To complete this step, your essay and research should, at the very least, include answers, rationales, and insights into the following questions regarding your country. Organize your work into a readable and persuasive essay. Do not offer one-liners to the questions below. These are meant to guide your thoughts, not the structure for the essay:

I. Country and Capital City

• What is the name of the country you are researching
• What is the capital city of the country being researched
• Offer a brief description about your country to indicate its geographical location and topography (for e.g., tropical, desert, savanna, mountainous, or a combination)

II. The Colonial History of your Country

• What was the nature and type of colonial rule of your country?
• Which European colonial power ruled this territory?
• What were the dates of colonial occupation?
• What was the impact of colonial rule to local political structures?
• How did colonial occupation impact:the economy,
• social and cultural institutions, and
• traditional religions and spiritual practices?
• Describe two major events during colonial occupation and the process leading to independence.
• What was the date of independence?

III Current Political Context

• Who is the present leader of your assigned country.
• What political system was introduced and what changes were made in the two decades after independence?
• How have the politics of the country changed over the last past twenty years?
• What is the current political system in place, and what are the main political parties?
• When were the last elections held and what was the outcome, that is, which political party gained power and which political party ceded power (if relevant)?
• What was the reaction to the election results among the contending parties, the populace, the media and election observers?
• When are the next elections scheduled to take place?
• Assess the state of the political system and media in the country.
• What is the current relationship between the US and your assigned country?

Created by the Penn State University Libraries on the basics of APA. You may also refer to: APA Quick Citation Guidefor help. Organize your work into a readable and persuasive essay. Do not offer one-liners to the questions above. These are meant to guide your thoughts, not the structure for the essay.