1. why states have pursued different approaches to dealing with Covid.
2. How has media coverage affected state government and politics?
As far as topics, you have a couple of options (subject to my approval): 1) You can focus on one particular state other than New York and discuss an issue of importance in that state’s politics; 2) you can do a comparative study on a political issue in two different states (excluding New York); or 3) you can focus on how states as a whole are dealing with an important political issue. In any case your goal is to describe what is happening in the state/states and explain why. As you know, many issues in American politics cut across national, state, and local governments, so it may be necessary for you to acknowledge the other levels of government; nevertheless, the focus of your paper must be on politics at the state level.
You are free to draw on a wide variety of sources including online news reporting, academic journals, state government websites, advocacy group websites, independent reports, online databases, books, etc., but you need a minimum of six sources, at least one of which must be a scholarly work (peer-reviewed journal article or book chapter). You must use APA style for in-text parenthetical references — for example, (Wilson, 1987, p,56) — and for a full bibliographical list of works cited at the end of your paper. You can find the complete guide to APA style on the Purdue OWL website (see Blackboard).
In grading your paper I will take into consideration the following three main factors:
Substance: This is a matter of how well you understand your issue. The best papers will demonstrate convincing knowledge of the issue based on an appropriate selection of research source materials. Basically, you want to draw knowledgeably on a variety of substantial, relevant sources that help you answer your research question.
Analysis: This is a matter of how well you develop your argument/thesis. The best papers will develop a well-reasoned argument/thesis based on an informed and coherent analysis of relevant evidence from your research sources. Note: You should not be making normative arguments about what is “good” or “bad”; rather, you should be explaining what is happening and why with regard to the political issue you are studying.
0 comments