It is important to know and understand how class material connects to outside events. This assignment consists of accessing a news article pertaining to the Texas State Government. Choose an article from the list below or, if you want to choose your own article, it must be less than 4 months (120 days) old and from one of the following sources: 1) The Texas Tribune or 2) The New York Times.
The purposes of this assignment are:
1. to analyze primary research, current events, and new or original works;
2. to develop written communication skills;
3. to express ideas in discipline-specific language;
4. to connect concepts you are learning in class material, with real-world issues.
You are to include the following criteria in your assignment:
1. Article title and source – 5 points
a. Using the MLA style of citation, where did you get the article?
b. For this assignment, you must include the url in your citation.
2. Summary – 5 points
Briefly and in your own words, summarize the content of the article.
3. Connection – 15 points
Connect the article to a concept we have covered in class.
a. Define the concept(s) that you state the article connects to.
b. Describe how the article illustrates the concept(s).
4. Viewpoints – 10 points
Identify the different perspectives that could be present in, or affected by, what is included in your article. Think about our discussion of changing demographics. How might the information in the article affect people from different groups such as race or ethnicity, age, region, religion, family structure or size, education, gender, etc.
5. Reaction – 10 points
Take a position on the issue contained in the article.
a. What ideas, positions, or assumptions do you want to challenge?
b. What do you agree with and why?
Write your paper in paragraph form using good sentence structure with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Your paper should follow the MLA style guide, see the “Starting Here/ Resources” tab in BlackBoard for information on MLA. Write the paper in your own words. If you need to use a short quote, cite properly. The paper should be approximately two pages in length, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and 12-point font. It should be turned in via eCampus in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
This is not a critique of whether the article is good or bad. This assignment is to make a connection to the classroom material and to explore the different sides of the issue.
