The U.S. Constitution and Federalism
The U.S. Constitution and Federalism
This week, you will determine a policy for your Final Paper and begin your research regarding the policy of your choosing. It is important to remember that your paper should focus on a specific policy and that your paper will need to address the following components:
Historical and constitutional basis for the American government’s structure
The system of checks and balances
The various roles (e.g., public opinion, media, special interest groups, etc.) concerning public policy and elections
The voting system and election process
Please watch this video that walks through the steps of the paper development and expands on the four required sections of the paper.
Prepare: Since this is the first step in developing your Final Paper, it is recommended that you review POL201 Assignment GuidePreview the document before beginning this assignment. A model POL201 Final Paper templatePreview the document and the POL201 Research Guide are both provided for you within the online classroom to utilize when completing your Final Paper. You should also review the Week 2 Policy and Your Life discussion and the list of some possible policies found in the Week 2 DQ and Final Paper Policy ExamplesPreview the document in your online classroom, before completing this assignment.
The first step to researching your Final Paper is selecting a specific policy for your paper, which was part of the Week 2 Policy and Your Life discussion. Your paper must focus on a specific policy that focuses on an aspect of the United States government and ideally, that relates to your major and future career. You should be able to find research that will allow you to support your ideas. If you have questions or would like your instructor to approve your policy, please email them directly and/or discuss with your instructor and colleagues in the Week 2 Policy and Your Life discussion forum.
Reflect: Once you have found a topic that interests you, you will begin the research for your Final Paper this week. In addition to establishing your topic and the thesis for your paper, you will also provide an Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.) for four of the sources you intend to utilize to support your Final Paper. Each annotation should be a minimum of one full paragraph (five sentences) in length and should explain what the source discusses and how this links to your Final Paper topic. While your textbook can be utilized as a source, it does not count towards your four sources for this assignment. As your paper progresses, it is expected that you will find more sources to support your ideas for a minimum of eight sources are required for the final, with a minimum of five of those sources from the Ashford University Library databases. This research is necessary to develop a strong Final Paper. The following resources will help you to use the library effectively to find sources for your paper:
For guidance on using library databases to locate scholarly, peer-reviewed articles click on Help! Need Article (Links to an external site.)and then click the “How Do I Search for Articles” button from the Main Menu.
For guidance on identifying the types of sources you can use for academic research, watch this interactive tutorial on Evaluating Sources.
The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. Additionally, the POL201 Research Guide, located within the online classroom, is designed to help you find sources for your paper. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Be sure that the sources you are utilizing to support your ideas are valid, reliable, and not overly bias. For information on identifying information bias, watch this interactive tutorial on Subjective and Objective Statements (Links to an external site.).
Write: To complete the assignment, download the Week 2 Annotated Bibliography WorksheetPreview the document from the online classroom to your computer, fill it out, and submit it via Waypoint. Within the worksheet, you will address your policy, find four scholarly sources to support your policy, and explain the significance of each of your four sources. Please be sure that each section is at least a full paragraph (minimum of five sentences) in length and fully addresses the questions presented. All references should be listed in full APA format and cited appropriately.
Scholarly Support
For help with Writing Basics (Links to an external site.) and Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.), please review the handouts and tutorials provided by the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Waypoint Assignment Submission
The assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint. Please refer to the instructions below to submit your assignment.
Click on the Assignment Submission button below. The Waypoint “Student Dashboard” will open in a new browser window.
Browse for your assignment.
Click Upload.
Confirm that your assignment was successfully submitted by viewing the appropriate week’s assignment tab in Waypoint.
For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tutorial
POL201: American National Government
Week 3 Assignment
Outline Worksheet and Final Paper Pre-Planning
Building on your assignment from Week 2, this week you will expand on your topic and develop a thesis statement and an outline for your Final Paper.
Prepare: This is the second step in writing your Final Paper, so please be sure to re-review the POL201 Assignment GuidePreview the document and the POL201 Final Paper templatePreview the document within the online classroom. Reflect on the policy topic that you determined last week and review your instructor’s comments and feedback regarding the policy and preliminary research. Review the research articles you found last week and determine what other aspects of the policy still need to be discussed and supported.
Reflect: Reflecting on your policy and your previous research, think about how to best structure your thesis (the argument) that you are supporting within this assignment. For this assignment, you will establish your thesis and then outline your paper with your supporting resources. You will utilize your four references from last week and add at least two additional references this week, for a total of six sources for this week’s assignment. At least four of these resources should be from the Ashford University Library. The following resources will help you to use the library effectively to find resources for your assignment:
For guidance on using library databases to locate scholarly, peer-reviewed articles click on Help! Need Article (Links to an external site.) and then click the “How Do I Search for Articles” button from the menu.
