1. Choose an issue that has been in the forefront of life in America, which has stirred a great deal of discussion, debate, argument, and/or controversy, and as to which the law has changed in the last few years.Examples are: abortion rights/right to life; 2d Amendment rights/gun control; same sex marriage; the Affordable Care Act; the Citizens United case(Supreme Court decision regarding Congress’ efforts to limit campaign contributions.)These are just some of the possible choices; if you decide to write about a different issue, you must discuss the issue with me before you begin work on your paper.The purpose for this rule is to insure you can find adequate material on the topic you choose.

Your paper must discuss the following:

1.How were each of the branches of the federal government were involved in decisions regarding this issue?Was this purely a federal government issue, or were state governments involved?

2.Trace the steps which occurred prior to the current state of the law, which ultimately led up to “where we are now.”

3.How did public opinion and interest groups shape the decisions regarding this issue?

4.What is your opinion about the present state of the law concerning this issue?How should it change or be strengthened?

5.If changes are to be made in the law concerning this issue, what processes of governmentcould/should be used to make those changes?

Each paper must be typed, double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, in 12 pitch type, with 1 inch side, top and bottom margins.The paper must be at least four pages in length; 6 pages would be the optimal length and the upper limit of length.Each paper will be submitted both electronically, on Blackboard, and by turning in a hard copy in class on the due date for the paper. The paper will count a maximum of 100 points.

You must review 4 books, scholarly articles or academic websites for material for your paper.Any quotes from these sources must be footnoted; any of the standard forms of annotation is acceptable.You must include on a separate sheet, which does not count as one of the pages of your paper, a list of the four works that you reviewed.

25% of your grade will be based on grammar, spelling, syntax, tense, person, clarity, sentence structure, punctuation, and academic style-no informality. You are strongly urged to get help from the writing lab or tutoring if you feel you have weakness in these areas.