Present a sound and convincing argument, supported by relevant facts and figures, for one side in a controversy or issue regarding American political parties that is listed below.

Parties and Party Systems

Your paper should present a sound and convincing argument, supported by relevant facts and figures, for one side in a controversy or issue regarding American political parties that is listed below.

The proposals listed below are described only in very brief terms. Each of the positions described has been seriously proposed by creditable individuals or groups, who have discussed their ideas in books, articles, or other published sources. Some of the issues have received considerable attention in the media.

Drawing upon what has been discussed, you should fill in the specifics as you see fit. This is particularly true if you are arguing for a change in the laws governing parties or elections.

Information about each topic is available from a variety of sources available in the library. All of these proposals have been discussed in both the popular press (newspapers, news magazines) and the scholarly press (journals, books).

Use the library resources and guides, and consult the reference librarians for assistance. Also, consult the course textbooks for potential sources.

Suggested length is 6-8 pages, but this is just a suggestion; your paper should be long enough to cover the relevant points.

Assignment 1
Ideologically distinct political parties

Side A: it is good that the Democratic and Republican Parties are more ideologically distinct now than they were a few decades ago, as this gives voters clearer choices in elections.

Side B: it would be better if the Democrats and Republicans were not so ideologically distinct, as this would make our politics less divisive.

You will have to complete this assignment.

General guidelines for all of the assignments are as follows:

Assignments need to be submitted as a Microsoft Word file
Assignments should be double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font with a standard 1 inch margin on all sides (failure to follow these guidelines will result in a loss of points).

Assignments need to be supported by the course materials (text and lectures).

All references used to complete your assignments should be included in a reference list.

The use of direct quotes should be minimal, if at all; the paper should be primarily in your own words. Any quoted or paraphrased information should be cited.

Sources such as Wikipedia or about.com (or other similar websites) are NEVER appropriate for academic work. If you have a question about the appropriateness of a source, please check with me.

Assignments WILL NOT be accepted via e-mail and must be submitted via the appropriate link in Canvas.

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