A federal bureaucracy involved in a recent scandal

Research paper (due 12/13)
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Due Sunday by 11:59pm Points 100 Submitting a file upload File Types doc and pdf Available Oct 26 at 12am – Dec 13 at 11:59pm about 2 months

Introduction

The paper for the course will be based on a bureaucratic agency and will follow the format as laid out below. To submit the paper click the button to the right that says submit assignment.

General paper guidelines

Each paper MUST be a minimum of 1500 words and should not exceed 2500 words. All papers must be written in a paragraph format, typed double spaced, with one inch margins, a 12 cpi times new roman font, do NOT fully justify the paper, using in-text citations, including page numbers, and a references page. Each paper will have three sources not counting the text book, encyclopedias and dictionaries do not count as sources. Direct quotes should be kept to a minimum, on average a sentence or two or about four lines per page. Only PDF or DOC files may be uploaded.

No late papers will be accepted. Papers are due on November 15th. PAPERS THAT DO NOT MEET THE 1500 WORDS REQUIREMENT, OR DO NOT HAVE A REFERENCES PAGE WILL NOT RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE.

Content instructions

Students will find a federal bureaucratic agency
(Links to an external site.)
and describe what the agency does, how they do it, and how it affects society. In describing the agency the student should discuss the agency’s mission and jurisdiction and what problem the agency is trying to solve. The paper should address a recent controversial issue surrounding the agency. The controversy should be discussed in detail providing arguments on both sides of the controversy. Finally, the paper should discuss whether the agency is effective and what is their mission, what is the agency’s effect on society as a whole?

In other words:

The bureaucracy is a paper in which each student will find a national bureaucratic agency. The paper will describe the agency and its mission, what it does, how it does it, a recent controversy surrounding the agency, and the agency’s its impact on society. A minimum of 3 sources is required for this paper. The paper will be a minimum of 1500; papers which are not a minimum of 1500 words will not receive a passing grade.

Paper Expectations:

Section headings are an important tool for writing an effective paper. Section headings accomplish two goals, first they help the writer organize the paper in a logical fashion. Secondly, they help the reader know what they are reading.

Section 1. The paper will thoroughly describe a bureaucratic agency, the description should include a discussion of the mission of the agency, and how it fulfills its mission. This section should be roughly 1 page in length.

Section 2. The paper will discuss a controversy surrounding the agency. The paper should define the controversy, why it is important, and both sides of the issue. The discussion of how the controversy should constitute the bulk of the paper roughly 2-3 pages in length.

Section 3. The last section of the paper should focus on the the agency’s impact on society. In this section the paper will address whether or not the agency is effective or not in fulfilling its goals and whether or not fulfilling its goals. Specific examples should be used to define the arguments of the paper. This section should be 2 pages in length.

FAQ

Help me pick a bureaucratic agency

The professor will not help you pick an agency part of the assignment is for you to find a controversial agency.

What is a controversy?

A controversy is when there is an open debate over an issue with arguments on at least two sides. A good example of a controversy would be the use of detention centers in regulating immigration.

Is there a time frame for the controversy?

Yes, the controversy should be fairly recent, something within the last 2 years. I do not want to read about controversies regarding the Civil War pension fund. The controversy should be ongoing, do not write about controversies that have been resolved.

Can I use the agency’s website as a source?

Yes, the agency’s website is a good source to gain information not only about the mission and actions of the agency but sometimes even the controversy surrounding the agency can be found here.

What is paragraph structure?

A paragraph contains one idea. Each section of the paper should be more than one paragraph as there are multiple issues per each section of the paper. A paper that is 3 or fewer paragraphs will NOT receive a passing grade.

Sources:
Three sources are required for the paper. The best source for this type of paper is the agency’s web page and newspaper articles dealing with the agency. Online sources may be used but they must be from a legitimate governmental agency, or media outlet, for example, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Huffington Post.

Agency website, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOXN

NY Times, LA Times, Vox, Reuters, The Hill (Government)

Time, The Economist, Newsweek, U.S. News and world report

Citation and references:

Students should use in text citation and a legitimate and consistent format. The Owl Purdue Online Writing Lab
(Links to an external site.)
is a great resource for citation formatting.