Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections

As you continue to build on your final paper, it is recommended that you review the Learning Activity assignments and review the Final Paper prompt before beginning this assignment. Please be sure to review the feedback provided by your instructor on your Week One, Week Two, and Week Three Learning Activities as well. A model POL201 Final Paper Guide is provided for you to download and utilize when completing your Final Paper. The various political actors involved in the processes, activities, and policies of the U.S. government each have evolving goals and objectives. In addition, these actors have produced differential effects, both positive and negative, on the processes, activities, and policies of the federal government. In this last weekly worksheet, you will assess the positive and negative impacts of political parties, interest groups, or federal elections on the national government. In addition, you will recommend one option to enhance the positive impact and one to diminish the negative impact. This final effort will conclude the process of critically analyzing key features of our national government and prepare you for completion of your Final Paper in Week Five.

To complete the assignment, save the Week Four Learning Activity Worksheet to your computer, fill it out, and submit it, via WayPoint.

Develop several detailed paragraphs regarding your fourth main point using the Week Four Learning Activity Worksheet.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections

Select one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or elections. Focusing on the topic you have selected, develop four paragraphs that explain one strength and one weakness of the topic, as well as options to accentuate the positive impact and lessen the negative impact of the strength and weakness discussed.

Scholarly Support

For assistance with your research, the Ashford University's Library provides tutorials and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. To access these helpful resources look for the links located under the FindIt@AU search box on the library home page. For help with writing and citations, please review the handouts and tutorials provided by the Ashford Writing Center.

A reference list of at least two scholarly resources from the Ashford University library with full APA citations is required. While your textbook can be utilized as a source, it does not count towards your two sources for this assignment. Two new sources should be utilized each week to meet the minimum of eight required sources for the final. By finding and supporting your material with these sources each week, you will have the research necessary to construct a strong Final Paper.

The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

Be sure that the sources you are utilizing to support your ideas are valid, reliable, and not overly bias.

View the POL201 Research Guide for help on how to find and evaluate sources for assignments in this course.

LEARNING ACTIVITY WORKSHEET - Week Four

Please review the full assignment prompt and the Week 5 Final Paper instructions located within the classroom and in the POL 201 Course Guide before beginning this assignment.

Utilizing the worksheet below, develop detailed paragraphs that focus on the first main point for your final paper. For each section, a minimum of one fully-developed paragraph is required. A fully developed paragraph should be a minimum of 5-7 sentences in length. Each paragraph should include at least one in-text APA citation that provides support for the topic.

At least two scholarly sources from the Ashford University library (not including your textbook) with in-text citations utilized within your paragraphs are required. Two new sources should be utilized each week to meet the minimum of eight required sources for the final paper. By finding and supporting your material with these sources each week, you will have the research necessary to construct a strong final paper. For help with writing and citations, please review the handouts and tutorials provided by the Ashford Writing Center.

1. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections:(Select One)

A. One strengthof one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or elections.

B. One weakness of one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or elections.

C. One option to accentuate the positive impact of the strength discussed above.

D. One option to lessen the negative impact of the weakness discussed above.

2. Thesis Statement

Provide a thesis statement for the final paper. It is very important that the statement focuses on the final paper and not only on the topic discussed above. The thesis statement should be a concise statement of 25 words or less that clearly identifies the main argument, theme, and purpose for the final paper.

3. Reference List (utilizing full APA citations)