3 subjects we liked

Length: 3-5 pages – double spaced. Points will be deducted if you do not fill an entire
third page.
• Sources: 3-5 scholarly sources (excluding Blackboard/lecture videos)
• The paper is due by July 30, 2020 at 11:59 PM via SafeAssign in Blackboard.
Components of the Paper:
• Introduction
• Body Paragraphs
o Discussion of the three subject areas studied this semester that you found most
interesting and/or important. You also must explain what made it
interesting/important and why.
▪ The subjects must be specific and not broad. For instance, you cannot
write about how you found the road to president interesting/important.
Instead, you would want to write specifically about fundraising, primaries
and caucuses, the debates, etc.
▪ The three subject areas you discuss MUST be from POLS 2302. Subject
areas should focus on topics listed in the syllabus under the course-level
objectives or the class lecture schedule. Your book covers material that
was used in POLS 2301, so please make sure to write over topics you
have learned and not by picking random things in the book. You will
receive a zero for the entire paper if you write over something 2301
related.
o Identify, discuss and describe a specific contemporary political problem related
to the material covered in POLS 2302. In other words, you will need to write
about a problem in the United States or Texas that may still happen in our
government/society today. You may get ideas from the textbook or my video
lectures.
▪ Again, use the course-level objectives and the schedule of assignments to
help you out. If you have read the textbook this semester, it probably gave
you a lot of ideas. You are welcome to use these, but just make sure that
you are citing the textbook.
▪ You also may NOT discuss anything that we did not learn (i.e. why you
should vote, social media, lobbying, etc.) or anything from POLS 2301.
You will receive an overall zero if you do.
o Construct and communicate a solution to the problem you identified (above).
Make sure to develop and express your solution in the form of an argument that
is supported by well-documented, and properly cited, facts and data.
▪ If you use the textbook to help you come up with a contemporary
problem, you MUST develop your own solution.
▪ If there is no way to fix your problem, then you need to state why it
cannot be fixed with research to prove so. Failure to do so will result in
major point deductions.
• Conclusion
Rules:
• Your essay must include a title page containing your name, POLS 2302, an essay title,
semester, and the date of your submission of the assignment through Safe Assign. (The
title page is not included as a numbered page and your essay should meet the page
number requirement exclusive of the cover page.)
• Your written assignment should be typed and double spaced with 12-point font and oneinch margins top, bottom, and side.
• Correct grammar, capitalization, and complete sentences is a crucial aspect of the grading
rubric.
o References to court cases must be italicized (i.e. Brown v. Board of Education)
or underlined (i.e. Brown v. Board of Education). Failure to do so will result
in a 5-point deduction EVERY time you mention a court case within the text.
• Please consult the “Citation Information” handout on more rules in regard to citations and
prohibited sources.
• The written assignment MUST be uploaded as ONE document (title page, essay, works
cited should all be in the SAME document). Students can find the link to submit their
written assignment by clicking the “Written Assignment” tab in the left-hand column of
the course, then clicking “Term Paper Submission.” Students may NOT submit the
assignment via email inside or outside the course Blackboard system. Students may not
cut and paste essays into the assignment window – the assignment MUST be uploaded as
a WORD document and MUST be in ONE file. Do NOT upload more than one written
assignment document. The system will only allow you to select ONE file, so make sure
that file is the combined cover page, paper, AND bibliography. Assignments uploaded in
any format other than WORD, such as a PDF, RTF, ZIP, Pages, etc. will
automatically receive an overall assignment score of zero. Assignments submitted
only via email will automatically receive a zero as will assignments submitted outside of
Safe Assign. In summary, you MUST submit your paper:
o As one complete paper (no separate submissions of title pages or
bibliographies);
o In Word format (no zip drives, PDF, RTF or other forms of submission);
o As an uploaded document from your computer; with the box checked for your
agreement to submit your paper to the Global Reference Database
Carefully read the Course Management Policies, “Academic Honesty Statement” for additional
guidelines for your written assignments. Any cut and paste, plagiarized, or Wiki cited posts or
papers will result in an automatic grade of zero for the overall assignment and possible expulsion
from the course and Lamar University. NO late papers will be accepted, this includes papers
posted a minute or more late. Students have ONLY one chance to upload papers to Safe Assign
and the version that is uploaded is the version that will be graded.
Students are NOT allowed to submit papers they have written for any other course including
written assignments and papers submitted. If a student is retaking POLS 2302 for a grade
replacement, the student is NOT allowed to submit a paper previously submitted in any POLS
2301 course, POLS 2302 course, or any other course. Submission of a paper previously
submitted by you or any other student in any other course will appear in SafeAssign and be
considered by the instructor to be plagiarized. A paper submitted in this course – written by the
student or any other person – that appears in any other course will result in an assignment score
of zero. Your name and work will be submitted into a permanent file marked “plagiarism” and
may be used by the instructor or subsequent instructors for evidence of one-time or repeated
plagiarism and may be used as evidence of academic dishonesty resulting in expulsion from
Lamar University.