Reference no: EM133700654

Federal Government Assignment:

Instructions:

For this writing assignment you will be required to closely follow the instructions. This is a skill that employers look for, so this is a required element of the assignment. Do not skip steps!!!!! The assignment should be double spaced, 12-point font-Times New Roman, typewritten pages. Students will need to include the proper heading- name, instructor name, course name, title, and page number(s). A reference should be included at the bottom of the page. Students should follow guidelines from the APA manual, sixth edition or later for all references and in text citations. When in doubt, CITE!

The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to identify one of your elected state-level legislative representatives and the issues they have prioritized as your representative; then compare the work they are doing with your personal political beliefs. Do you care about the same issues that they do?

Step 1: Go to Who Are My Texas State Legislators to input your address and determine who your elected Texas legislative representatives are. You must choose to write on either your member of the Texas State House of Representatives OR your member of the Texas State Senate.

Step 2: After selecting one of those state-level legislators, you will follow the link to his/her personal website. On that page, you will find varied information about your legislator, including links to that legislator's most recently authored legislation.

Step 3: Go to VoteSmart Link of Texas Interest Groups to locate an interest group that lobbies on behalf of an issue you care about. This can be any issue, from abortion to tax relief, as long as it is an issue that interests you. Navigate on the page to find an issue category (like "Campaign Finance and Elections" or "Foreign Aid") that you are interested in. Then, under that category heading, select one of the particular groups in that category to research. {Those particular groups are located on the far right under the "SIG Name" heading.}

Step 4: Respond to the list of questions in sequential order. Each question should be answered completely and numbered accordingly in separate paragraphs (Q1 should be a paragraph, Q2 should be a paragraph). Once completed, submit the answers according to the instructions.

NOTE: This is not a position paper. You do not need to offer or support a thesis, but your answers are required to be submitted in complete sentences, and in your own words. DO NOT copy and paste from any of the websites you will utilize during this assignment. Part of the challenge of this type of assignment is to strengthen your ability to discuss political issues using your unique 'voice'.

Based on the instructions above, answer ALL of the following questions.

Question 1:

• What is the name of your chosen state-level legislator for this paper and
• what is his/her office/position?
• What is his/her 1 - race/ethnicity, 2 - gender, and 3 - religious affiliation?
• What political party does s/he belong to?
• Does s/he share your preferred party preference?
• How long has s/he been in office?

Question 2:

Select and describe one piece of legislation authored by your representative during the current regular legislative session. (If not currently in a regular session, you should select one sponsored bill from your legislator from the most immediately recent regular legislative session.

If your legislator has not authored legislation before, you should describe his/her two most recent sponsored bills).

Question 3:

Compare and contrast the mission and goals of your chosen interest group with the political beliefs and legislative priorities of your chosen legislator, providing AT LEAST one specific example of either agreement or disagreement between them.

• Has your chosen interest group endorsed your elected legislator?
• What, if any, role do you think this interest group had in getting your legislator elected?

Question 4:

Reflection - Which of the marketable skills (Dallas College Marketable Skills - Dallas College) did you develop in completing this project??You may select up to three or four marketable skills from the website. Be sure to clearly articulate what the selected marketable skills are.

Which were the most challenging?

What parts of the project present your best work in demonstrating marketable skills?

What would you think you need to continue developing?