Any Current event topic

Assignment:

You will begin by choosing, reading and annotating a detailed news article related to

U.S. government/politics events which impacts U.S. society in significant ways.

The political event’s impact can be at the local, state or national level.

Next, you will write a paper about the importance of the event described in the article.

Your paper should be four to five paragraphs in length and 12-point font and single-

spaced.

You will write a total of three papers based on four different current events each

semester.

Paper Format:

1. Introductory Paragraph – Summary (20 points): In your own words and not using

first person, type an introductory paragraph, which summarizes the article in six to

eight sentences.

 Include the article’s title, the author(s), the source (i.e., NY Times) and date

published.

 You may use a maximum of two quotes from the article in your summary.

2. Body Paragraphs – Importance (30 points): Type a minimum of two paragraphs

discussing why you chose the article and how it significantly impacts U.S. society. Each

paragraph should have a topic sentence and six to eight sentences long.

 Think about how the event effects U.S. society and its institutions.

 Explain why the event is important. In other words, answer the “So what?” and

“Why should I care?” questions about your event.

3. Concluding Paragraph – Reflection and 3 Questions (20 points): Your six to eight

sentence concluding paragraph is where you should evaluate the causes and effects of

the current event. You should also write three original and relevant questions about

the article you would like answered.

News Sources:

The articles must have been published no more than one week before the paper due

date. You are expected to see me if you need help choosing a trusted and in-depth news

source.

 Examples of quality news sources include, but are not limited to: The LA Times,

The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsela, The Washington Post and The

Economist.

 Do not use “Headline News” sources like CNN.com, BuzzFeed, Yahoo news,

which lack the necessary detail that will allow you to write a quality paper.