Assignment:
Now, we have done a lot of critical thinking thus far this semester. In fact, all of your discussion board posts, as well as, to an extent, your essay tests, were designed with this in mind. Learning to critically think is a life skill, and it is something that employers, as well as universities that you may or may not transfer to, are looking for from their applicants.
This week, to further strengthen those critical thinking skills, you are to compose what we call "the signature assignment." For this course, the signature assignment is going to consist of a three to four-page essay (not including a required title page and bibliography), typed in 12-point font, double-spaced, and submitted as a Microsoft Word document. The instructions for this essay are as follows:
1) Think back to Week One, when I asked all of you the question "how does American politics and government impact you?"
2) After considering this for a moment, revisit that question now, now that you are on the verge of completing the course. What has this class taught you relative to how American government and politics affects not only you, but also your family and your friends? The answer to this question is to the basis of this essay.
3) If you need a little help answering this question, peruse over (not "required" reading, as we have already discussed many domestic, economic, social, and foreign policy issues this semester). Perusing over these chapters may enlighten you to another government policy that impacts you, your family, and/or your friends. You can also look over the NBC Learn application here in Blackboard. This corroboration with NBC News provides an archive of news reports on American government and politics. This application can be found under the "Tools" tab of our Blackboard page.
4) Keep in mind, for almost everyone, government policy is going to impact you in multiple ways. You do not have to choose just one, but you can elaborate on more than one way government policy impacts you and your families and friends.
5) Even though this is an essay, you must cite any information you use from outside sources. You can use any citation format you wish, as long as you use the same format throughout the essay. In addition, make sure you also include a bibliography as well. There is no set minimum number of sources you must use, but there is an expectation of at least two or three sources. (And, your textbook may be used as one of those sources).
6) However, I would like the emphasis of this paper to focus on your perspectives relative to how American government and politics affects you and your families and friends. Use self-reflection and life experience to help you answer this question.
I want all of you to enjoy this assignment. This should not be looked at as an arduous task. Instead, I want you to look at this as a way to assess your intellectual growth in this course.