I’ll be pasting all instructions and materials listed for the assignment below.
In 2026, we will celebrate 250 years of our great country, with the same constitution for MOST of that time. But is our Constitution still working? Or is it greatly outdated and needing an overhaul? Do you believe we need a new convention?
What is a “Convention of State”?
Please watch the following video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=wiq7IdkEzzVhZICO&v=RIr1Ze0hQy0&feature=youtu.be
Required material for your essay
Your essay MUST include references to the material listed below:
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-dismal-views-of-the-nations-politics/ This contains a study done by Pew Research. You do not have to read all 14 pages; just read the first two.
https://www.governing.com/context/is-it-time-for-a-new-constitutional-convention Please read all of this article.
Writing your essay
The main point of your paper is to either agree or disagree with Mr. Jenkinson’s call for a Convention to change the Constitution. Your paper should consist of around 700 words and should be structured in 3 parts.
Part 1 (worth 10 points). Introduce and explain the concept of a convention of states. Then take position on whether we should hold one. To justify your position, you must cite to at least 2 statistices provided in the Pew research article.
Part 2 (worth 20 points). Structure of the convention: How would a convention be conducted? Mr. Jenkinson argues to be successful, there are “essential conditions” for the convention. Discuss those conditions. Do you agree with those conditions? Do you think those conditions would be enough? What additional conditions do you believe would be necessary? How will you choose delegates? How many delegates for each state? Will you limit the role of political parties and interest groups? Where will you conduct it? If you are arguing against the convention, you should discuss how any conditions, including Mr. Jenkinson’s, would be insufficient and why.
Part 3 (worth 30 points). Problems with the Constitution: Mr. Jenkinson presents a list of 6 things he believes should be addressed at a convention. Choose 2 of those and explain whether you agree or disagree with him and his solution. If you agree that it is a problem, but you don’t agree on a convention, you should explain another avenue for addresing the problem. Finally, you should choose one additional issue that Mr. Jenkinson doesn’t raise, and discuss how it should be resolved either through a convention or otherwise.
The remaining 10 points will be awarded based upon your writing. Please note that I expect you to have an introduction and a conclusion. I expect few grammatical or spelling errors.You will also lose points if you fail to follow the paper formating instructions.
Citations: At the end of your paper, create a citation for each source you USED to write the paper. You do not have to use additional material, but if you do, you must cite it. You may use either APA or MLA style. I will not count off as long as I can identify the source and location of the material you used.
Refresher: How to Write a College-Level Paper
This refresher will give you an overview of how to write a college-level paper and how to format your Word document that is easily adapted to summary writing.
https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/q72XIRCDualizw/html
Paper Formatting Information
Write your paper on a Word document. Do not use pages as that will not be readable on blackboard.
Type your name and the date at the top of the first page.
Title: Write a title of each of the essays. Center the title.
Font: Use an easy to read font like Times Roman or Garamond
Font Size: 11 or 12 is the standard font size
Font Style: just use regular text, no bolding or italics
Margins: use 1-inch margins on all sides.
Spacing: double-space your text. There should be only one double space between paragraphs, not two.
Before submitting your assignment, ask yourself the following questions:
Did you save it as a word document, formating according to directions (double spaced, left margin, normal font, etc…)?
Did you PROOFREAD your document, checking for spelling and grammatical errors?
Did you read the GRADING RUBRIC? Did you follow directions?
If you can answer yes to all three questions, then attach your document.
This was everything attached with the instructions and materials for the assignment, thank you!
