Assignment
Students will write a research/argumentative essay, 500-750 words in length, from the topic below. The purpose of the project is to give students an opportunity to discuss a key political science concept, and to show a basic understanding of academic research and reporting skills. The project consists of producing a 500-750 word essay on one of the provided topics (see below), as well as a works cited page for sources containing information used in the essay. The assignment is to be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. Students should research this style in order to properly format the assignment; papers not formatted properly will not receive a passing grade.
***Be sure to include a strong thesis statement (debatable claim) as a part of your introduction paragraph. Please see thesis statement information below.
Students should use Courier or New Courier 12 point as the paper's font, double space the text, and create one inch margins on all four sides of the page. In addition, the assignment should be formatted according to MLA style for papers with no title page.
Writing Assignment Topic
What are the key components of consideration that went into forming the Texas Constitution?
Key Areas to address include:
• Explain the origin and development of the Texas constitution.
• Describe state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.
• Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Texas government.
Submission Instructions:
• Complete your assignment using word-processing software such as MS Word, Open Office (download free software at http://www.openoffice.org/), or other per course requirements.
• Save your file as an .rtf file to ensure that it can be opened at any computer.
• Submit your assignment by selecting the writing assignment link in lesson 1, browsing to, and attaching your saved file from your desktop. Make sure to select SUBMIT. You may view your posting both on this page and under My Grades.