You are to study the political activities of
an interest group. You may find useful
the course web page
on groups in the policy process.
Based on course readings, you should know how
to locate environmental interest groups and what might be interesting about
them. Please follow these procedures.
(a) You have by now chosen a the
group you will examine.
(b) Examine the background, objectives, available
resources, and tactics of your group. Do not rely exclusively on the group’s
website. What kind of group is
it? Attempt to understand the world-view
of group activists. What motivates them? Why do they see the world differently
from other citizens? How do they characterize people on the other side of their
issues?
(c) To do this you need to develop a critical perspective.
We will work on this the week of March 14 and 16.
(d) On March 16
we will have panel presentations of how the groups you selected are involved in
the policy process. Students will organize
panels around group type and tactics.
Your written report on your group will constitute a progress report on
your project.
(e) By April 6,
all field work on your group should be completed. Bring
to class that day a summary of your major findings. We will devote some class time to discussing
these. Bring to class the first page or
two of the paper. This is usually enough
to provide useful comments on the degree to which you are fulfilling the
criteria for excellent papers, described below.
(f) On April 13,
bring to class the first two pages of your paper. This is not a short version of your
paper—it is the actual page one and page two.
(g) The final WRITTEN report is due May 2. We will reform the
panels, and discuss findings.
Excellent
papers have these characteristics:
·
7 to 10 double
spaced typed pages
·
Faithfully follow
a recognized reference system
·
Establish a clear
focus and thesis—ask what is worth
saying. This means you need to develop a critical perspective that
enables you to organize the material and establish a relationship with your
reader. The concepts about groups and
institutions presented in POLS 346 will probably be at the center of that
perspective. If you use alternatives,
make them clear to your reader.
·
Introduction is
detailed, not overly general
·
Use other course
material effectively. For example, the
concepts in your text encourage us to think about how interest groups organize,
handle their own conflicts, address the public, strategize—use all of this
to help your reader understand how this group operates, and how influential it
is.
·
Paragraphs
present data, focus on clear arguments or interpretive claims.
·
Argument is
supported and developed by evidence, appropriately cited and integrated into
text. To check the structure of your
arguments, use Stephen Toulmin’s approach to
argumentation (see his Uses of Argument,
Cambridge 1969). Here is an online
summary.
·
Writing is free of
mechanical errors.