Seminar: Is Congress Broken?

Starter 25

1. What are three questions that either…
   1. You would like us to address in our seminar today
   2. That you think would spark interesting discussion in our seminar today?
2. Write them on your seminar prewrite!

 
Socratic Questioning

• What role does money play in our political system?  In your view, is this a problem?  Why or why not? 

1. What problems are created by money in politics?  Why do you think it is this way? 

•  What can campaign finance tell us about the challenges our elected officials face in their professional lives?

1. 1. Citizens United = Corporate Personhood + Campaign money as free speech.
   2. To what extent should campaign contributions be considered free speech? 
   3. What are the dangers of commercial speech?
   4. What are the dangers of restricting commercial speech?
   5. If we begin restricting certain kinds of speech over others, to what extent will we be endangering all of our freedoms? 

• Can our political system function without lobbyists?  Why or why not?

1. 1. What positive functions do lobbyists engage in?
   2. Without lobbyists, what would get done?
   3. Can we expect our legislators to be experts at EVERYTHING?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of this model?

• If you could fix one thing in Congress right now, what would it be?  What would be the potential consequences of making this change?  
  1. What is your change and why, specifically, would you make it?
  2. What are the potential negative aspects of making this change? 

In Class Essay Exam:  IS CONGRESS BROKEN?

1. NO MLA Citations.  Just make sure to mention the author or title of the piece you are pulling the evidence from.
2. Be Formulaic.  5 paragraphs, thesis at the end of the intro.  You know the drill.  This is not the time to be fancy or creative!
3. NO Internet Access.  If you want access to an article or text, have it printed out.  Or better yet, have the evidence already pulled out of it.  In a real essay exam, you won't even have this- you'll have to memorize the main points made by the different authors.
4. Outline First.  Seriously.  Do an outline.  I've linked two formats on the Docs page of my DP that could work for you.
5. Plan Your Time.  Stick to a schedule.  15 min for intro, 10-15 min per body paragraph, 15 min for conclusion, 15 min for proofreading/editing.  If you stick to this, you'll get done early!  If you were doing the full essay in one class period, you'd also need to block out some time to develop an outline and thesis.
6. Other Things...
   1. ​I can't help you with thesis development or outlining, nor can I give feedback to your writing during the process.  I can clarify the assignment, but that's it.
   2. No revisions for this.  It's a one and done piece.

HOMEWORK

• In Class Essay Outline:  If you want one, get it done and bring it to class.  See docs page for possible formats.