Overview
Final Examination
Due: Wednesday, May 13th
Prompt: In this course we have examined the current state of democratic practice in the United States, exploring how well it works and whether reforms are needed to make it work better. Write an essay that does the following:
1.) Develop an overall framework for how we should organize American democracy, drawing on the course readings. By “framework,” I mean general guidelines for how we should deal with issues such as majority rule, inequality, political participation, government responsiveness, etc. that have been discussed in the course. In other words, how should American democracy work?
2.) Identify at least two reforms discussed in the class that hold the most promise for improving American democracy, and two reforms that are unlikely to be effective.
Essay requirements
1. There’s no minimum or maximum length for this assignment. I think it would be hard to answer this question in less than 1,500 words or so, and I expect most students will need to write significantly more than that to answer the prompt adequately. Write as long of an essay as you need to answer the questions posed.
2. The final is cumulative and covers the entire course. I expect that you will draw on material from many different weeks (i.e., do not just focus on one or two topics covered in the course).
3. Students should submit their paper through Canvas anytime on the due date. If you have technical troubles submitting your paper, please contact the IT Services Help Desk.
4. Students found intentionally plagiarizing will automatically fail the course, and will be referred to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities for further disciplinary action. Please note that using AI tools to write any part of your essay is a form of plagiarism
6. You should include a works cited page and cite the course readings appropriately. However, you do not need to formally cite class discussions.
Grading Criteria
Papers will be graded based on the following criteria (not in any particular order):
- Student’s ability to demonstrate knowledge of the course readings and material discussed during class
- Student’s ability to write a well-organized, coherent essay
- Student’s ability to make persuasive arguments
- Student’s analytical ability
Tips and Hints
1. The prompt is very broad, so feel free to tailor it to whatever arguments you wish to make.
2. Avoid broad generalizations and over-simplifications: this essay deals with complicated issues that cannot be boiled down to a sound-bite or cliché.
3. The two reforms you propose and the two you critique should be ones that we discussed in class. If there are other reforms that we didn’t discuss but you think are relevant, you can bring those in, but they should be in addition to the ones discussed in the class.
4. Students are discouraged from using outside sources—everything you need to write this essay can be found in the lectures and course readings. Students are also discouraged from relying heavily on material from your research papers. That said, you can bring in outside readings if you really want.
5. If you have any questions or would like me to look over a draft, email me to set up a zoom appointment or stop by office hours (my last office hours is Wednesday, May 6th). If you have a question that only requires a short response (less than one sentence), you can ask me via e-mail. However, do not ask me questions via e-mail that require longer answers.
Good luck!