Political Parties Paper (Explanatory Writing)

The first American political parties emerged during Washington’s first term as president.  Since then, the United States has seen political parties come and go, but always with two dominant political parties.  The current two party system has dominated American government since the 1850s.  Your job is to write a clear and accurate explanation of the key differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Audience

Maeser Seniors will be graduating at the end of the semester.  Many will be registering to vote for the first time and deciding whether to join a political party.  Many of the Seniors either do not know much about the political parties or have been misinformed by biased sources.  Your paper will help provide an unbiased explanation of the key differences between the parties.  The Seniors may not understand much yet about the U.S. party system, but they want to be educated and conversant in the topic.

Use examples, analogies, similes, and/or metaphors that will help make the differences between the two political parties clear to Seniors.

Appropriate Voice

• Formal and objective
• Use political jargon appropriately.  You will need to define and use terms such as the following:
•  Political spectrum, center-left, center-right, liberalism, conservativism, libertarian, progressive, social liberalism/conservativism, etc.

Other Specifications

• MLA formatting required
• Length: 500-600 words (include word count in MLA heading after the date)
• Include a graphic (table or figure) to help Seniors understand the political parties.  Cite the table using appropriate MLA conventions.
• Use headings to help your reader follow the organization of your paper.

Due Date: Wednesday, February 1