political science writing -03

This week’s reflection is a really interesting exercise because it combines the material from all three weeks where we have been discussing democracy and institutions. Also, it might be a little longer than your previous reflections (3 pages) but don’t worry if it is a little longer. Also, refer to the Guided Reflection instructions and submit the assignment through VeriCite. A new island has been discovered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The people there are sophisticated and have had different versions of governments throughout their history. The island consists of 3 distinct ethnic groups relatively equal in size. You are charged with developing a new government for this country. What kind of government institutions do you put in place? Why? You will need to choose a: Presidential or a parliamentary system; Bicameral or unicameral legislature; Federal or unitary state; Type of voting system. In your reflection, be sure to give both the reason you chose one option and also why you rejected the other options.

Need to use Class section 3, Democracy and Institution. readings from week 5 to week 7. Need 3 in-class readings citation!!!

General outline for reflection papers:

Intro paragraph: 3-4 sentences that essentially tell me what you are going to say in the essay.

3-4 body paragraphs: Each paragraph should either answer one part of the question or, if the question has a multi-part answer, should address each individual idea. Each paragraph should have some evidence to back it up, so I would expect to see at least one citation in each paragraph.

Conclusion: 3-4 sentences that are a brief recap of what you’ve just told me.

When it comes to rubrics, I tend toward the following general guide.

A: You did all of the things exceptionally well.

B: You did all of the things.

C: You at least tried to do all of the things.

D: It’s not clear that you understand all of the things.

F: You haven’t even attempted to do the things.

I know this is not super specific, but I find that it allows me to be more generous than a super specific rubric that says X= a certain number of points. In the past, those kind of rubrics have led to overall lower scores than keeping it more general like the above.