Election Project
You
must select one of the following projects.
The project is due Wednesday , October 11. You must be ready to indicate which projects
you will be doing by Thursday, September 28. This project will
count as a test grade. You may earn
two points a day extra credit for a maximum of ten points apiece by turning
your projects in early. You may work with a partner on this project but I
will expect a more substantive project if two people are working on it.
1.
Create a website for one particular candidate and include information
and graphics to convince people to vote either for or against that man.
|
Is
your website well designed and easy to navigate? If you include links, are
they all active and correct? |
15
pts. |
|
Do
you present sufficient and convincing reasons to support or oppose this
candidate |
20
pts. |
|
Is
your information on your candidate correct and comprehensive? Does it show evidence of research? |
35
pts. |
|
Do
you use appropriate graphics? |
15
pts. |
|
Is
all the writing on your website correct in grammar and spelling? |
15
pts. |
2.
Write an editorial endorsing one of the presidential candidates giving
reasons that voters should support him.
|
Do
you have an introduction that includes an ‘attention grabber,’ thesis
statement and indication of the three points you’ll be making? |
12
pts. |
|
Does
your first body paragraph support your thesis with details and well-reasoned
arguments? |
18
pts. |
|
Does
your second body paragraph support your thesis with details and well-reasoned
arguments? |
18
pts. |
|
Does
your third body paragraph support your thesis with details and well-reasoned
arguments? |
18
pts. |
|
Do
you have a conclusion that summarizes your major points, restates your thesis
in new language and ends with a statement of the importance of your paper? |
12
pts. |
|
Are
there appropriate transitions between your paragraphs? |
8
pts. |
|
Is
your paper well written with good grammar, style and spelling? |
14
pts. |
3.
Create an imaginary interview with one of the candidates. Ask questions that probe his weaknesses and
clarify his positions on issues. Give
realistic answers. You may write this or videotape it.
|
Do
you ask a sufficient number of questions to show evidence of research about
the candidates past statements and the issues of the campaign? |
30
pts. |
|
Do
you ask questions that explore the candidate’s weaknesses? |
10
pts. |
|
Are
your candidate’s answers realistic and detailed? Do they correctly portray the candidate’s positions? |
50
pts. |
|
Do
you ask follow-up questions to further clarify the candidate’s
positions? |
10
pts. |
4.
Create a web site about the election and contrasting the candidates on
major issues.
|
Is
your website well designed and easy to navigate? If you include links are
they all active and correct? |
15
pts. |
|
Is
your contrast of the candidates’ positions clearly and well written? |
15
pts. |
|
Is
your information on their positions correct and comprehensive? Does it show evidence of research? |
40
pts. |
|
Do
you use appropriate graphics? |
15
pts. |
|
Is
all the writing on your website correct in grammar and spelling? |
15
pts. |
5.
Create and conduct a poll of 30 - 50 people. Ask questions to characterize the respondents and to determine
their positions on issues as well as their choice in the election. Write an
explanation of your results and determine if there is some pattern to people’s
choices.
|
Do
you include questions on the respondents’ backgrounds (e.g. education, age,
income, party)? |
10
pts. |
|
Do
you have a representative and balanced sample with at lest 30 respondents? |
10
pts. |
|
Do
you include questions on the issues? |
10
pts. |
|
Do
you include questions on the likelihood the respondent will actually vote? |
6
pts. |
|
Do
you include questions on their opinions of the candidates and whom they will
vote for? |
7
pts. |
|
Do
you includes graphs of your results? Are they attractively and accurately
presented? |
15
pts. |
|
Do
you include a summary and analysis of your findings? Does your paper have a
good introduction and summary? |
30
pts. |
|
Is
your paper well written with good style, grammar and spelling? |
12
pts. |
6.
Videotape a commercial for or against one of the candidates. Your commercial should include reasons to
support or oppose your candidate. Also,
write a summary explaining why you filmed it the way you did. What type of
voter are you appealing to and how.
Explain the issue you were exploring in your ad.
|
Is
your commercial creative and well produced? |
25
pts. |
|
Does
your ad include accurate and adequate information on at least issue? |
15
pts. |
|
Does
your ad have a clear purpose and audience? |
12
pts. |
|
Does
your summary analyze the issue and show evidence of research to determine the
accuracy of your information? |
20
pts. |
|
In
your summary, do indicate who your audience is and analyze the techniques you
used to appeal to that audience? |
16
pts. |
|
Is
your paper well written with good style, grammar and spelling? |
12
pts. |
7.
Watch the debate between Bush and Gore (Oct. 3 or Oct. 11). Write a newspaper article analyzing their
performances. Do they answer the
questions? Do they answer the questions
clearly and directly? Are they
successful in stating their views? How
do they appear? Who do you think won and why?
|
Do
you analyze whether the candidates answered the questions sufficiently and
clearly? Did they evade the
questions? Were their answers accurate? |
35
pts. |
|
Do
you analyze how each man responded to the other man? |
15
pts. |
|
Do
you analyze how each appeared and their speaking styles? |
15
pts. |
|
Do
you explain who won and why? |
20
pts. |
|
Is
your paper well written with good style, grammar and spelling? |
15
pts. |
8.
Draw two political cartoons based on the election. Include with each cartoon an explanation of
the issue you are illustrating and the symbols you used to illustrate your
point.
|
Did
you present two well-illustrated and detailed cartoons that explore issues or
events that are relevant to the presidential campaign? |
36
pts. (18
pts. each) |
|
Do
your papers explain the background of the issues or events you’ve chosen to
illustrate? Does your explanation show evidence of your knowledge and research? |
28
pts. (14
pts. each) |
|
Do
you explain the symbols you used and why you chose to illustrate your cartoon
the way you did? |
22
pts. (11
pts. each) |
|
Are
your papers well written with good grammar, style and spelling? |
14
(7
pts. each) |
9. Tape a political commercial from TV. Write a paper analyzing the issues presented in the commercial. Is the ad deceptive or honest? Who is the audience for this ad and what methods are used to appeal to those viewers?
|
Do
you include a detailed summary of the ad? |
15
pts. |
|
Do
you analyze the fairness and accuracy of the information presented in the
ad? Does your analysis show evidence
of your research and knowledge of the information? |
40
pts. |
|
Have
you determined who the audience is for this ad and what methods were used to
appeal to those viewers? |
20
pts. |
|
Have
you assessed the success of this ad?
Does it accomplish its purpose and will it sway voters? |
13
pts. |
|
Is
your analysis well written with good style, grammar and spelling? |
12
pts. |
10.
Your choice – Design your own project and your own rubric and ask Mrs. Newmark
to approve it.
Ø
All
papers must be well written with introductions, transitions and conclusions and
everything else we’ve discussed in class that goes into a well-done paper.
Ø
You
must include a bibliography of all sources used to research your projects.
Ø
You
will get a zero for any evidence of plagiarism.
Ø
All
papers must be typed.
Ø
For
websites, you must upload your site and provide me with a link. With your permission, I will then link to
your project from my web page.
Ø
Label
all videotapes you turn in to be graded.