Paper 2 Assignment Overview Your paper will explore some topic pertaining to judicial politics, whi ...
Paper 2 Assignment Overview Your paper will explore some topic pertaining to judicial politics, which could include some aspect of judicial decision-making, legal institutional features, or interbranch relations. The specific topic of the paper will be of your choosing. You will need to conduct independent research on the topic and cite sources appropriately. Papers are to be 1500 words in length (not including name, title, or reference page citations) Topic Areas (1) Explore and examine a voting or elections case handled by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Voting Section (https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section); identify litigators and key arguments in the case; identify and explain existing laws and/or precedents connected to the case; and make an argument about whether the Department of Justice, the court(s), or both got the case right or wrong, and explain why. (2) Do so for another case law area. (3) Topic area chosen by student. Paper Requirements Papers are to be 1500 words in length (not including name, title, or reference page citations). Standard format should be followed also, with 1-inch margins, and 12-point size font. The paper is expected to follow an introductory, body, and concluding paragraph structure. A thesis outlining a clear argument, and around which the rest of the paper is organized, is expected at the end of the introductory paragraph. Body paragraphs should relate to the thesis in a way that helps develop the central premises of the paper. The concluding paragraph should restate the thesis (in different words), reminding the author’s audience of what has been demonstrated in the paper; the conclusion will also state the implications of the paper, that is, what are the big messages to be drawn from the author’s work? References to contemporary data or case examples will help illuminate the author’s central points and add strength to the paper. While you can use and cite the assigned course textbooks as well as newspaper and magazine articles in the writing of your paper, I also require that you use and cite six scholarly sources in the development and writing of your paper. Possible sources of materials include library search engines, Google Scholar (which can be linked to your university account), Lexus Nexus (for relevant newspaper/magazine articles also via the library), and scholarly sources that are cited in the course textbook. Use a standard form of citation You will be expected to fulfill the paper expectations outlined above. You will be particularly graded on content (strength of research), coherence and organizational development of your central point(s), and style (grammar and citations). Annotated bibliography and outline.
