Writing Your Paper The Final Research Paper is a combination of descriptive and analytical political paper. It is NOT a report about the topic. For example, if your topic is on abortion, it can’t be just describing about abortion. You’ll need to write abortion in the political context. Describe how government is involved, including people, media, and interest groups, to influence and resolve the issue. Issue Description – Information must be accurate and presented from a neutral viewpoint (both sides if needed): Identify & describe the issue/problem in the political context Discuss the cause(s) of issue/problem How did it become a public agenda? How did the government react to it? (State or Federal government) Bill? Laws? Court cases? Executive orders? Was there non-government sector (interest groups, media, etc) involved? How? Any resolutions? Potential resolution? Attempted resolution? Political Analysis – Analysis must be connected with political ideas and concepts learned in the course: Was it the work of federalism? Did the media dictate government policy? Is our government truly run by the people? Who took the lead: executive, legislative, or judicial branch? Was it appropriate? Was the resolution legitimate? Or, why wasn’t there a resolution? Why is it a political issues? Your Perspective/Your Evaluation – Given the facts, how should Christians respond to the political issue? Is it Constitutional?
