Party Platform Research Assignment

 

70 pts.

 

The purpose of this assignment is to choose one political issue (ex: marriage equality, public school funding, abortion, gun regulation) and then review the Texas Democratic Party, Texas Green Party, Texas Libertarian Party & Texas Republican Party platforms.  You must summarize (in your words) the party’s position and specific goals regarding the issue you selected.  You must review the most recent platform located on each party’s website.  The easiest way to locate the platform is to simply google the party platform, ex: Texas Democratic Party Platform.  Once you have located the issue, you need to prepare a typed paper using the following guidelines:

 

1)  Explain how your issue affects the state and why this is an important political/policy issue in the state of Texas. ( Use a minimum of two sources in the section) 10pts

 

2)  In a separate paragraph for each party, summarize the platform regarding the one issue you have selected.  Do not copy and paste any information from the platform.  No quotes are needed in this paper.  The purpose is for you to review the issue and explain in your words how the party stands on the issue. 40pts

 

3)  In the closing paragraph tell me what you learned from the research.  Explain the overall similarities differences in the policy/goals of the party regarding the issue selected.  10pts

 

4)  Include a works cited page, and you must cite within. You can use MLA, APA, CHA, etc.  Simply choose one method and stay consistent. The paper should be a minimum of 1000 words, double spaced, with 12 font.  10pts

 

5)  The final paper must be submitted to the drop box, which is automatically set up as a Turnitin drop box.

 

Read the following information to avoid common problems that students have, generally because they are not familiar with writing papers or because they do not read directions or ask questions:

 

Sources for this paper

 

As explained in the instructions, you must use the Texas State Party Platforms.  In Federal Government you look at the national platforms.  If you do not use the Texas Party Platforms, you will likely fail this paper.

 

Rules for proper Citing:  

 

1)  You must not only have a works cited page, you must also cite within the paper to show your reader where you specifically found the information you are summarizing.  For Example you can say: According to the Democratic Party Platform, Democrats do support the right of citizens to own guns.  However, they view crime prevention and public safety as a job of the government and police. ( Public Safety, 40)

 

  You must then have a specific entry in the Works Cited page for the Texas Democratic Party Platform. Feel free to use EasyBib or any other citation generator such as that..

 

       If the platform does not use page numbers, then you must cite to the specific section/number where the information was found. This will be true for the Texas Green Party and the Texas Libertarian Party.  For example:  

 

The Green Party, under the section "Gun Safety" , supports licensing and registration of hand guns and assault weapons (II.G.3).  

 

OR

 

Libertarian party supports maximum rights of people, and the sole role of government should be to defend the freedoms of the people.  The party clearly states that any government that prohibits a person right to self-defense should be brought to “heel” or be repaired (Statement of Principles, 1).  Specifically the party supports the right of citizens to open carry ((II.1.C).

 

    There is a citation guide posted for you under the Important Course Module.

 

No Quotes Allowed

 

     The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn to read the platform, analyze the party stance on your issue, and then explain to your reader in your words how the party stands on the issue.  I suggest you select a friend or family member to read your paper and see if they understand the party's position on the issue after reading the paper.  If they do not, then you probably have not done what you need to do.

 

    You are not allowed to quote in this paper, because I know what the platform says, I want to see if you can understand and explain the platform.  You must still cite to the page number(s) where information was gathered.  Students incorrectly believe you only cite when you quote. This is wrong, use my example above.  You must always tell the reader where you collected any information you are summarizing.  You must always give credit to the source. 

 

Plagiarism Check

 

     The drop box for this assignment is automatically set up as a Turnitin Drop Box.  Which means that when you submit the paper it will check for plagiarism.  It generally takes about an hour for the plagiarism report to generate.  You will see a colored box with the percent once it is completed. It is your responsibility to turn the paper in early enough so that you can check the report and make any changes necessary.  Sometimes information will be highlighted as plagiarism, such as the works cited entries.  You do not need to worry about that, or very common wording such as Second Amendment.  However, when you see full sentences highlighted or paragraphs, this is a problem.  It means you have not put the information in your words.

 

     Students always want me to give them a percent that is acceptable.  I cannot do that.  You need to submit the paper and review the report.  One copied sentence is plagiarism.  You have the ability to resubmit the paper as many times as you like until the due date.