureaucrats, Interest Groups, the People, or someone

else?

In your answer, you may wish to consider some of the following:  The nature of political power  How policies are made/changed  Policy Responsiveness  The goals of politicians  The institutional design and function of Congress  The institutional design and function of the Presidency  The institutional design and function of the Bureaucracy  The goals and tactics used by Interest Groups

Note that ‘some’ is a key term here. In this length of paper, it is impossible to cover this

many topics. Instead, pick a key focus, make your argument, and defend it. For

example, you may argue interest groups have the power, and only discuss interest

groups and congress, or you could argue that the Speaker of the House has the real

power, and only talk about Congress. The key is not which individual/group/organization

you pick, it’s your ability to argue, support, and defend your choice.

-OR-

Option C: Understanding Voter ID Laws

Are photo identification requirements to vote (commonly called voter ID laws) a form of discrimination or a necessary tool to protect the legitimacy of elections?

In your essay, you should consider each of the following elements when building your argument:

 What are the characteristics of a discriminatory voting law?  Does voter ID share those characteristics?  Does voter ID solve a prevalent problem?  Does voter ID adversely affect one segment of the population over others?  What are the actual implications and effects of voter id laws?

When building your argument, you may find it useful to incorporate examples of voter discrimination we have discussed in class, including poll taxes, literacy tests, disenfranchisement, and voter suppression and intimidation. You may also wish to consider the implications of voter id on voter turnout and the costs of voting. As with all arguments you make in this class, the position you take does not matter; you will be scored only based upon your ability to make and defend an argument. You are free to present information in any way you think will be effective; students are permitted to use images, charts, and graphs to convey meaningful information on a persuasive and effective manner.