For guidance on identifying the types of sources you can use for academic research, watch this interactive tutorial on Evaluating Sources (Links to an external site.). Continue the research process and find sources that support your ideas and that can be integrated into your paper effectively. The POL201 Research Guide (Links to an external site.)is designed to help you find sources for your paper. Be sure you make use of this librarian-created resource for your assignment.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Be sure that the sources you are utilizing to support your ideas are valid, reliable, and not overly bias. For more information on identifying information bias, watch this interactive tutorial on Subjective and Objective Statements (Links to an external site.).
Write: You will establish and develop a strong thesis for your Final Paper. The thesis (see Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)) will serve as the backbone of your Final Paper and should showcase in one complete statement what your policy is, why it is important, and how it relates to policymaking and government program administration within the American national government.
Once you have established your thesis, you will then outline (see Outlining (Links to an external site.)) your Final Paper utilizing outline format. When utilizing an outline, be sure to include the elements from the Week 2 assignment and remember to use headings and subheadings. All sentences within your outline should be complete and should help to support your ideas.
To complete the assignment, save the Week 3 Outline WorksheetPreview the document to your computer, fill it out, and submit it via Waypoint. Within the worksheet, you will state your thesis statement, provide an outline of your paper, and integrate the four sources from your annotated bibliography, plus two more sources, into your outline to showcase how these resources support your ideas. Provide a full APA references list with a minimum of six sources. Please be sure to utilize outline format and to support all statements with scholarly research. All references should be listed in full APA format and cited appropriately.
Scholarly Support
For help with Writing Basics (Links to an external site.) and Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.), please review the handouts and tutorials provided by the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Waypoint Assignment Submission
The assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint. Please refer to the instructions below to submit your assignment.
Click on the Assignment Submission button below. The Waypoint “Student Dashboard” will open in a new browser window.
Browse for your assignment.
Click Upload.
Confirm that your assignment was successfully submitted by viewing the appropriate week’s assignment tab in Waypoint.
For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tutorial (Links to an external site.)
POL201: American National Government
Week 5 Assignment
A Final Paper Assignment
The primary goal of your final assignment is to critically analyze the specific topic you have chosen regarding American national government.
You have been preparing for this final assignment each week by constructing an Annotated Bibliography (Week 2) and a detailed outline of the Final Paper’s main points (Week 3) in which you focused on the following:
Historical and constitutional basis for the American Government’s structure
The system of checks and balances
The various roles (e., public opinion, media, special interest groups, etc.) concerning public policy and elections
The voting system and election process.
In addition, you have read the course text and course readings, reviewed videos, and researched additional material for each week’s assignments and this paper. This week, you will put all of those outlines, readings, reviews, and research together to evaluate policymaking and government program administration into one Final Paper.
As we wrap up our course, reflect on what you have learned about the key structures, systems, roles, and processes that embody our national government. Think about the strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, and positive and negative impacts of these aspects of our democracy. Use what you have learned so far to evaluate a specific policy of our national government and recommend ways to enhance what works and repair what is not working well. It is important that your Final Paper utilizes your previous research and assignments, including the feedback that you received from the Ashford Writing Center in Week 4. The assignment should also showcase what you have learned in the course. While your previous assignments will serve as a strong base for this assignment, it is very important that you implement feedback from your instructor and the Ashford Writing Center, as well as further expand on the material. Appropriate transitions and headings are needed to ensure a cohesive Final Paper.
The Final Paper should utilize the POL201 Final Paper templatePreview the document and be at least six pages in length (not including title page and references) and based on your previously submitted assignments. It is important to utilize APA Style Elements (Links to an external site.) headings for major sections of your paper in order to ensure that the paper is easy to follow.
Scaffold your paper around the following outline:
Title page (see Introduction to APA (Links to an external site.))
Introduction (half page) (see Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.))
Describe the paper’s overall thesis.
Provide an overview of main points.
First Main Point (one to one and a half pages) describes the historical and Constitutional basis of American government’s structure and how this relates to the policy.
Describe the main point.
Support the main point with research.
Second Main Point (one to one and a half pages) explains how the policy is involved within the process of checks and balances.
Describe the main point.
Support the main point with research.
Third Main Point (one to one and a half pages) describes how the policy relates to public policy and elections and how the policy is portrayed by the media.
Describe the main point.
Support the main point with research.
Fourth Main Point (one to one and a half pages) explains how the policy impacts voting and the election process.
Describe the main point.
Support the main point with research.
Conclusion (see Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.))
Review your main points.
Review your overall thesis.
References page (see Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.))
The Final Paper AssignmentMust be at least six double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA Style (Links to an external site.) as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least eight scholarly sources in addition to the course text. A minimum of five of the resources must be from peer-reviewed scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library.
The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
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For additional writing resources like Grammarly (Links to an external site.), click on the Writing Center tab in the left navigation pane.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Waypoint Assignment Submission
The assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint. Please refer to the instructions below to submit your assignment. Click on the Assignment Submission button below. The Waypoint “Student Dashboard” will open in a new browser window.
Browse for your assignment.
Click Upload.
Confirm that your assignment was successfully submitted by viewing the appropriate week’s assignment tab in Waypoint.
For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tutorial
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