ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
A recent presidential election, new Administration, unified government, and renewed interest in separation of powers between co-equal branches, executive authority over the bureaucracy, the role of congressional oversight all point to a relevant range of subjects for you to select a topic, engage in research and analysis, and compose an essay addressing a current topic that illustrates executive-legislative relations.
Washington, D.C. is an extremely competitive, political town and you must work hard to govern — whether it is via legislation, an executive order, or to keep or increase your agency funding — it is an important part of government. No matter when on the legislative calendar or President’s agenda, you sell your ideas and compete for attention, staff, funding.
Choose an issue of contemporary relevance and contention between the branches of the federal government — it may be an issue of primarily congressional oversight
(Links to an external site.)
/ legislative initiative or one under executive branch purview. For example, you might find a topic that revolves around an executive order circumventing Congress, or alternately a bill in Congress to rein in the powers of the President. Current events frequently revolve around clashes and/or cooperation between the executive and legislative branches (e.g., immigration, environment etc).
Identify such an issue between the branches and present a reasoned argument or analysis describing the problem or conflict and how the branches work (or fail) to address the issue. Include in your analysis the identification and discussion of specific powers of the branches, relevant to your issue.
DETAILS
Submit a written analysis on a current topic of your choice. If you have any questions about relevant topics, please reach out to your Instructor.
A quality report will be between 750-1000 words in 3-4 correctly formatted, full body content pages*.
College level writing means well developed thoughts laid out in essay style paragraphs that provide relevant analysis. Clarity and detail, as well as connections to the structure and powers of each branch, are more important than length; however, responses of less than 3 full pages are unlikely to fully address this writing prompt and will consequently lose points.
*NOTE: Content pages do not include a cover page, Works Cited or References Page(s). Half pages will not count as full pages. Excessive margins and white space will not count as full pages. Instructors may also not include abnormally large font, extra spacing between paragraphs, large images, exceedingly long quotes, or other “filler”.
You should use at least 5 quality sources to research and clarify your thoughts. When appropriate, the sources should be cited within the body of your analysis (using APA )
A complete bibliography (Works Cited) page should be and the end of your submitted document and will include all sources from which you gathered information. URLs alone are NOT a sufficient citation
Be sure to check for clarity and appropriate word usage; complete sentences; correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.
You should demonstrate substantial understanding about your topic, the current state of play on the issue, and the interaction of powers between branches.
Be sure to follow all guidelines as outlined in the full Writing Assignment Rubric.
Rubric
Writing Assignment #1 Executive Legislative Relations
Criteria
Ratings
Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome
Quality of Writing (15 pts total)
Quality of Writing Components
Sentence Structure (5 points)
Grammar, Spelling etc (5 points)
Organization (5 points)
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome
Quality of Sources (20 points possible)
Quality of Sources Components
Bibliography or Works Cited Attached (4 points)
Number of Sources (8 points)
Citations and MLA or APA formatting (8 points)
Having no Bibliography or sources cited means losing 20 points. Having too few sources overall, perhaps referenced only in text but not in MLA or APA format and no Reference Page would mean perhaps earning only 4/20 possible points.
20.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome
Quality of Analysis (40 total points possible)
Quality of Analysis Components
Accuracy (10)
Depth of Analysis and Supporting Information (15)
Quality (15)
40.0 pts
Total Points: 75.0
