American Government and Public Policy

Dye, Charles R. Top Down Policy Making. Chatman House Publishers: New York, 2001 (selections on Angel).

Turner, Charles et al. “Government and Public Policy.” Introduction to American Government. BVT Publishers, 2011, pp. 454-470 (Angel)

Paper prompt: Political scientists offer different theories to explain the process of policy making in the U.S. According to C. Turner in “Government and Public Policy”, there are two explanations of how policy is made. The first is called “elitism”, and the second is referred to as “pluralism”. These are the two competing views of how our government works. Based on what you learned in the course, which of these explanations provides a more accurate description of American political system? In answering this question, be sure to clearly state which group(s), individuals, and institution(s) seem to have the most impact on laws and policies in the U.S. You may use information from any of our textbook chapters, supplementary readings, your own response papers, extra credit essays, and outside sources to support your argument.

Additional information:

Your paper must be 6 pages long, not including works cited page, double-spaced, Times New Roman, page numbered, 1-inch margins, and 12 font. Also, use citations when appropriate (in MLA or Chicago style format).

Your essay must follow the basic structure of essay writing: have a clear thesis statement, introduction, body of your argument with supporting claims, and conclusion.

Please, thoroughly ground your discussion in the textbook material and any other cases and handouts we considered in this class, citing appropriate definitions, concepts, articles, documentaries, and charts when necessary.

C. Turner’s “Government and Public Policy is a good start for this paper, along with the “Top down policy making” by T. Dye (see a folder ‘final paper’ on Angel). You must have at least 3 citations from each of these sources ( direct or indirect quotes) in your paper. Of course, you will only strengthen your analysis if you bring in material from other chapters and case studies that we covered in class, if you think they help to shed light on explaining policy making in America

Essay: grading rubric

Following guidelines (6 full pages not including works cited page, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, page numbers, double spaced, 12 font, using at least 6 citations and citing properly). 20 points possible. _______________

Analytical depth (Demonstrate critical thinking, avoid just pure summation and description). 20 points possible. _________________

Demonstrate competence with two theoretical explanations of policy making in the U.S., “pluralism” and “elitism”. 20 points possible. ___________________

Grammar and spelling (Paper must be proofread, avoid contractions, spell out numbers, and etc). 20 points possible. ________________

Quality of the paper (Logical flow, prompt question answered, thesis statement, paragraphs support your thesis, clear structure, use of academic and formal language). 20 points possible. _________________
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