Integration Paper
Instructions
The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen your political knowledge base, which will give you a better understanding of the terms and concepts presented in the lecture outlines and textbook. It will also assist in preparing you for the exams and in-class writing assignments. Please closely follow the format below:
- Summary
Under this heading, write 2-3 paragraphs summarizing the news programs you watched for this assignment. The paragraphs should be a detailed synopsis (meaning concise but not vague) of several hours worth of political news. In your summary, include the name of the news programs you watched and the dates that you viewed them.
- Integration
Under this heading, write roughly 4-6 paragraphs connecting the terms in the textbook and lecture outlines to the political news included in your summary. As a sample:
The confidential Justice Department document that was recently leaked to the press relates to numerous concepts outlined in the textbook. First, there are questions of executive authority. Article I of the Constitution states that the power to declare war belongs to Congress (A-4). While the Justice Department document does not authorize the President to declare war, it gives him unchecked power to take lethal measures. One of the reasons for the Bill of Rights is to limit the power of government. In fact, preventing government from amassing too much power was on the forefront of the framers’ minds as they drafted the new constitution (47-50). Still, presidents have historically circumvented checks on the executive branch with devices such as executive orders and signing statements (53).
All information should come from either the textbook or the class lecture outlines. Do not utilize outside books or online sources to complete this section of the assignment. Therefore, in terms of citation, including the page number(s) where you found the information is sufficient. If you reference a lecture outline, cite the title of the lecture outline that you used.
III. Commentary
Under this heading, write 1-2 paragraphs expressing your personal views about what you learned from watching the news.
The integration paper consists of two mini-papers. You are to follow this format twice, with each paper depicting different news and chapters from the text. The assignment is to be typed, single-spaced, and stapled. I will not accept loose/unsecured papers. It is worth 20 points.
