Paper Assignment #1
Due: September 29, 2000
Length: 5 pages, double-spaced, not including cover sheet or Works Cited page

There are plenty of web-sites where you can find information, as we discussed in class on September 15. If you continue to have trouble deciphering the candidate's positions, be creative. Where do they stand on similar issues? Extrapolate where they must be on the issues you're interested in. Back this up with some secondary sources (editorials in newspapers, reporter's takes on the candidates, etc.) and presto, you have yourself the information you need. Remember that your research is going to play a role in your grade on this paper; if I can easily find the information you supposedly couldn't, well, you won't look too industrious, will you?! Check out NPR, the Oprah show, etc., for interviews.

This being presidential election season, we'll take this opportunity to see how women's studies and feminism interact with the political world. You'll be investigating important concerns of American women, and the positions of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on these issues.

Before you begin, go through exercise number 4 on page 2 of the Sapiro textbook (WIAS). When you've finished with the exercise, go back and refine your original list of the "five most important problems facing women today"to reflect an inclusive understanding of who "women" are (paying attention to race, class, etc.).

Now that you have your list of what you think are the most pressing needs of all American women today, find out the positions that Vice President Al Gore and Governor George Bush take on two or three of these five problems. Use the internet, newspapers, magazines, newscasts on radio and television, and other sources to get the information that you need. Make sure your information is current, although it would be interesting to note any changes of heart from a previously held position.

You are now ready to write your paper. Don't forget to include an introductory paragraph or two that explains what you will be doing in the paper. Your first page or two should explain your list of the five most important problems facing today's American women, and why you believe that these truly are the top concerns facing all women in this country. Make your case for why these problems cross lines of race, class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, etc. Explain why you have chosen to investigate the two or three issues from among these five—are they the most compelling? Most relevant? Easiest to ascertain the positions of the candidates? Etc.

Then, explain the positions of these two presidential candidates. Be sure to properly cite your sources using MLA style (if you are used to using a different style of citation, check with me to see if it will be suitable for you to use it for this assignment. If you do not e-mail me with your explanation of the style you will be using, and receive an e-mail back from me okaying your use of this alternate style, your paper will lose credit for not being in MLA style. Please negotiate this with me ASAP!). Be sure that you have cited at least three different sources for your information, and of these three be sure that at least two of them are from primary sources. Remember that you are looking to find out the actual positions of the candidates, and not just others' interpretations of their positions—the two can be quite different. When using secondary sources, do your best to verify the information by checking another secondary source to see if they report the same information. Be sure to write a conclusion where you also make a case for which candidate women should vote for based on the issues that you have investigated. You may feel that you must choose between two evils, or that there is no good choice, but you must make a decision and defend it–just like you would at the polls. At the end of your paper, attach a separate sheet entitled "Works Cited" and list your information sources there using the MLA format.

When you have finished writing your paper, put it aside for a day or so. Go back and re-read this assignment; then, re-read your paper. Have you fulfilled all the requirements? Edit your paper, and get rid of all errors—spelling counts, as does punctuation, grammar, organization, and the other hallmarks of good writing. Think of a title for your paper, and put it on a cover sheet along with your name and the date. Please do not put your name or any other identifying information anywhere else in your paper—I like to read your papers anonymously. Be sure to staple your paper together. (Please, no report covers or binders—they're too awkward for me to lug around. And no paper clips—they fall off and the pages of your paper get lost and damaged. Just one staple will do the trick.) Use one-inch margins all around, a standard font, and please double-space so that I may more easily write comments.

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