Writing Question
Learning Goal: I’m working on a writing project and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
Application Assignment #3 focuses on the legislative redistricting process. When Barack
Obama was preparing to leave the White House, he announced that redistricting reform would be one of the primary goals of his post-presidential life. This focus is born out of the belief that the redistricting process, in general, is contentious, highly partisan, and fundamentally problematic. However, others argue that the process involves a necessary trade-off in goals and our feelings about redistricting may be driven by what values we weigh. In the last three years, the U.S. Supreme Court has handed down two decisions dealing with partisan gerrymandering.
This assignment is the General Education Assessment assignment for this course.
Task:
For the assignment please take the following steps:
First, watch the video lecture on gerrymandering. Then I highly recommend that you read
the following:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2017/07/06/a-primer-on-gerrymandering-
and-political-polarization/ (this links to an external site).
https://mischiefsoffaction.blogspot.com/2014/05/ge…
(this links to an external site).
Second, you will write a four-page paper (no more, no less) with an additional page for
references. To get started, you should refer back to the video lecture on Gerrymandering
and the two articles listed above to learn to refresh your memory on redistricting and
gerrymandering. It is especially important that you use your own research and the textbook
readings to answer the questions for this assignment (GEO3).
The items/questions that you will address in this paper will be as follows:
Define reapportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering (GEO1). Make sure to use
your course materials, textbook, and outside research to develop your definitions, but
be sure to provide these definitions in your own words. Discuss how each of the
three concepts are interrelated and how are they different (GEO5).
Next, describe the “normal” process that states who have not reformed their
redistricting process use to draw new district lines. Make sure you identify the groups
involved in the different processes and the considerations (both legal and potentially
illegal) that are taken into account when drawing lines (GEO4). Make sure you
describe both packing and cracking. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of how
these systems currently work (GEO2).
Many political reformers argue the redistricting process is broken and have pushed
through significant redistricting reforms. For the next part of your paper please
identify a state that has reformed its process and analyze its reform plan. What did
they do in their reformation of the redistricting process (GEO4)? What considerations
do they prioritize (GEO4)? How do they define “fairness”? Assess how well the
reform has worked in making the process more “fair.”
Next, identify how groups have claimed that gerrymandering has affected their political power, the quality of their congressional representation, and their ability to have favorable policies implemented (GEO6).
Finally, describe what you personally think should be done with gerrymandering, and
why you feel that way.
Criteria for Success:
This Application Assignment is one of three Application Assignments for the semester and is
worth 50 points.
This paper should most certainly refer to and use your course materials–from the class
lecture to the course readings. It should also rely on outside research from appropriate
academic and journalistic sources (i.e. no Wikipedia). In fact, you must use at least three
non-course sources of research for your paper.
Your paper will be graded both on content and quality of writing. IUE has a Writing Center
(Links to an external site), which allows you to submit papers for review. I highly recommend
that everyone submit drafts of this assignment for their review. Finally, your paper should also
properly cite all of your sources–both in-text and in a references section–using an appropriate
citation style. I don’t care which citation style you use as long as you use it consistently and
correctly.
SPECIFIC WRITING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Your paper will be four pages long (no more and no less), double-spaced, not including
your References page. (Please do not add extra space before or after paragraphs – use
true double spacing. This may require you to adjust settings in your word processing
software.) I know this will be hard to meet the page number restriction. I expect you to
do extensive research. I also expect you to plan, ponder, write, rewrite, review, rewrite,
rewrite, rewrite (you get the picture). This assignment could easily be much more than
four pages long. I want you to write effectively, efficiently, succinctly, and well. That is
why I have put a page limit. You will have many times in life where you must say what
you want and need to say in a limited space. This will help you practice doing so.
2. Do not use a title page. On the first line just put Application Assignment #3 and your
name. Then go right into your paper. DO NOT put the course, date, my name, or other
things at the top of the first page. In other words, the beginning of your paper should
look like this:
Application Assignment #3 Your Name
(And something like this to begin:) For this assignment I discuss reapportionment,
redistricting, and gerrymandering. . . . (And off you go on your paper.)
3. Use narrative or essay form. Do not use any section headings such as “Introduction” or
other such terms when you change to different topics in the paper.
4. Use at least three non-course references in your paper. You will cite them correctly in an
in-text citation format and also correctly on your references page. At least one of the
references must come from a scholarly journal. You may not cite to Wikipedia. (Tip:
many times Wikipedia references scholarly articles for statements in the article itself.
You may be able to use those articles to give you a start for your research.)
5. Use Calibri or other similar sans serif 12 point font. (The font in this sentence (Times New
Roman) is a serif font. Notice that it has little lines at the tops and bottoms of the letters.
Do not use this type of font.)
6. Use one-inch margins all around.
7. Use only Word or convert to pdf format. Pages is supposed to work with Canvas but I
have had a number of students whose papers did not correctly upload when in Pages
format.
8. Your paper should follow these instructions, be well written, and be organized. Please
make sure you check for things such as typos, proper grammar, punctuation, and
spelling. You will lose points for those types of mistakes. I want to help you not only
learn the material in the class but to also become better writers. You may want to check
with the writing center here on campus for help. They have assured me they are willing
and able to help you. You should plan on writing and then revising your paper (maybe
multiple times) to make sure it says what you think it says and what you actually want it
to say before you submit it. (For comparison purposes, when I write papers, I never
have less than seven or eight major revisions, and sometimes many more than that. I
can’t count the number of minor revisions.) Recognize that they may need some time to
review your work so don’t send it to them and expect results in 30 minutes.
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