Write an an Update paper.
Update on Florida Politics: Find a current event online on FLORIDA POLITICS that updates a topic discussed from the assigned chapters from the Politics in Florida book for this module (not a previous chapter or module). Thus this update should be obviously and directly connected to Florida Power, Money and Influence (Chapter 5) or Florida Legislature (Chapter 6).
DO NOT USE CURRENT EVENTS ABOUT NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS (PRESIDENT, CONGRESS, FEDERAL COURTS, CHINA, RUSSIA ETC).
The current event can come from an established media site, an interest group or a government site (avoid blogs and other low quality web sites for this assignment). The current event should normally be something that has occurred within the past 30 days or less (thus it should be current!).
Your answer should be between 350-500 words with strongest answers very close to 500 words (but not over as you will lose points if you go over 500 words in fairness to classmates who stick to the limit and cannot provide as much detail – the more you go over the more points you lose). Put the word count at the top of your answer. Strongest papers will provide adequate coverage for each of the required four sections (as a rule of thumb, in the strongest papers the summary, module connection, tie to course goals and evaluation will each be at least 75-100 words .
Here are a few more details about what should go in each section.
Word Count: To determine word count you should simply highlight the text from the subheading word “Title” to the last word of your Evaluation and see what MS Word reports for word count (this is how I will double check your word count). IF YOU USE AN APPLICATION BESIDES MS WORD (LIKE PAGES OR GOOGLE DOCS) PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE HOW TO ENSURE YOUR UPDATE WORD COUNT IS EQUIVALENT TO MS WORD’S WORD COUNT: Calculating Word Count for the Update in Google Docs or Pages
Include 5 pieces of reference information – the article title, date published, author, source (name of newspaper, magazine, government agency, web site, etc.) and the web-site address so others can visit if they like.
Summary: Summarize the current event providing enough detail to enlighten us to its importance and significance.
Connections to this Module: Clearly explain how it is related to a topic or topics from this module (specifically tie it to information from the Politics in Florida chapters assigned for this module and cite it by page number). Make at least one connection with stronger papers making two specific connections.
Links to Course Goals: Link your current event to one or more of the following course goals (You must make at least one link and should make three links for the highest possible score and you should label each goal you are connecting to): Knowledge of political foundations; Knowledge of political institutions; Knowledge of political processes; Knowledge of public policy; Comparative approach; Diversity; Political Geography
