PSCI 1101-104, 115: Mr. Jaeger

Response Paper Rubric and Topics

The following is a guideline to follow in preparing your response papers and lays out the expectations for effective writing in Mr. Jaeger’s recitations. Please use the rubric below to ensure you fulfill all of the requirements for the response papers, but understand that assessing writing is not a completely objective undertaking (Grades range from ‘A’ to ‘F’ and we only have three categories below!). The rubric is a guideline that I use in evaluating your response papers to have some objectivity. That being said, my subjective assessments of the depth of your thinking, the strength of your arguments, the quality of your support, and the overall quality of your thinking and writing will guide my final decision about your grade.

One comment on working with sources: As a guideline, please cite any ideas, statistics, evidence, or support that are not your own whether or not they are paraphrased or quoted. Please spend some time familiarizing yourself with two websites that are useful in explaining how and when to cite sources:

Working with Sources from Dartmouth College: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/

Citing Sources from the University of Colorado: http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/about/citing.htm

· Due Dates: Based on your depth of understanding of an issue or your own personal interests, you may select which weeks you would like to hand in your response papers within the following guidelines.

o All students must hand in one response paper no later than the week of October 15^th. Papers are due at the beginning of recitation that week.

o All students must hand in their second response paper no later than the week of December 3^rd. Papers are due at the beginning of recitation that week.

o Papers should be turned in via email and hard copy.

o You are strongly encouraged to hand in papers before the two final deadlines and to write the responses on the topics that interest you. Please manage your time well and hand in papers early to avoid a crunch around midterm exams. Papers will be returned at the end of the following week’s recitation section.

· Each paper should include a critique of an idea presented, an analysis of the importance or relevance of an issue covered in the recitation readings, and a discussion of further implications of the information presented. It should not be a summary of the material.

· The response papers do not require additional research but should reflect critical thinking and evaluation of the material presented.

· Each response paper should be 3 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman font, 1” margins, with only your name, date, and recitation section single-spaced at the top.

Response Paper Rubric

Category	Exemplary	Acceptable	Unacceptable
Thesis and Evidence	Argument is clear, specific, coherent, thought-provoking, and rigorous. Evidence is substantial (though not excessive), relevant, and clearly connected to an argument.	Thesis is detectable though unrefined, lacks nuance, and/or broad. Evidence is connected to arguments though either overwhelms or fails to substantiate the writer’s own thoughts.	Unclear thesis or stance that results in summary. Lack of evidence from the readings and/or summary that does not represent connection between an argument and the reading.
Organization and Logic	Paper has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion that flows logically from one thought to the next. Paper builds logically from a set of claims to supporting evidence to conclusions.	Paper has an introduction and body, though conclusion may be unclear or a simple restatement of paper’s arguments. Paper may be slightly disorganized in ordering of arguments.	Introduction, body, and/or conclusion are difficult to identify. Lack of clear organization within paragraphs and between paragraphs distracts of paper’s argument.
Grammar and Mechanics	Writing conforms to expectations of proper grammar and mechanical conventions. Paper has zero misspellings, grammatical errors, typos, or awkward constructions. All verbs are in the appropriate tense.	Writing conforms to expectations of proper grammar and mechanical conventions. Paper has 1-2 misspellings, grammatical errors, typos, or awkward constructions. All verbs are in the appropriate tense.	Writing conforms to expectations of proper grammar and mechanical conventions. Paper has 3 or more misspellings, grammatical errors, typos, or awkward constructions.
Citations and Formatting	Author properly cites (according to MLA or APA style) all unoriginal thought, data, quotes, and paraphrased material. Paper is exactly 3 pages (not including title page), double-spaced, page numbered, 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1” margins on all sides.	Author properly cites (according to MLA or APA style) all unoriginal thought, data, quotes, and paraphrased material. Paper is exactly 3 pages (not including title page), double-spaced, page numbered, 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1” margins on all sides.	Author fails to properly cite or follow expectations for page length, formatting, or is shorter than paper expectation.
Clarity and Creativity	Author clearly expresses his/her ideas using the language of political science, proper diction, and clear phrasing. Topic and argument reflect creativity in the application of topics discussed in recitation to new areas or points out interesting connections in concepts.	Author expresses his or her ideas using a minimum of trite language. Most ideas are clearly presented in interesting ways. Author is somewhat creative in response, though may engage in a minimum of simple clarification of ideas in recitation readings.	Awkward constructions and/or colloquialisms exist throughout paper. Response reflects a minimum of creative thought and engages in summary or restatement of ideas already discussed.

Prompts for Paper Topics

· (Weeks 1-4) Given the state of contemporary American society (i.e. current events, current public policy debates, relationship between branches of government, the level of government, etc.), to what extent did the Framers of the Constitution solve the collective action problems they set out to answer? What role does Federalism continue to play in resolving these collective action problems? More specifically, you may choose a current debate in public policy (from our readings, the Fiorina textbook, the news, with my help, etc.) and evaluate whether or not the institutions and political system created under the Constitution is helpful in resolving the dilemma.

· (Weeks 5 & 6) Many have argued that the story of American history has been the progressive extension of civil rights and civil liberties to previously excluded groups. What Constitutional concerns still persist in protecting civil rights and civil liberties? What segments of American society remain susceptible to infringements on civil rights and civil liberties and what can be done about it?

· (Weeks 7-10) You are asked in the middle part of the course to examine the institutions that define the American political system: Congress, The Presidency, The Bureaucracy, The Judiciary. Compared to the Framers’ vision of the distribution and extent of powers for the national government, what changes have we seen in both the perceived and actual powers of these institutions? OR Select two institutions and explain what resources (formal powers, informal powers, monetary, relationship to other branches, etc.) they have available to accomplish their agendas and evaluate the extent of those institutions’ power to shape public policy compared to others. More specifically, you could choose a current public policy issue (from our texts or the news) and consider how at least two of the institutions we examine are attempting to shape the outcome of the debate: what is the issue? How does each institution you have chosen accomplish its agenda? What constraints exist on the institutions in trying to accomplish its goals?

· (Weeks 11-16) Several non-institutional factors can have powerful influences in shaping policy outcomes. In the last section of the course, you are asked to examine the role of Public Opinion, the News Media, Voting, Political Parties, and Interest Groups in the American political system. Select two of these influential methods of shaping political outcomes and complete the following: 1) Identify the methods by which the non-institutional factors shape policy and 2) Evaluate which group (of all the groups) has the most power in shaping policy compared with which you believe should have the greatest impact.