Please choose one of the following topics and write a 3-5 page, typed and double-spaced paper arguing for or against a position. You must choose a side in your paper. Papers must include a cover page, 3-5 full pages of analysis, and a references page of all sources in APA style. Submissions must be uploaded to the assignment folder.
- Explain why the Bureaucracy is or is not “The Real Government.”
- Argue whether the Constitution should be considered a fixed text (originalists) or can constitutional law evolve in response to changing circumstances and values (living constitutionalist).
- Discuss whether the sovereignty of the state has been undermined or enhanced by globalization. In what ways have the activities of supranational agencies, economic agreements, and military alliances been responsible?
Final Paper
Your final paper should contain a title page, abstract page, 3-5 pages of content and a references page in APA style. Note that the references page included with the final paper is not annotated. Papers are to be double-spaced, 12-point font size, with one-inch margins all around. Papers significantly shorter or longer than this will be penalized. Part of learning to write well is learning to write in a clear, concise manner, while providing a sufficient level of detail. Remember that all papers must contain an introductory paragraph which explains the topic and the argument the paper will make AND a concluding paragraph which wraps up the main points of the paper without introducing any new information. Proofread your paper carefully. I would suggest using a spell/grammar checker and/or asking a friend to read over your paper for you. Sometimes, after spending days working on a paper, we tend to lose the ability to pick up on incomplete sentences and misused words, which someone reading for the first time would pick up on.
Title pages should follow APA style. The abstract page should be the second page of your paper and should contain your single-spaced up to a half-page abstract. Your references page will be the last page(s) of your paper and should provide a list of all sources, alphabetized by authors’ last names. Each item should be single-spaced with a double-space between items.
Papers must use a minimum of 6 sources, with a minimum of two primary sources and two academic journals. If you’re not sure about the difference between primary and secondary sources, check out the info at: Primary vs. Secondary Sources. All sources must be validated as solid, scholarly sources. Restrict your sources to newspaper articles from major national and international papers (use these sparingly as they tend to be biased and are not often written by experts in the field), published journals and magazine articles, and websites from major organizations and government agencies. Avoid using more than one book, as you most likely won’t have time to read additional books with the load of reading in this course. Unless you read the entire book, you risk taking information out of context. Encyclopedias and textbooks may be referenced minimally in your paper, but do not count toward the minimum number of sources. APA style is required.
All work must be original. Do not use a paper submitted in another course and beware of copy/pasting from online sources, which can lead to plagiarism. Papers will be submitted to turnitin.com during the grading process. Please review the Academic Integrity Tutorials carefully and make sure you understand how to cite your sources. Note that this means any facts or ideas you gleaned from your research need to be cited. A lack of citations indicates that you are claiming the ideas are your own.
