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Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you must complete this unit’s assessments before you submit it. Once you have submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
Touchstone 2: Government in My Community
ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, you will research and write about an issue that is important to you, to your community, or to Americans in general. To do this, you will investigate the ways that government in the United States has or has not addressed your selected issue. As part of your research, you will choose at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the U.S. government’s response to the issue. You will then identify and analyze this response and provide a personal reflection on the impact. In doing so, you will deepen your engagement with course content by applying what you’ve learned in Units 1 and 2 about the U.S. federal system and the division of powers among and between the different layers of government. To complete the assignment, download the Government in My Community template, and follow the directions below. You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission.
Government in My Community Template
Example Government in My Community Submission (PDF)
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
Step 1: Select an issue that is important to you, your community, or to Americans in general. If you reside in the United States, your community could be your geographical community (e.g., your neighborhood, town, or city) or the broader state or national community. If you do not reside in the United States, your community could be a group with shared characteristics with whom you identify.
You can choose any issue, but your assignment must focus on how government officials are addressing the issue within the United States or as a matter of U.S. public policy. Here are some ideas to get you started: immigration; border security; public school policy; public safety; gun rights or gun control; victim rights; student testing; school choice; abortion; access to public transportation or city services; energy, environment, conservation, or economic issues; healthcare (cost of medicines or health insurance, health care access); homelessness; the death penalty.
Step 2: Find and read at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the government’s response to the issue. It is important that your articles do not only describe the issue or present opinions on the issue from general members of the public. Look for sources that communicate how government officials in the United States have responded or are responding to the issue. You will be asked to identify government officials by name in your articles.
HINT
Ideas for sources include news articles; speeches from political candidates or current office holders; campaign ads; press releases; and data collected from non-profit organizations, among others. The website www.usa.gov can be a good starting point for learning about government responses to various issues. Other online sources for information about government policy and services could include (but are not limited to):
www.realclearpolitics.com
www.reuters.com
State or local government websites
Political party websites (e.g., democrats.org; www.gop.com)
www.pewresearch.org
Step 3: After completing your research and reflecting on what you’ve learned, fill out the Government in My Community template. The suggested total word range is 1500-2500 words. You will respond to the following prompts:
What is the issue or problem that is impacting your community? Describe the issue or problem and its effects. (Remember to use in-text citations anytime you paraphrase, summarize, quote, or include data or statistics from your sources!)
In the U.S. federal system, which level of government (local, state, or national) or branch (executive, legislative, judicial) is responsible for addressing the issue? Is there more than one? Explain your reasoning. Be sure to include evidence from the U.S. Constitution and from the course to support your explanation.
Identify all of the government officials discussed in your sources. Include their names and the level of government and agency that the officials represent. For example, are they a member of Congress? A city council member? Or a member of a federal, state, city, or county agency?
How have these government officials attempted to address the issue? Describe their actions, citing evidence from all five articles or other online sources with in-text citations. For help understanding how and when to include in-text citations, see Section D “Additional Resources” (below).
In your opinion, has the government done a good job addressing the issue? Why or why not? What more should be done, and by which level of government?
Step 4: Compile your reference list in the APA style. Section D. “Additional Resources” (below) will help you to understand how to add your sources to the Government in My Community template.
Checklist for Success:
❒ Did you find articles that specifically communicate how government officials in the U.S. have responded or are responding to the issue you’ve selected, and have you identified who those officials are?
❒ Did you complete all sections of the Government in My Community template?
❒ Did you review the grading rubric and compare it to your response?
❒ Did you review the example Government in my Community submission to see an example of a completed assignment?
❒ Did you include in-text citations and a reference list in the APA style for 5 unique sources?
B. Rubric
Advanced (100%) Proficient (85%) Acceptable (75%) Needs Improvement (50%) Non-performance (0%)
Description of the Issue (10%)
Describes an issue that is impacting the community and its effects.
Thoroughly describes an issue and clearly explains how it is impacting the community. Identifies two or more effects. Describes an issue and briefly explains how it is impacting the community. Identifies at least one effect. Describes an issue, but does not explain how it is impacting the community. Briefly mentions an issue, but the issue is ill-defined, unclear, or otherwise or difficult for a reader to understand. Does not describe an issue, or submits so little work that no credit can be given.
