+1 862 207 3288 Foreign Affairs Investigation Portfolio Directions
Citizens have a responsibility to learn about foreign affairs and government policies.
Such information can help citizens make informed decisions about voting, U.S.
participation in national and international organizations, traveling, and consumer
choices. In turn the government has the responsibility to keep citizens informed about
policy decisions and U.S. responses to foreign affairs. Although some information may
be protected for national security reasons, executive departments such as the
Department of Defense and the State Department do make information available to the
public. The Internet has become an important means for providing citizens with up-todate information.
In addition to government resources, citizens in a democratic nation also have the
benefit of freedom of the press. This means that different news agencies and
organizations publish information and editorials regarding foreign policy.
In this assignment, you will use a government resource as well as a news agency
resource to learn more about a foreign affairs issue that is of interest to you.
Part 1: Investigating Topics on Government Web Sites
Choose one of the missions of either the State Department or Department of Defense.
Look at the chart below for a list of possible topics for investigation:
State Department Department of Defense
Protect America Provide military forces needed to deter war
Advance global interests Protect the security of our country
Gain international understanding
Support foreign and civil services
The following information may be presented in outline, chart, or web form
1. Identify three specific actions the department has taken to achieve the specific
mission you selected. Focus on recent (within the past five years) actions.
2. What are specific effects of each action? Identify at least two effects for each
action.
Part 2: Using resources from the news media
Find an article about one of the programs/actions that you identified in Part 1 from a nongovernmental news resource, such as a local newspaper, newsmagazine, online
newspaper, or network Web site (for example: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, or
NBC). Avoid blogs because the comments posted on blogs are not easily verified for
accuracy.
The following information may be presented in outline, chart, or web form.
© 2011 Connections Education LLC. All rights reserved.
• What are five main points presented in the news article? (You may want to focus
on the basic who, what, where, why, when, and how questions central to most
articles.)
• Provide the appropriate MLA citation of the news article.
• Provide three images (photographs, graphics) that give visual information
regarding the program. Include a caption and cite the source for each image.
Part 3: Analysis
The following questions should be answered in paragraph form. Use complete
sentences and provide specific details to support your answers.
1. How does the action or program you selected in Part 2 relate to the mission of
the specific department you chose? To answer this question, please refer to
either the “State Department” or “Department of Defense” Web sites. Links to
both Web sites are available in Lesson 10.
2. What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of the program/action?
Part 4: Comparison
Compare and contrast the information you gained from the government and newspaper
resource. Answer the following question in paragraph form:
• How are the sources similar and different in the information and perspectives that
they present regarding the program?
