The best way of learning is doing. This assignment is to put into practice what you are learning by actively participating in the formation and promotion of public policy in your community. The course is focused on pathways of change and civic engagement, and this assignment is an exercise in thinking about how you could use a pathway to get government to do what you want. In this paper, you will identify a concern in your community, find out what government bodies are involved, describe your preferred solution to this problem, then describe one pathway for citizen action to influence policymakers to adopt your solution.
Paper Rubric
Describe Project: This should be about 25 to 50 percent of the content. Describe the issue and why it is important.
Select Policy: What policy are you supporting? It is always a good idea to acknowledge alternate policies and briefly state why you reject them.
ID Actors: What decision-making body has the authority to enact your favorite policy? Who are the key actors?
Political Action: This is the most important part of the paper and should be at least 25 percent of the content. Given your policy and the actors, how would you use the political process to influence the actors to make the decision you want them to make? This is where you demonstrate what you have learned from the course.
Use of Course Concepts: Using political science terms with the correct usage into your paper is also a good idea. Remember that all paper assignments in college are ways to demonstrate learning.
