Political participation is essential to the functioning of a democracy. Answer to the following
four-part question in an essay format.
1) Explain how the United States compares in voter turnout with respect to other
countries according to the Pew Research article.
2) Explain the reasons why Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans from
Patterson.
3) Explain the reasons why some Americans vote regularly while others do not from
Patterson.
4) Explain 5 different ways to increase voter turnout. Here, base your response on
factors discussed in Patterson, the recorded lecture on political participation, and the
Pew Research Center article.
In composing your essay, carefully read chapter 7 of Patterson and the Pew Research Center
article and go over the recorded lecture on political participation.
Pew Research article- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/01/turnout-in-u-shas-soared-in-recent-elections-but-by-some-measures-still-trails-that-of-many-other-countries/
Important note on plagiarism
It is unacceptable to copy and pass off someone or something else’s writing or work (which
includes AI chat bots, such as ChatGPT, without properly crediting the source. Turnitin.com,
which is built into Canvas, may be used on any submitted written work to check for plagiarism.
Students who plagiarize will receive a zero on the assignment and will be notified to college
authorities for possible further disciplinary action.
Before writing the essay, everyone MUST read two articles titled “What is Plagiarism” and
“Preventing Plagiarism” located on top of the Modules page on Canvas.
Submission Directions
Please carefully follow these directions when submitting the course paper. Failure to follow
these directions will result in a reduction of points.
1. Answer the prompt in an essay format with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a
conclusion. Do not include a title page. Start with the introduction.
2. The text of the essay must be at least 1,500 words (range 1,500-2,500 words).
3. Be sure to include a title for the course paper.
4. The course paper MUST include direct quotes from Patterson, online lecture
material, and the Pew Research article- at least TWO from each source but no
more than eight all together. The length of each quote must not be longer than
two sentences.
5. Citations- use (author, page number) format for each citation.
• Patterson- Example- “A second principle by which tainted evidence can be
admitted is the inevitable discovery exception” (Patterson:134).
• Online lecture recording and lecture outline- For the lecture recording, use
(Lecture recording on political participation) and for the lecture outline use
(Lecture outline on political participation, page number). For instance,
“political ideology is a general belief about the role and purpose of
government” (lecture outline on political participation: 2).
• Pew Research article- simple cite (Pew Research) at the end of a quote or
paraphrase from the Pew Research article. There is no page number for this
article.
• No bibliography- Since these are the only sources you’ll be using, a
bibliography is not needed for this assignment.
6. Submit the paper to Canvas as a MS Word or pdf file attachment. If you use some
other word-processing software (such as Google Doc), convert it to a pdf file before
submitting it. Canvas will only accept files with .doc, .docx, or .pdf extension. The
assignment must be submitted to Canvas to be graded.
Students are allowed just ONE opportunity to write and submit the course paper. Rewriting an
already graded submission is NOT allowed. The course paper is worth 200 points.
Use only Patterson’s We the People 14th Edition, online course material on Canvas, and the
Pew Research article in writing the course paper. DO NOT use any other material. Students
who use other material will be penalized at least 20 points.
The course paper is due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Late submission of the course paper will be allowed. For late submission, students have 5
additional days after the due date. However, late submission will be penalized 40 points.
Submissions that are made 6 or more days after the due date will not be accepted.
Essay Grading Guideline
Introduction (30 points)
• Comparison of the United States voter turnout with other countries.
• Thesis statement- on how to increase voter turnout.
Body paragraphs (140 points)
• Explanation of factors that explain why the U.S. has lower voter turnout than most
European countries- use one paragraph for each.
• Explanation of factors that explain why some American vote at a lower rate than othersin one paragraph or multiple paragraphs.
• Explanation of five different ways to increase voter turnout in the U.S.- use multiple
paragraphs.
Conclusion and writing (30 points)
• Concluding paragraph
• Free of grammar and writing errors
