Part 1
Touchstone 2: Government in My Community
ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, you will research and write about an issue that is important to you, to your community, or to Americans in general. To do this, you will investigate the ways that government in the United States has or has not addressed your selected issue. As part of your research, you will choose at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the U.S. government’s response to the issue. You will then identify and analyze this response and provide a personal reflection on the impact. In doing so, you will deepen your engagement with course content by applying what youve learned in Units 1 and 2 about the U.S. federal system and the division of powers among and between the different layers of government. To complete the assignment, download the Government in My Community template, and follow the directions below. You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission. You may also download an example below.
download
Helpful Links:
A. Directions
Step 1: Select an issue that is important to you, your community, or to Americans in general. If you reside in the United States, your community could be your geographical community (e.g., your neighborhood, town, or city) or the broader state or national community. If you do not reside in the United States, your community could be a group with shared characteristics with whom you identify.
You can choose any issue, but your assignment must focus on how the federal government and federal officials are addressing the issue within the United States as a matter of U.S. public policy. Here are some ideas to get you started: immigration; border security; public school policy; public safety; gun rights or gun control; victim rights; student testing; school choice; abortion; access to public transportation or city services; energy, environment, conservation, or economic issues; healthcare (cost of medicines or health insurance, health care access); homelessness; the death penalty.
Step 2: Find and read at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the government’s response to the issue. It is important that your articles do not only describe the issue or present opinions on the issue from general members of the public. Look for sources that communicate how federal government officials or agencies in the United States have responded or are responding to the issue. You will be asked to identify government officials by name in your articles.
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hint
Ideas for sources include news articles; speeches from political candidates or current office holders; campaign ads; press releases; and data collected from non-profit organizations, among others. The website can be a good starting point for learning about government responses to various issues. Other online sources for information about government policy and services could include (but are not limited to):
- State or local government websites
- Political party websites (e.g., ; )
Step 3: After completing your research and reflecting on what youve learned, fill out the Government in My Community template. The suggested total word range is 1500-2500 words. You will respond to the following prompts:
- What is the issue or problem that is impacting your community? Describe the issue or problem and its effects. (Remember to use in-text citations anytime you paraphrase, summarize, quote, or include data or statistics from your sources!)
- In the U.S. federal system, which level of government (local, state, or national) or branch (executive, legislative, judicial) is primarily responsible for addressing the issue? Is there more than one involved? Explain your reasoning. Be sure to include evidence from the U.S. Constitution and from the course to support your explanation.
- Identify all of the government officials or agencies discussed in your sources. Include their names and the level of government and agency that the officials represent. For example, are they a member of Congress? A federal judge? Or a member of a federal agency?
- How have these government officials or agencies attempted to address the issue? Describe their actions, citing evidence from all five articles or other online sources with in-text citations.
- In your opinion, has the federal government done a good job addressing the issue? Why or why not? What more should be done, and by which level of government?
Step 4: Compile your reference list in APA style.
Visit the resource for help with in-text citations and compiling your reference list in the Government in My Community template.
Checklist for Success:
- Did you find articles that specifically communicate how government officials in the U.S. have responded or are responding to the issue youve selected, and have you identified who those officials are?
- Did you complete all sections of the Government in My Community template?
- Did you review the grading rubric and compare it to your response?
- Did you review the example Government in my Community submission to see an example of a completed assignment?
- Did you include in-text citations and a reference list in the APA style for 5 unique sources?
- Part 2
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Touchstone 4: Create an Interest Group
ASSIGNMENT: In this course, you learned that forming or joining interest groups is one way that Americans can participate in the U.S. political system. Recall that interest groups are formal associations of individuals or organizations that act to advance a shared interest and often attempt to influence government decision-making and public policy. For this assignment, you will create a hypothetical interest group around a cause or issue that is of interest to you. You will establish policy goals and strategize to meet those goals. By doing so, you will apply what youve learned about how the U.S. political system functions and about interest group formation, strategies, and incentives.
To complete the assignment, download the Create an Interest Group template and follow the directions below. You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission. You may also download an example below.
download
Helpful Links:
A. Directions
Step 1: Select an issue or cause that is of interest to you, and prepare to create a hypothetical interest group that will advocate for the interest. The issue or cause could be big and national in scope (for example, gun safety); it could be small and local in scope (for example, cleanliness of the public park in your town); or anywhere in between. Note: Submissions that analyze existing, real-world interest groups will be returned ungraded.
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hint
Review the tutorial and the tutorial to help you reflect on the functions of interest groups.
Once youve selected an issue or cause, think about your goals and what you would want your interest group to accomplish. Talk to friends, family, or community members, or research on the Internet to learn more about the issue.
Step 2: Download the Create an Interest Group template and review the prompts. Think about the specific policy and membership goals of your hypothetical interest group, the barriers to achieving those goals, and the strategies that would best lead you to success.
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hint
Keep in mind that the best strategies may be different for different interest groups, and may depend on how much public or political support exists for your goals, the membership base for your interest group, and how much money and political influence your group is likely to have.
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hint
Prepare to respond to the prompts by reviewing the tutorial and the tutorial.
Step 3: Fill in the Create an Interest Group template. You will respond to the following prompts. Remember to include in-text citations when summarizing, quoting, paraphrasing, or including statistics or data from outside information sources! Visit the resource for help with in-text citations and references.
- Your Interest Group
- In approximately 6-8 sentences, give your hypothetical interest group a name, and describe the issue or cause it supports or opposes and why.
- What type of interest group is it?
- Goals
- What are your specific policy goals? Specify at least 2.
- Which level(s) of government and which government branch(es) will you target, and why?
- Is there one political party that might be more receptive to your goals? Why or why not?
- What barriers exist to meeting your goals? Specify 2 or more. Examples might include the free rider problem, lack of popular support, lack of political support, financial barriers, or others.
- How might your group overcome each of those barriers?
- Membership
- Who will you target for membership and how will you grow it?
- What sorts of incentives can your interest group provide?
- Actions
- Choose two inside lobbying approaches and two outside lobbying approaches that your interest group will use. Explain how each will contribute to the goals. You can choose from the menu provided (below), or brainstorm your own ideas.
Inside Lobbying Outside Lobbying Hire a professional lobbyist Hold protest demonstrations or rallies Testify at congressional committee meetings or before the full legislature Place stories or articles in the media Provide research or information to congresspersons Issue press releases Meet with government officials Enter a coalition with other groups Submit draft legislation to legislators Ask members to contact their representatives File lawsuits or legal briefs (e.g., amicus curiae briefs) Publish ratings of legislators, other elected officials, or political candidates Try to influence agency or judicial appointments Mold public opinion and spread awareness through social media Donate to political campaigns Spearhead get-out-the-vote campaigns - References (include, as needed, for any sources cited)
Checklist for Success:
Did you review the suggested tutorials?
Did you create a hypothetical interest group (i.e., not analyze an existing one)?
Did you fill in all sections of the Create an Interest Group template?
Did you review the grading rubric and compare it to your response?
Did you review the example Create an Interest Group submission to see an example of a completed assignment?
Did you include in-text citations when summarizing, quoting, paraphrasing, or including statistics or data from outside information sources?
Did you proofread your work for proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization? -
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