AP COMPARATIVE POLITICS FINAL RESEARCH ESSAY



AP COMPARATIVE POLITICS FINAL RESEARCH ESSAY

For your final project in this class, you and a partner are asked to take a current issue in U.S. or comparative politics that really interests you such as health care, education, student debt, same-sex marriage, immigration, gun control, drug laws, drinking laws, the death penalty, human trafficking, etc, and analyze it from a comparative perspective: for example, how is this issue unique to the U.S. (if it is), how is it similar to issues other countries are facing, what is unique about the way politics works in the U.S., etc. You need to compare the issue in the United States to at minimum one foreign country – the foreign country(s) does not need to necessarily be one of our case studies. You may choose to compare the issue to more than one foreign country as well – you are not limited to comparing it to one foreign country, you may choose as many as you would like.

• Your research paper should be 4-6 pages, double-spaced, typed

• Your research paper must include an introduction paragraph, a thesis statement, and a concluding paragraph

• You need at least 3 legitimate sources for your paper (No Wikipedia, , )

• You need to include an MLA style works cited page and in-text citations

Research Essay Schedule:

Thursday 5/16 – Begin Research. HW due Monday May 20: Draft your proposal – should include your topic, the country(ies) that you have chosen to compare, your thesis statement, and the list of the sources that you intend to use

Friday 5/17: In Computer Lab

Monday 5/20: Turn in your essay proposal.

Thursday 5/23: In Computer Lab

Thursday 5/30: In Computer Lab

Monday 6/3: ESSAY DUE at the beginning of class. Present the findings of your research to the class.

|Points per |Conceptual |Thesis |Development and Support |Structuring |Language |

|Category | | | | | |

|11-13 |has cogent analysis, | |well-chosen examples; |appropriate, clear and |uses sophisticated |

| |shows command of |essay controlled |persuasive reasoning used|smooth transitions; |sentences effectively; |

| |interpretive and |by clear, |to develop and support |arrangement of |usually chooses words |

| |conceptual tasks |precise, |thesis consistently: uses|paragraphs seems |aptly; observes |

| |required by assignment|well-defined |quotations and citations |particularly apt |conventions of written |

| |and course materials: |thesis: is |effectively; causal | |English and manuscript |

| |ideas original, often |sophisticated in |connections between ideas| |format; makes few minor |

| |insightful, going |both statement |are evident | |or technical errors |

| |beyond ideas discussed|and insight | | | |

| |in class | | | | |

|9-10 |shows a good |clear, specific, |pursues thesis |distinct units of |some mechanical |

| |understanding of the |argumentative |consistently: develops a |thought in paragraphs |difficulties or |

| |texts, ideas and |thesis central to|main argument with clear |controlled by specific |stylistic problems; may |

| |methods of the |the essay; may |major points and |and detailed topic |make occasional |

| |assignment; goes |have left minor |appropriate textual |sentences; clear |problematic word choices|

| |beyond the obvious; |terms undefined |evidence and supporting |transitions between |or awkward syntax |

| |may have one minor | |detail; makes an effort |developed, cohering, |errors; a few spelling |

| |factual or conceptual | |to organize paragraphs |and logically arranged |or punctuation errors or|

| |inconsistency | |topically |paragraphs that are |cliché; usually presents|

| | | | |internally cohesive |quotations effectively |

|7-8 |shows an understanding|general thesis or|only partially develops |some awkward |more frequent wordiness;|

| |of the basic ideas and|controlling idea;|the argument; shallow |transitions; some |several unclear or |

| |information involved |may not define |analysis; some ideas and |brief, weakly unified |awkward sentences; |

| |in the assignment; may|several central |generalizations |or undeveloped |imprecise use of words |

| |have some factual, |terms |undeveloped or |paragraphs; arrangement|or over-reliance on |

| |interpretive, or | |unsupported; makes |may not appear entirely|passive voice; one or |

| |conceptual errors | |limited use of textual |natural; contains |two major grammatical |

| | | |evidence; fails to |extraneous information |errors (subject-verb |

| | | |integrate quotations | |agreement, comma splice,|

| | | |appropriately | |etc.); effort to present|

| | | | | |quotations accurately |

|5-6 |shows inadequate |thesis vague or |frequently only narrates;|simplistic, tends to |some major grammatical |

| |command of course |not central to |digresses from one topic |narrate or merely |or proofreading errors |

| |materials or has |argument; central|to another without |summarize; wanders from|(subject-verb agreement;|

| |significant factual |terms not defined|developing ideas or |one topic to another; |sentence fragments); |

| |and conceptual errors;| |terms; makes insufficient|illogical arrangement |language marred by |

| |does not respond | |or awkward use of textual|of ideas |clichés, colloquialisms,|

| |directly to the | |evidence | |repeated inexact word |

| |demands of the | | | |choices; inappropriate |

| |assignment; confuses | | | |quotations or citations |

| |some significant ideas| | | |format |

|0-4 |writer has not |no discernible |little or no development;|no transitions; |numerous grammatical |

| |understood the |thesis |may list facts or |incoherent paragraphs; |errors and stylistic |

| |research | |misinformation; uses no |suggests poor planning |problems seriously |

| | | |quotations or fails to |or no serious revision |distract from the |

| | | |cite sources or | |argument |

| | | |plagiarizes | | |

|grade for | | | | | |

|category | | | | | |

_________/65 points for Essay

_________/10 points for correct MLA works cited page

_________/10 points for correct in-text citations

_________/5 points for

_________/10 points for Presentation Sheet

FINAL GRADE:

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