Comparative Government Through Film First Marking Period Project
Government Research and Comparison Research Paper
Your final assessment for the first marking period is also the first component of your culminating (term-long) project. There will be no more blogs for the first marking period other than extra credit, so please catch up if you are behind.
Task: Compose a 3-5 page (12 point font, double spaced) research paper analyzing the political history and current government in a nation of your choice excluding Iran, UK (Britain, Ireland, Wales and Scotland), Rwanda and China. The excluded nations are topics we will cover later on in class.
Your paper must include all of the following elements
• A summary of the nation’s political history (has it ever been colonized? Involved in international or civil wars, etc?)
• An explanation of the origins of it’s current political system (including founding documents)
• A description of the nation’s decision and law making process (include checks and balances, crime and punishment, party politics, etc.)
• A brief summary of modern politics in this nation (who is in charge, what are some major issues causing conflict in this nation? Are they engaged in any wars or diplomatic alliances, etc.)?
• A direct quote and reference to the nation’s founding document (constitution)
• An evaluation of people’s rights in this nation (include women’s’ and minority rights in this section)
• A comparison between this nation’s government and the structure of power and state of human rights in the United States (your comparison should incorporate content we’ve covered in class this term- i.e. Bill of Rights, state v. federal power, electoral college, checks and balances, etc.)
• A bibliography (see below)
Include MLA citations of no fewer than 3 specific sources AND the founding document (constitution) of the nation you are researching.
I find www.cia.gov and www.bbc.co.uk particularly helpful. This paper should not be a laundry list of statistics. Remember to use original language that is a synthesis of several sources (not a patchwork quilt of language from other websites – that’s plagiarism.)
The proper format for citing a website or online article is
Author last, First name (or publishing group), "Title of Article." Title of website (or online magazine/ newspaper.) Date posted.
Example:
Francis, Bridgette "The Bill of Rights: In Action or Not?" Comparative Government Through Film Fall 2010 Blogsite. September 19, 2010. http://www.franciscompgov.blogspot.com/
If you can’t find all that information, you should NOT use the site. Wikipedia and About.com are fine sources for background research, but will not count as one of your three credible sources.
You may use www.easybib.com to help you create a bibliography from most sources. Remember to have all the publication information handy when you complete this task.
DUE DATES
You are expected to show me the beginnings (one page is fine) of notes or your paper itself no later than Wed. Oct. 14.
The research paper itself is due Wed. Oct 20 at the beginning of class.
The end of the marking period is Thurs. Oct. 21 – be sure to turn in your paper by then to ensure a successful grade.
Work will not be accepted later than Thurs. Oct. 21 – if you turn in the paper Friday or after, the grade will count for the second marking period only.
