Political Science homework help

Journal Entry Instructions
Each week, watch, read, or listen to a political broadcast of any kind for 15-30 minutes. This
could be reading an article in the newspaper or online, watching the news on television,
YouTube, or another source, and even watching political satire such as John Oliver or the Daily
Show. So long as the source presents political information in an accurate way, it generally
qualifies as a political source for the purposes of this assignment. If you are unsure if your source
qualifies, ask me before using it.
Assignment Instructions
● Watch, read, or listen to a political broadcast of any kind for 15-30 minutes each week.
● Using the template provided online, fill in the necessary information listed at the top.
● Using the template provided online, provide me a 2 paragraph summary and a 2
paragraph personal opinion of the article. These must be your own words and quotes
should be used sparingly.
● Sources may be used twice, regardless of the format of the content. For example, if you
use an article from CNN and a YouTube video from CNN, you can no longer use CNN.
Formatting requirements:
● Single Spaced
● 1-inch margins
● Times New Roman 12-Point Font
Submission requirements:
● All weekly journal packets are due as a single document online on assigned due dates.
Questions to help guide your journal entries:
● What was the main subject of the news?
● What government actors are involved in the news story and how?
● What non-government actors are involved in the news story and how?
● Does this source seem to have a political bias? If so what bias and how?
● What terms learned in class help you understand the news?
● What, if anything, is confusing about the news?
Example of personal opinion
“The confidential Justice Department document about the president’s use of drones, which was
recently leaked to the press, relates to numerous concepts outlined in the textbook. First, there
are questions of executive authority. Article I of the Constitution states that the power to
declare war belongs to Congress. While the Justice Department document does not authorize
the president to declare war, it gives him unchecked power to take lethal measures. One of the
reasons for the Bill of Rights is to limit the power of government. In fact, preventing
government from amassing too much power was on the forefront of the framers’ minds as they
drafted the new constitution. Still, presidents have historically circumvented checks on the
executive branch with devices such as executive orders and signing statements.