MODEL CONGRESS
PUBLIC POLICY POSITION PROJECT
"2001" 3RD QUARTER
FORMAT - 1. RESEARCH PAPER - 5 PAGE, TYPED AND DOUBLE-SPACED
2. MODEL CONGRESS BILL - BASED ON POLICY CHOSEN FOR RESEARCH
PAPER
3. ORAL PRESENTATION DURING MODEL CONGRESS - TESTIFY
ON YOUR BILL
4. MODEL CONGRESS SIMULATION - ROLE-PLAY LAWMAKING
ASSIGNMENT - AS PART OF THE 3RD QUARTER MODEL CONGRESS PROJECT , YOU WILL
SELECT A CURRENT PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE AND PREPARE A RESEARCH
PAPER ON THAT ISSUE. BASED ON THIS RESEARCH PAPER, YOU WILL
DEVELOP AND PREPARE A BILL TO SUBMIT DURING THE MODEL
CONGRESS. YOU WILL THEN TESTIFY ON YOUR BILL AT
THE COMMITTEE STAGE OF THE MODEL CONGRESS. THESE THREE
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE FACTORED IN WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN
THE MODEL CONGRESS TO DETERMINE YOUR THIRD QUARTER PROJECT
GRADE.
REQUIREMENTS -
1. RESEARCH PAPER - RESEARCH A TOPIC OF YOUR CHOICE. ALL TOPICS MUST BE
APPROVED RELEVANT TO U.S./VA. GOVERNMENT POLICY. USE ONE OF THE FOUR
TOPICS FROM THE 1ST QUARTER PROJECT FOR YOUR PAPER AND YOUR BILL. USE THE
GUIDELINES SET OUT FOR RESEARCH PAPERS FOUND IN THE GUIDE FOR WRITING
RESEARCH PAPERS WEBSITE. PLEASE USE PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION AND
A “WORKS CITED” PAGE (MINIMUM OF 5 SOURCES) RATHER THAN FOOTNOTES AND A
BIBLIOGRAPHY. ALSO INCLUDE A PHOTOCOPY OF EACH PAGE OF RESEARCH CITED IN
EACH SECTION OF THE PAPER (INCLUDE THE TITLE, PUBLICATION , COPYRIGHT AND
DATE) IN PLACE OF A ROUGH DRAFT. PLEASE PRESENT THE FINAL COPY ON OR BEFORE
THE ASSIGNED DUE DATE IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1. TITLE PAGE - (TYPED, INCLUDING YOUR NAME, CLASS, DATE AND INSTRUCTOR)
2. INTRODUCTION PAGE - (TYPED, 1 PAGE MAXIMUM WITH THESIS STATEMENT)
3. BODY OF PAPER - (FIVE PAGES TYPED WITH PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION - 10-
12 FONT-DOUBLE SPACED - ONE INCH MARGIN ALL AROUND - (ALL TEXT)
4. CONCLUSION PAGE - (TYPED, ONE PAGE MAXIMUM SUMMING UP MAIN POINTS AND
RESTATING THESIS)
5. APPENDIX - (IF NEEDED FOR PICTURES, CHARTS ETC.)
6. WORKS CITED PAGE - (TYPED AND IN THE CORRECT FORMAT (SEE WEBSITE)
7. PHOTOCOPY SECTION - (HIGHLIGHT SECTIONS USED IN PAPER)
A SEPARATE EVALUATION SHEET BASED ON THESE 7 REQUIREMENTS WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE YOUR GRADE.
Web sites - Policy.com - Issues Library - http://www.policy.com
Politics1 - http://www.politics1.com
Thomas - U.S. Congress on the Web - http://thomas.loc.gov/
Guide for Writing Research Papers - http://webster.commnet.edu/mla.htm
Electronic Policy Network - http://epn.org
CATO Institute - http://www.cato.org/
Economic Policy Institute - http://epinet.org/
The Heritage Foundation - http://www.heritage.org/
Progressive Policy Institute - http://www.dlcppi.org/
2. MODEL CONGRESS BILL - YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PREPARE ONE BILL (ONE PAGE,
ONE SIDE WITH THE ACTION SHEET ON THE BACK) BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH PAPER
TOPIC. THE BILL FORMAT DESCRIBING THE STANDARD FORM FOR BILLS IS ON THE WEB
PAGE ALONG WITH THE ACTION SHEET REQUIRED ON THE BACK OF EACH BILL. YOU MAY
SUBMIT A SECOND BILL (DIFFERENT TOPIC, NO RESEARCH PAPER) FOR EXTRA CREDIT.
THIS BILL MUST ALSO FOLLOW THE STANDARD FORMAT (ONE PAGE, ONE SIDE WITH THE
ACTION SHEET ON THE BACK) AND IS DUE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE REQUIRED BILL.
3. ORAL PRESENTATION DURING MODEL CONGRESS - YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GIVE
TESTIMONY ON YOUR BILL(S) TO THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERING YOUR
BILL. THIS TESTIMONY SHOULD INCLUDE KEY POINTS TO SUPPORT
YOUR BILL. BE PREPARED FOR QUESTIONS!
4. MODEL CONGRESS SIMULATION - HANDOUTS WILL BE PROVIDED EXPLAINING THE
PROCESS, DATES AND RESPONSIBILITIES YOU HAVE CONCERNING THE MODEL
CONGRESS. A SEPARATE SCORING SHEET WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE YOUR
PERFORMANCE CONCERNING THIS PART OF THE PROJECT GRADE. ATTENDANCE WILL
BE PART OF YOUR ASSESSMENT!
AN OUTLINE OF THE GAME IS AS FOLLOWS: EACH
CLASS PERIOD WILL RUN THEIR OWN SIMULATION WITH ALL THE OTHER GOVERNMENT
CLASSES SCHEDULED FOR GOVERNMENT THAT PERIOD. EACH CLASS PERIOD WILL
DIVIDE INTO DISTRICTS, PARTIES, LEADERS AND COMMITTEES. A SCHEDULE WILL BE
SET FOR COMMITTEE HEARINGS TO CONSIDER ALL BILLS. FLOOR DEBATE WILL
FOLLOW TO CONSIDER ALL BILLS PASSED BY THE COMMITTEES. BILLS WILL BE VOTED
ON AND SUBMITTED TO THE PRESIDENT FOR CONSIDERATION. AN OVERRIDE SESSION
WILL FOLLOW TO CONSIDER ALL PRESIDENTIAL VETOES. A FINAL LIST OF APPROVED
BILLS WILL CONCLUDE THE GAME.
YOUR FINAL PROJECT GRADE
WILL BE BASED ON YOUR SCORING FOR EACH OF THESE 4 PARTS.