government 5072361 2
Getting to Know Your Congressional Representative and District
For this week’s Assignment, you will identify your Congressional District (i.e. U.S. House of Representatives District) and your district’s Member of Congress. Using the Web site of the House of Representatives, you will research the geographical scope and demographic composition of your district, as well as the key issues that your congressional representative has worked on. You will then write a 2 page essay in which you declare your support or opposition to your representative’s re election.
To begin, go to http://www.house.gov/. In the “Find your representative” box, put your zip code (89429) and click “Go.” The site will then identify your Member of Congress, on whose name you can click to begin your research. On the Web site of your representative, you will see a link that takes you to information about your Congressional District. You also will see links that take you to information about your representatives’ recent votes, biography, and key issues. You should follow those links, read the information, and consider the following questions as you prepare your essay:
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In which Congressional District do you live? What are its major cities? Is it predominantly rural or urban?
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Does your Congressional District lean Republican or Democrat? Why?
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Who is your Member of Congress? What is your representative’s party affiliation, background, length of service, voting record, and key issues?
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Given what you have read for this week, does your representative follow the delegate or trustee concept of a legislator?
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Would you support your representative’s re election to office? Why or why not?
Then, you will craft an essay that includes each of the following:
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Parenthetical citations (APA style), when appropriate;
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At least two double spaced pages in the body of the paper (Times New Roman font/12 point size);
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At least three academic sources.