Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government Choose only ONE of the options below for your post: remember to use and cite as many solid academic sources as possible in making your points, using both parenthetical in-text citations and full citations at the end of the post.
Option #1) Interest Groups: Follow These Steps in Creating Your Post
Identify one interest group actively lobbying Texas government regarding a topic that you care about (some are mentioned in the Interest Groups chapter of the textbook, others may be mentioned in news stories about the topic in which you are interested).
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government
Explain whether the group operates mainly at the international, national or state level. Describe the group’s main goals and objectives, especially regarding your chosen topic. You may use the group’s official website as a primary source. Remember to cite it properly.
Explain whether or not you agree with the interest group’s goals regarding your chosen topic. Use and cite at least one solid academic source (not the interest group itself) to make your case.
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government
Respond to another student’s post. You may agree or disagree with their position but your response should be more than just opinion – use and cite solid academic sources to deepen and extend the discussion.
Option #2: Texas Legislature: Follow These Steps in Creating Your Post
Identify one bill passed by the Texas Legislature during the last legislative session. Explain what law it is intended to establish.
Describe the main arguments for and against the bill or law. Use and cite at least one solid academic source in doing so.
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government
Explain whether or not you agree with the bill or law and explain why (or why not). Use and cite at least one solid academic source to make your case.
For full credit, respond to another student’s post. You may agree or disagree with their position but your response should be more than just opinion – use and cite solid academic sources to deepen and extend the discussion.
Please treat your post like a mini research paper and pay attention to spelling, grammar, flow, citation of sources (using both in-text citations and full citations at the end in standard MLA or APA style), etc. Use only sources from the following list.
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government
You may choose from any of the peer-reviewed journals on JSTOR. Anyone of the journals would count as a single source.
You may choose an academic book (check with me if you are not certain it would count as an academic book). Any one chapter in the book would count as a source. You may use multiple chapters and they would count as separate sources.
You may choose an online source of primary data or primary historical information. Anyone would count as a single source.
You may choose an academic/university study (often found on .edu websites). Anyone of the studies would count as a single source.
You may choose from the following news sources. Anyone of these would count as a source.
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government Texas Sources
Texas Tribune, Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, San-Antonio Express-News, Texas Observer, Texas Monthly, D Magazine
The TV and Radio News Network Websites: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CSPAN, BBC, CBC, NPR
Major Newspaper Websites: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Christian Science Monitor, the Guardian
Major Newsmagazine Websites: Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Economist, National Journal, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, Business Insider, Forbes, New Yorker, Foreign Affairs, Mother Jones, National Review, New Republic, The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Rolling Stone, The Hill
Interest Group Actively Lobbying Texas Government
Wire Services: Associated Press, Reuters
Think Tanks: Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Center for American Progress, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Economic Policy Institute, Institute for Policy Studies, Rockridge Institute, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Constitution Project, Council on Foreign Relations, New America Foundation, Resources for the Future, Henry L. Stimson Center, The RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Goldwater Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, CATO Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Center for Immigration Studies, Center for Security Policy, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Heritage Foundation
Fact checkers and Media Bias Watchdogs: Politifact.com, Factcheck.org, Media Matters for America, Media Research Center
Online Sources, Blogs, and Vlogs: Politico, Google News, Yahoo News, Huffington Post, Drudge Report, Democracy Now!, Vox, Vice
Polling Sites: Gallup.com, FiveThirtyEight.com, The Texas Politics Project, polls conducted by universities.
If you find another source that you think is solid but is not on this list, please discuss it with me first.
