Interest Group Assignment

Name_____________

Due – Tuesday, Oct. 21

1. Pick one of the interest groups listed on your Study Guide. You are free to pick another group if you have a different choice. Just ask or email me to be sure you have made a good choice.

2. Go to that group’s web site. I have link on my links page. Also, go to News Google and search for information on your group. That will help you find what issues they’ve been involved in recently. Research the following topics and type up a report (about three pages, double-spaced) covering those topics. You can simply put the topic as a heading and then give the information on that topic. (This isn’t meant to be a thesis-driven, unified essay.) You can give your information in a bullet-points list

A. What are the issues your group is concerned with? What are some examples of legislation your group supports or opposes? What actions does your group take to try to influence policy and the public agenda? What resources make it influential? Give specific examples: (e.g. use of the media, law suits, direct lobbying, public information contributions, etc.) Which parts of the government does your group target, i.e. which executive branch departments and congressional committees?

B. What is the group’s political ideology? Does it favor one political party over the other? If so, does it have a history of supporting certain political candidates? What is it doing to support their favored candidates? Make the connection between their political ideology, the legislation they support, and the party they support.

If you think your group is absolutely neutral, say so. Many interest groups are neutral. Discuss the issues that your group is concerned with and then, for the points in this section you will do the following. Find and summarize two news articles relevant to your interest group. You can use http://news.google.com/ to find such articles. Use the information to show how your group is trying to influence public policy.

C. Assess your group: What are its strengths and weaknesses? How effective is it in achieving its agenda? Back up what you say with specific examples demonstrating their effectiveness or lack thereof.

	Possible Points	Your Points
A. How it tries to influence policy and the public agenda	35
B. Political Efforts/two news article summaries if your group is neutral	30
C. Assessment of your group’s strengths and weaknesses with examples supporting your conclusions	35
TOTAL	100

(This rubric must be stapled to the front of your assignment.)