Understanding of the Federal System (25%)
Displays understanding of the Constitution and the U.S. federal system.
Identifies which level(s) of government in the U.S. are responsible for addressing the issue. Explanation is supported with evidence and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the Constitution, the U.S. federal system, and the powers of federal, state, and local government. Identifies which level(s) of government in the U.S. are responsible for addressing the issue. Explanation is supported with evidence and demonstrates an adequate understanding of the Constitution, the U.S. federal system, and the powers of federal, state, and local government. Identifies which level(s) of government in the U.S. are responsible for addressing the issue. Explanation may confuse or misinterpret the Constitution, the U.S. federal system, and the powers of federal, state, and local government. Identifies which level(s) of government in the U.S. are responsible for addressing the issue, but explanation is not supported by any evidence and shows little to no understanding of the Constitution, the U.S. federal system, and the powers of federal, state, and local government. Does not identify or discuss which level(s) of government in the U.S. are responsible for addressing the issue, or submits so little work that no credit can be given.
Structure of Government (10%)
Identifies U.S. government officials from sources.
Identifies all government officials discussed in the sources, including their names and the level of government and office/agency that the officials represent. Identifies most government officials discussed in the sources, including their names and the level of government and office/agency that the officials represent. Identifies some government officials mentioned in the sources, including their names and the level of government and office/agency that the officials represent. Identifies some government officials discussed in the sources, but their names and/or level of government or office/agency that the officials represent is missing or wrong. Does not identify any government officials discussed in the sources, or submits so little work that no credit can be given.
Government’s Response (25%)
Describes how government in the U.S. has attempted to address the issue.
Describes how government or government officials in the U.S. have addressed the issue and draws thoughtful conclusions about how well the issue has been addressed. Response cites 5 or more sources that highlight a response by the government to the issue. Describes how government or government officials in the U.S. have addressed the issue and draws some conclusions about how well the issue has been addressed. Response cites at least 4 sources that highlight a response by the government to the issue. Describes how government or government officials in the U.S. have addressed the issue and draws conclusions, but description and conclusions may be brief and underdeveloped. Response may only cite 3 sources that highlight a response by the government to the issue. Describes how government or government officials in the U.S. have addressed the issue, but does not draw conclusions, or description and conclusions may be brief and underdeveloped. Response may only cite 1-2 sources that highlight a response by the government to the issue. Does not describe how government or government officials in the U.S. have addressed the issue and draw conclusions, or submits so little work that no credit can be given.
Reflection (20%)
Reflects on additional or alternative government response(s) to the issue.
Reflects on additional or alternative government response(s) to the issue. Reflection relates the appropriate level of government(s) in the U.S. to the additional or alternative response(s). Reflects on additional or alternative government response(s) to the issue, but may not relate the appropriate level of government(s) in the U.S. to the additional or alternative response(s). Reflects on an additional or alternative government response to the issue, but the response demonstrates limited engagement with the issue. Briefly mentions an additional or alternative government response to the issue, but the response demonstrates little to no reflection or engagement with the issue. Does not reflect on additional or alternative government response(s) to the issue, or submits so little work that no credit can be given.
Conventions (10%)
Submission follows conventions for standard written English and meets requirements.
There are almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; all length and formatting requirements are met. There are minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that do not impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met. There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that somewhat impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met. There are consistent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that significantly impede readability; length and formatting requirements are not met. Submission does not meet the minimum threshold for points to be awarded.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Use a readable 11- or 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written for this assignment and all writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
The suggested total word range is 1500-2500 words. Submissions should not exceed 6,000 words.
Submissions that focus on non-U.S. governments will be returned.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name and the date.
Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
D. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
APA In-Text Citations: The Basics
In-text citations are inserted into your writing to document the source of your information. APA-style in-text citations include the author and the date of your source (Jones, 1998). This site provides an overview of when and how to include APA-style in-text citations in your response.
APA Reference List: Basic Rules
This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA-style reference lists, as well as individual pages with instructions on how to format reference lists for various source types, including electronic sources (i.e., articles found on websites).
The website also includes a citation generator, which will cite your sources automatically in APA. You may use this citation generator for your reference list.