- Choose a state from those available and sign up. No more than one student per state until all 50 are taken. Foreign students may sign up for Minnesota if they wish.
- Use the reference guide provided. Note that you will be using two kinds of material:
- comparative data on all fifty states from which you will glean a bit of information about your state (but some context too);
- case study information on you state.
If you have trouble finding anything see me.
- Content: General
In general, your paper should follow the outline of the course, that is you
should describe the state's political culture and history, its major interest
groups, the pattern of political party control over the past two decades or so.
The paper should cover the major institutions of state government: how is the
legislature rated? have the courts performed? is the governor strong or weak?
and so forth. The paper should also discuss the major aspects of public policy:
is it a high or low spending state? was there a tax revolt? what are the major
issues at the moment--educational quality, welfare, prison population, attracting
business, pollution??
- Content: Specific to your state
The chief elements of the paper are listed above. But every state has its unique
features, its own political flavor, its burning issues. Tell us about those too.
- Remember you are the expert on your state. That means you should learn
enough to know what is important or trivial. The trivial can be left out of your
paper.
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