Engaged+Citizen+Essay+II


 * Engaged Citizen: Government Action in the News Essay**

= Objective: = Write a positive/negative review **analyzing** the government's actions as described in a recent newspaper or magazine article based on the following resolution: **//Resolved: The government's actions were appropriate.//**

** Procedure: **

** Step 1 - Search & Critique **
Search various newspapers, magazines, or online websites for articles that describe the **__actions of the American government__** (not a separate individual or person) in the role of people's lives today (i.e. - [|Predator Drone Strike], [|Occupy Wall Street], etc.). Based upon your current philosophy of government (Political Manifesto), choose an article upon which the actions of the government either excites, intrigues, puzzles, or irritates you.

Use the political news resources below to assist you in your search for current event topics. Be aware that some of the sources below are biased towards a certain perspective.
 * [|Good Politics]
 * [|Politico]
 * [|Huffington Post]
 * [|Drudge Report]
 * [|The Hill]
 * [|Washington Times]
 * [|New York Times]
 * [|NPR]
 * [|Time Magazine]
 * [|Newsweek Magazine]


 * Possible Topics of Interest **
 * Personhood Amendment
 * Federal government versus California & Prop 19
 * Health Care Mandate
 * Occupy Los Angelges Eviction
 * Internet Censorship (SOPA Bill)
 * Internet Sales Tax
 * Environmental Law Waiver at Mexican Border
 * Gay Marriage
 * Youth curfew laws
 * U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
 * Record Deportation of Illegal Immigrants
 * Student college loan debt


 * Note-taking **
 * Take personal notes on the article you have chosen to do your government analysis upon. In your notebook write down evidence that supports or illustrates your view of the government's actions as described within the article.
 * What parts do you agree/disagree with?
 * What evidence can you cite (Constitution, Bill of Rights, political philosophies of Hamilton or Jefferson, the newspaper article itself) to support this position?

** Step 2 - & Outline **
Next, begin to draft your essay outline. Use the resources listed below to assist you in the creation of your outline.


 * [|Engaged Citizen: Government in the News Analysis Outline (Pages)]
 * [|Engaged Citizen: Government in the News Analysis Outline (Word)]

** Step 3 - Draft, Cite, Print, & Finalize **
Begin to draft and write your final essay using the outline you completed in Step 2. Keep in mind the following thoughts while you are writing:
 * __**SO WHAT?!?**__ What's my point? What am I arguing in this essay?
 * Remember analytic writing goes __**beyond the obvious**__ to discuss deeper questions of how and why.
 * Am I being an effective communicator (strong and clear thesis statement, new vocabulary usage, clear organization and fluency of ideas, elaboration on key points)?
 * How much of my writing comes from __**my own**__ self-generated ideas or arguments? Do my paragraphs consist mainly of words or another author(s)?

Your final printed essay should include the following:
 * Proper heading (Title: Engaged Citizen: Government In the News Analysis Essay) double-spaced, size 12 font, Times New Roman font.
 * Bibliography (MLA format, newspaper article, textbook online sources, etc.)
 * __**ALL**__ of your essay outline submissions and redo attempts
 * Single page copy of the cited news article

Complete an [|MLA citation] of the article you used for your essay. Include your citation as a bibliography on the last page of your essay.

Print a single page copy of your news article and turn it in with your final essay.

Post the final draft of your essay to your blog at ([|dmwiki.reedschools.org])
 * Title: Engaged Citizen: Government in the News Essay
 * Tags: armstronghistory, engaged citizen


 * Rubric **
 * [|Engaged Citizen Essay Rubric]