Paper Assignment
Letter to a Public Official
During the semester, we have discussed how democracy requires citizens who, among other duties and characteristics, actively participate in government. One way that citizens can participate is to communicate with public officials and government agencies. Therefore, for this assignment, I will ask you to draft a letter to a public official. The intent is for you to write a well-argued, reasonable appeal to your representative on a policy issue that you think is important and that requires action: in other words, a “real” letter. (And this will be a LETTER, and not an e-mail; officials still pay more attention to mailed letters than electronic communication. Whether you actually send it or not is up to you, although I will encourage you to do so.)
Assignment: Write a detailed letter to your representative in the House of Representatives or one of your U.S. senators on a national public policy issue. Your letters should meet the following requirements:
- Your letter should be 5-7 pages, double-spaced, and typed with 1” margins.
- The letter should be addressed to your actual Representative or Senator, based on your residence, either at home or at MMC.
- The letter should be formatted like a real letter, including items like the date, your address, the official’s address, a salutation, your signature, etc.
- The letter must ask the official to take some kind of action within their powers – e.g., to propose a new bill or vote for an existing one.
- The letter must be based upon research. In addition, you must attach copies of all sources cited (see details in “Research and Sources” section below).
Structure of Letter. Your letter should have the following 5 elements:
- Your first, introductory paragraph should present an overview of the entire letter. State in the first sentence what specific action you want the official to take. Use the rest of your introductory paragraph to briefly summarize and preview the rest of the letter.
- Next, present your argument for why the official should act as you suggest. Your argument may focus on moral and/or practical issues. Some possible arguments include: the current policy has the wrong goal or purpose; the current policy is not accomplishing its purpose; the current policy is too short-sighted; or there may be a better way to achieve the same goal. (Feel free to develop other arguments.) Whatever kind of argument you make, it must be supported by appropriate data or examples. While you may include personal experiences as part of the argument, it must be based primarily on your research.
- Then, present counter-arguments or objections to your position. Every issue has at least two sides; some people will disagree with you for moral, practical, or political reasons. You should not reduce the opposing side to a caricature; to avoid this, it is essential to quote or cite opposing sources. (Note that in an actual letter to a public official, you normally would not include counter arguments. But I ask you to include them to demonstrate your awareness of other viewpoints.)
- After outlining counter-arguments, present your response to the counter-arguments. Show the official why the objections to your position are not convincing.
- Finally, include a short conclusion that summarizes the argument you’ve presented, and again states the action you would like the official to take.
Policy Issues. Many issues are suitable for this assignment; several are listed below. You may select an issue that is not on the list, but if you do so you must discuss your choice with me in advance. If you select a highly complex issue, be sure to identify a specific piece that you can discuss in depth in 5-7 pages; “global warming” is too broad, but a particular environmental bill might be appropriate. It is also vital that the issue is a “live” one at the time you receive this assignment and, ideally, also at the time you submit it. Something that Congress has already decided is unacceptable; you also should avoid an issue scheduled for a final vote within the next few weeks. Possible topics include:
- Setting a date to withdraw American troops from Iraq
- Amending the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (the “bailout” act) to increase funding for individual homeowners
- Making repeal of the federal estate tax permanent (it is set to expire in 2011)
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act or other legislation addressing illegal immigration
- The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation
- The Climate Security Act or other legislation addressing global warming
You may choose to advocate either side of any issue. Note that where action on an issue already has been completed by one chamber of Congress, your letter should be directed to an official in the other chamber.
Research and Sources. Research papers require you to support your argument with outside sources; however, this is not an excuse to simply string together a series of quotes and pass it off as your own work. You must organize others’ ideas and arguments yourself, using your own words, while taking care to give credit to your sources. You should limit the number of direct quotes you use in your letter; in general, if you quote more than 10-15 lines, you’re relying too much on your sources’ writing (and you will be penalized).
All citations should be properly formatted. I prefer APA citation style, but you may use whichever format you would like as long as you use it consistently. Internet research sources are suitable for this assignment, but be aware that many sites are sponsored by advocacy groups and their objectivity and accuracy cannot be assumed. Good starting points for basic information include www.citizenjoe.org and www.nationaljournal.com; Wikipedia can provide useful background information and links, but is often poorly sourced and should NOT be cited as an authority. Citations to the Internet should be sufficiently specific so as to allow a reader to arrive at the same web page where you found the information.
When you turn in the final draft of the assignment, attach a printed copy of all articles, web pages, and other short published material you use. I reserve the right to ask you to show me any other material (longer reports, pamphlets, online sources too large to print) you have used that you do not attach to the letter. Please remember that all information derived from your sources must be cited, even when you restate others’ ideas in your own words.
Deadlines: The essay is due in class on Wednesday, December 3. Late papers are subject to penalties as described below (see section on “Grading”). You also have the option of submitting a draft of the paper on Wednesday, November 19. This deadline is optional, but I strongly suggest you submit a draft. I will provide extensive feedback on these drafts, and can correct many minor problems with formatting that can lead to grade reductions. If you do take advantage of the draft deadline, you must attach the draft, with my comments, to your final submission in December.
Just to be clear, these again are the deadlines:
Wednesday, November 19
First Draft Due (optional)
(I will return drafts with comments 11/24)
Wednesday, December 3
Final Draft Due (w/ sources and first draft attached)
Grading: Standard criteria for grading paper assignments are available here. Please read these thoroughly and let me know if you have any questions about them; your paper will be assigned a letter grade based in part on these criteria. However, these additional penalties also may apply:
- If you hand in your final draft late, without a valid and documented excuse, I will deduct a full letter grade from your grade for the assignment.
- If you do not attach your sources, I will deduct a full letter grade.
- If you do not attach your first draft to your final draft, I may deduct a third of a letter grade.
Additional penalties also will apply if:
- You select an incorrect public official—e.g., someone who is not a member of Congress or the Representative from another district.
- You do not format the letter properly, including your address, the public official’s address, salutation, signature block, etc.
- You rely too heavily on direct quotations from your sources.
- You do not conduct enough research from authoritative sources to back up your arguments and objections.
- You violate the assignment guidelines in any other way.
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