GOVT Research Project

profilealfkhomis
state_politics_project.rtf
Home>Government homework help>GOVT Research Project

3

GOVT 2305

Presidential Elections Project

The state assigned is Massachusetts.

Research the politics of the state assigned to you in order to answer the questions below. The following information sources may prove helpful (you may need to copy and paste the links into your browser):

State elected officials and members of Congress by state: http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/search.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4860375" http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/search.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4860375

Presidential election outcomes by state: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_election_results_by_state

Presidential election outcomes by state: http://www.historycentral.com/elections/states/List.html

2012 election outcome by state: http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012/" http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012/

You can also type the name of your state, the words “presidential elections,” and the year into a Internet search engine.

Good Advice:

  • Do not wait until the day the assignment is due to begin work. That is a prescription for a very poor grade.
  • Don’t complete this project until you have studied presidential elections. It is especially important that you understand how the Electoral College works. Watch the lecture videos on presidential elections and the Electoral College.
  • Please note that this project deals with presidential election outcomes in one state only, the state assigned to you. It doesn’t ask about national presidential election outcomes.
  • Read the questions closely before answering them. Students frequently lose points for failing to fully answer each question. In particular, if the question asks you to write a paragraph, that means you need to write several sentences. A paragraph is not a single sentence. As you recall from your English class, paragraphs have topic sentences, several sentences in the body that develop the topic sentence, and a concluding sentence that ties the paragraph together.
  • Review all of your answers before you submit your completed project. Students often lose points for submitting answers that are contradictory. Make sure your answers are consistent and make sense.

Your research will focus on political party strength in a state. Answer the questions about the 2016 election based on recent party history rather than personalities. Don’t speculate on the strength or weakness of Hillary Clinton or any other likely presidential candidate.

  • Never, never, never copy and paste from a website. The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn how to find data, report it, and interpret it. Copying and pasting from a website is the opposite of research. It is the opposite of critical thinking. It is the opposite of what any self-respecting college student should do. When I detect that a student has copied and pasted from a source (and it is always obvious), I immediately go into overdrive looking for opportunities to take off points. Nothing irritates me more because it shows me that the student has no interest in learning how to think critically and write about his or her ideas.

    • Don’t provide information that has not been requested. Don’t include information relevant to question 3 when answering question 2. Don’t stray off topic.

    If you use tables and charts in your report (always a plus if they are well done), be sure to discuss them in the body of your report. Don’t just stick in a table and assume the reader will look at it and understand its relevance. Explain it to the reader.

    Interpret your data. Don’t just copy figures from a website and assume that the reader understands their relevance. Explain what the data show. Discuss why the data are important.

    Be sure to use correct grammar and punctuation. One of the reasons you are in college is to learn to write correctly. I will take off one point for every error in English grammar and composition. Here are some common writing errors and websites that briefly explain correct usage:

  • Differentiating between possessives and plurals: http://www.mhcc.edu/english.aspx?id=1978" http://www.mhcc.edu/english.aspx?id=1978
  • Using apostrophes correctly: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

    • Avoiding run-on sentences: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm" http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm

    Avoiding sentence fragments: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm" http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm

    Using semicolons correctly: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon" http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

    Matching pronouns with their antecedents: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm

    Using commas correctly: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp" http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp

    The following website provides a brief guide to correct English usage: http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/robert_noggle/General%20student%20Info/writing-guide.html

    Instructions

    Please answer the following questions for the state assigned to you.

    Answer questions by number, treating the assignment as a series of short answer questions. Do not write a single, unified essay.

    A good way to complete the project is to copy each question and then insert your answers after the questions in a different color type. (Use one color, not several colors.) Save your completed work as either a Word file or an RTF file and submit it at the assignments portal. Do not save it as a Zip file. If I can’t open the file, your grade is a zero until you submit a file I can open.

    You will be graded on the following criteria:

    • Correct English grammar and composition;
    • Accurate information;

    Insightful analysis; and

    Clearness of answers.

    Questions

    • How many members of the U.S. House of Representatives currently represent the state you are studying? (6 pts.)
    • How many members of the U.S. House representing the state are Democrats? How many are Republicans? (6 pts.)

    Who is the current governor of the state? Is he/she a Democrat or Republican? (6 pts.)

  • Who are the state’s current U.S. senators? Are they Democrats or Republicans? (6 pts.)
  • Who carried the state in the 2000 presidential election—Bush or Gore? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? (8 pts.)
  • Who carried the state in the 2004 presidential election—Bush or Kerry? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? (8 pts.)

    • Who carried the state in the 2008 presidential election—McCain or Obama? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? (8 pts.)

  • Who carried the state in the 2012 presidential election—Romney or Obama? How close was the popular vote in the state? Was it a close race in the state or not? (8 pts.)
  • How many electoral votes does the state have? What formula determines the number of electoral votes in a state? (8 pts.)
  • What are blue states? (2 pts.)
  • What are red states? (2 pts.)
  • What are swing states? (2 pts.)
  • Would you describe the state you are studying as a blue state, red state, or swing state? Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. Use the research you did to answer the questions above to help you with this question and the following questions. (6 pts.)
  • What is a battleground state? (2 pts.)
  • Would you expect the state to be a battleground state in the 2016 presidential election? Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. (10 pts.)
  • Suppose you are a Democratic Party strategist planning for the 2016 election. Do you expect that your party will make a major campaign push in this state or not? (Assume your party does not have the financial resources to make a major campaign push in every state.) Write a paragraph explaining the reasoning behind your answer. Your answer should include a discussion of the state’s electoral votes and the level of competitiveness between the two parties in the state. (12 pts.)

    • When you complete the assignment, submit it as an RTF or Word file through the assignments portal linked below.