PS 102: Introduction to American Politics

After careful reading and consideration, please develop a 5-6 page,
double-spaced, typed paper (1-inch margins; 12-point Times New Roman font) that responds to one of the following questions. In developing your answer, please try to frame it
as a persuasive argument. To do this, you need to take a clear position on the question,
and you need to present solid and documented evidence to support your position. This
is not a research paper. Instead, it asks you to think about and synthesize the materials
we have discussed and considered to this point in the course.
There is no need for a lengthy introduction: we encourage you to state your thesis,
present a roadmap for the argument (that is, to describe in a sentence or two how the
argument will be developed in the paper), and then proceed with the arguments you wish
to make.