Objectives of the Writing Assignment
• Learn about a current not historical political issue or problem involving Texas public
policy.
• Develop your Internet and library research skills.
• Evaluate your topic from the perspective of different cultures and viewpoints as well
as your own.
• Improve your writing and critical thinking skills.
Topic Selection
You are to choose a topic that involves Texas governmental policy. Refer to chapters
11-14 of the textbook for ideas. The topic must exam some aspect of government that
highlights your responsibilities a citizen in a democratic society. If you have doubts
about the topic you selected, please contact the instructor.
Writing the Bibliography Sheet (Work Cited page)
• Use the Internet or library to find the sources on your topic from newspapers, jour-
nals, or books.
• On a full sheet of paper, type your name, Government 2306, the day & time of your
class, and your topic. Cite at least four (4) sources using MLA (Modern Language
Association) guidelines. Additional sources may be added later. You may use the
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers at the checkout desk of the library or
any similar publication to help you write your citations in the correct format. There
are many on-line resources on MLA format that are helpful.
Guidelines for Writing the Paper
• Correct typographical errors by proofreading your final paper. Use words correctly &
eliminate spelling errors by looking up definitions & spellings of words in the dictio-
nary. Try to eliminate grammatical errors & awkward sentence structures. Use a va-
riety of sentence patterns & lengths. Reduce wordiness by not using redundant or
irrelevant words in the same sentence, e.g., if you can write a twelve & twenty word
sentence expressing the same idea, use the former. Pay attention to paragraphing &
organization by possibly outlining your ideas on paper before writing them in prose.
Superior papers generally must be revised several times.
• Be sure to do your own work. Your personal effort is better than a polished
paper written by someone else. Don’t rely too heavily on the words of the au-
thors. This is an assignment of original work; do not use another person’s pa-
per or your own paper from another class or school. FAILURE TO FOLLOW
THIS POLICY IS CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM OR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND
WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF F FOR THE ASSIGNMENT.
• Cite all sources. When you borrow ideas, paraphrase, or quote from someone, ac-
knowledges your sources with footnotes. (Webster’s New World Dictionary defines
“paraphrase” as “a rewording of the meaning expressed in something spoken or writ-
ten.”) Follow the MLA guidelines in citing your sources. Do not use quotations un-
less it adds significantly to the paper. Use of more than 5% of paper content as
a quote will result in a grade F.
• To improve your grade, confer with me throughout the writing of the paper. Don’t wait
until a few days before the writing assignment is due to discuss any problems about
it.
Grading Criteria
• Content—WAS THE TOPIC APPROPRIATE TO THE ASSIGNMENT. If you have
focused on an issue, address the various sides of the issue and conclude in
your paper which one or ones are best and why. If you are writing about a prob-
lem, explain the various solutions to the problem and write about which one or ones
are best and why based on your research. Compare and contrast the different view-
points of American and/or foreign sources on your topic.
• Paper length—a minimum of 750 words of text, type-written double spaced.
This excludes headings or any other non-text lines such as title page and work
cited page. Everything else being equal, the longer your paper, the better.
• Organization—Organize your ideas by writing from an outline.
• Focus—Narrow your topic. A focused discussion is better than a broad presentation
of a topic that does not cover anything very well.
• Writing style—with few or no typographical errors, misspelled words, and grammati-
cal errors. Use proper paragraphing and improve your writing style by revising the
paper as many times as necessary.
• Citations—anytime you borrow someone’s ideas, paraphrase or quote them, cite all
sources using MLA guidelines.