GOVT 2306 Unit 6
Up

 

Print Friendly and PDF  Site Search and Site Map   

 

 

 

Unit 6: The Governor and the Texas Bureaucracy

 

 

A.  Read the following selections from the Margin Notes by clicking on each link.

 

B.  Watch this presentation. When you click on the link below, a new screen will pop up. Use the scrollbar on the side of the new screen to navigate. You need Adobe Reader to view PDF files.UNIT PRESENTATIONS

 

C.  (Optional) Read the following chapter from the textbook.

Chapter 09

 

D.  The following Optional Links are designed to help you do better in your course but they are not required.

 

E.  Critical Thinking Essay (20 points)To Do Note

A critical thinking essay isn't difficult to write but it is a very structured piece of writing so it’s important that you read and follow the steps below in order.

  1. Read What is Critical Thinking? before you do any work on your essay. We cannot take the time to fully explore what is meant by critical thinking. You do, however, need to have some general idea what critical thinking means in order to write a good critical thinking essay.

  2. Read What is A Critical Thinking Essay? before you go any farther. A critical thinking essay is very similar to an exploratory essay -- a type of writing with which you may be familiar. It has a specific focus and a specific structure. Don’t try to wing this assignment!

  3. Look at your topic carefully and make sure you understand it. Try rewriting it using your own words but keeping the meaning the same

Topic

foreign immigrationIn 1995, former Texas Congressman Dick Armey said, "In my view, immigrants today aren't any different from immigrants who have come to America throughout our nation's history. They bring new ideas, an entrepreneurial spirit and close family ties. They place a high value on education. And they are eager to achieve the American Dream. ... It's to our benefit to keep our doors open, and to keep enriching our economy and culture. I'd like to see America continue to do so."

 

Topic: Does foreign immigration to Texas harm the state or help the state?

 

There is no right or wrong answer to the question posed by your topic. And I'm more interested in your rationale than I am in your answer. As an example, let's say you're writing a critical thinking essay on the death penalty. You start out in favor of the death penalty because you believe it has a deterrent effect but all of the research you find shows there is no deterrent effect. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty, that's okay. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty because it has a deterrent effect, that's not okay since your rationale is not consistent with factual information.

  1. Look at the information and research about your topic in the margin notes and presentations from your course and in the links below. Use the information from these sources to write your essay. However, do NOT use any direct quotes, citations or references from these sources. The essay is too short for direct quotes ... use your own words. As for references, I've given you the sources so I'll know where the information came from. (I've tried to give you a wide range of sources and opinions in the reference list below. Inclusion on the list does not constitute an endorsement of either the sources or the opinions.)

Pew Report: More Mexicans Leaving Than Coming to the US

Noncitizens Under Age 35, by MSA 2010-12

Pew Report: 5 facts about illegal immigration in the US

Key facts about refugees to the US

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Illegal Immigration (But Didn’t Know Who to Ask)

The Federation for American Immigration Reform

Extended Immigration Data for Texas

Educating About Immigration

A Times photographer documented three ways that people cross in to the United States.

Setting the Record Straight on Immigrants and Crime

The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect (PDF)

Costs of Illegal Immigration to Texans

Immigration Reform and Job Growth

Contribution of Immigrant Workers to the Country's 25 Largest Metropolitan Areas (PDF)

Center for Immigration Studies

Migration Policy Institute

New Americans in the Lone Star State

Immigration to Texas

Immigration, Population and Economic Growth in El Paso

The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Texas

Undocumented Immigrants in Texas: A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy (PDF)

The New Geography of US Immigration (PDF)

Immigration and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight

Challenges on the US-Mexico Border: A Panel Discussion

Real Solutions for Challenges on the Mexico-US Border: The Mérida Initiative

Democracy and Power Fund to Support Efforts in North Carolina and Texas

download free Adobe PDF reader

Online Databases: Some of the links above may take you to an article's abstract rather than the complete article. If you want to see the entire article but the site requires registration and/or payment, try your college library's online database. Almost all articles can be accessed through a database ... that's why colleges purchase databases for student use. Call your college librarian and ask for your username and password and for directions.

I do not expect you to use additional sources of information on your topic. If you do, you MUST cite and reference any additional sources using one of the following formats.

APA (American Psychological Association): regularly used by most social scientists

APSA (American Political Science Association): used (in conjunction with APA) by political science publications

MLA (Modern Language Association): not generally used by social scientists but if you are a humanities major you may be more familiar with this format

CMS (Chicago Manual of Style)

Turabian: a variation of the CMS

You can find style sheets and/or links for each of these styles on the Writing page, the link for which is at the top of the main Online Courses page.

  1. You may use any font and line spacing you wish when formatting your essay but the content of your essay must be a minimum of 750 words. You must also adequately cover your topic, though, and you may find it difficult to completely cover your topic in 750 words unless you are extremely concise. If you feel you need more length to cover your topic, you are welcome to write a longer essay. However, you are only required to write an essay the content of which is 750 (not 749) words in length. If the content (that does not include your name, type of assignment, citations, etc ... only the content of the paper itself) is not at least 750 words in length I will return your paper to you unread.

Your critical thinking essay should follow a specific outline. Before you begin the writing phase of your essay, read What Makes A Paper Good? and Critical Thinking Essay Format. The outline given in the second link is the one you need to follow in your essay. Too, take your time proofing your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes. If spelling and grammar are not among your talents, ask a friend who is good with spelling and grammar to proof your essay. “A” papers do not have spelling and grammar mistakes!

Under the Optional Links section at the top of this page, I have posted a link to my grading rubric for the critical thinking essay.

 

Essay Submission Instructions

By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the main page of the syllabus:

  • Send your Critical Thinking Essay in the body of a new email to dramyglenn@gmail.com.

  • Put only your name and Essay at the beginning of your email.

  • Use the correct subject line.

  • Late essays will lose one point per day late, including weekends and holidays.

 


FOOTER LOGO

Copyright © 1996 Amy S Glenn
Last updated:   03/06/2024 2100

Creative Commons License