Career of Senator Rick Scott (Essay Sample)

U.S. Senator Guidelines and Rubric
Students will complete a writing assignment on a current member of the U.S. Senate outside the state of Texas, and the due date is February 26. A list of senators can be found using the Senate’s website at www.senate.gov.The paper must meet the following requirements.
• Length and Format
1. The paper must be a minimum four pages in length, not including the cover sheet and Reference page.
2. Characters must be typed in Times New Roman using 12-point font.
3. Lines must be double-spaced
4. Margins must be one inch in length.
5. Paragraphs must be indented.
6. Subheadings are not permitted as the written portion should only include paragraphs.
• Organization, Content, and Sources
1. Separate Cover sheet
a. Your name
b. U. S. Senator Paper
c. Government 2305
d. Date
2. Body (Each letter must be a separate paragraph.)
a. Introduction paragraph with thesis statement.
b. Provide a biography of the senator.
c. Describe the demographics, geography, and economy of the senator’s home state (this is the state they represent).
d. Provide a summary of three bills the senator either sponsored or co-sponsored within the past four years.
e. Describe committees the senator currently serves on. Name three groups, industries, or individuals that have donated money to the senator, and the amounts.
f. Conclusion paragraph
3. Separate Reference Page
a. Sources must be fully documented on a separate page using APA, 7th edition.
b. The heading “References” must be centered on the page.
4. Sources
a. The paper must include a minimum of six sources to receive full credit. Examples of acceptable sources are government websites, major newspapers, political/news media websites, and article databases offered by the Lone Star College Library.
b. In-text citations are required using APA, 7th edition. This means sources must be cited in the body showing where each was used.
c. The following sources are prohibited for use in the paper: Wikipedia, the class textbook, and using the same source more than once. For the “same source more than once” restriction, this means that if you use an article from the Houston Chronicle then you can’t use another article from the Houston Chronicle. This rule is intended to require students to use a diversity of sources.
• Students must upload the paper in the “Module Four” folder.
STATE COMPARATIVE PAPER RUBRIC
Criteria-Levels of Achievement Excellent-100% Acceptable-80% Needs Improvement-60% Unsatisfactory-0%
Content 60% The body meets the minimum length requirements of four pages, has exceptional details, includes all content areas, and an exemplary thesis statement. The body is three but less than four pages in length, has sufficient details, includes all or most of the content areas, and a proficient thesis statement. The body is less than three pages in length, has incomplete details, includes partial content areas, and thesis statement is either missing or needs revision. Did not complete.
Sources 20% Six or more acceptable sources were used, fully cited on the Reference page, and properly cited within the paper using APA. Five acceptable sources were used, fully cited on the Reference page, and properly cited within the paper using APA. Four sources were used; Five or more acceptable sources were used but not cited on the Reference page and within the paper using APA. Three or less acceptable sources were used.
Grammar-Format 20% Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and separate cover page. No writing errors. Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and separate cover page. Three or fewer writing errors. Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and separate cover page. Four or more writing errors. Incorrect font, spacing, margins, or cover page missing. Four or more writing errors.