Name _________________________________ I.D. Number _______________________

Project 1 1 SSTH 037

Project 1 Evaluation 31

American Government 1: Theories, Policies and Politics

SSTH 037 059

Be sure to include ALL pages of this project (including the directions and the assignment) when you

send the project to your teacher for grading. Don’t forget to put your name and I.D. number at the top

of this page!

This project will count for 11% of your overall grade for this course. Be sure to read all the

instructions and assemble all the necessary materials before you begin.

Essay: Political Ideas

Do you believe the United States Constitution most closely reflects the views of Thomas Hobbes,

John Locke, or Patrick Henry? Do some research on one of these of individuals and explain how his

ideas match the principles of the Constitution. Use at least one source other than your course

materials.

Your essay will be graded as follows:

 Discussion of the philosopher’s views (25 points)

 Summary of the Constitution’s principles, ideals, and provisions (25 points)

 Discussion of similarities and differences between the philosopher’s views and the

Constitution (25 points)

 Use of at least one source outside your course materials (25 point)

Your essay should be at least 3 pages (900 words), typed, and double-spaced. Because you will be

using sources other than your textbook, you will need to include a list of references with your essay.

Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which may be accessed

online or in many libraries. Your paper should be free of spelling, punctuation, and typing errors.

Complete your project in the space provided at the end of this project assignment document

(scroll down).

To submit the project, save this project assignment document. Use the course number, your

name, and the project number in your file’s title:

SSTH037059_ABStudent_Project1.doc

Go to your course management system to upload your project file.

Project 1 2 SSTH 037

GRADING RUBRIC FOR PROJECT 1

Category Excellent Good Fair Poor

Discussion of the

philosopher’s

views

(25 points)

Detailed description

of the philosopher’s

views about

government,

including his thoughts

about the purposes

of government, how

government should

function and what

powers it should

have, and the proper

relationship between

government and the

people.

Clear description of the

philosopher’s views

about government,

although not as many

details as an

“excellent” answer.

Basic or general

description of the

philosopher’s views

about government.

Vague or

incomplete

description of

the

philosopher’s

views about

government.

Summary of the

Constitution’s

principles, ideals,

and provisions

(25 points)

Detailed description

of how the

Constitution meets

the six purposes of

government and

specific references to

the Constitution.

Clear summary of how

the Constitution meets

the six purposes of

government.

Basic or general

summary of how the

Constitution meets

the six purposes of

government.

Vague or

incomplete

summary of how

the Constitution

meets the six

purposes of

government.

Discussion of

similarities and

differences

between the

philosopher’s

views and the

Constitution

(25 points)

Examines how the

Constitution and the

philosopher’s views

match the concepts

of democracy.

Clear summary of

similarities and

differences between

the Constitution and

the philosopher’s views

but not as many details

as an “excellent”

answer.

Basic or general

summary of

similarities and

differences between

the Constitution and

the philosopher’s

views.

Vague summary

of similarities

and differences

between the

Constitution and

the

philosopher’s

views.

Use of at least

one source

outside your

course materials

(25 points)

Ideas from the

source are

synthesized into the

paper and used to

defend your

argument. Source is

cited correctly.

Information from the

source is clearly used

to explain the

philosopher’s views.

Source is cited

correctly.

Information from the

source is used, but

summary of the

philosopher’s views

is general or basic.

Source is cited

correctly.

Little use is

made of source;

source is not

used; or source

is not cited.

Project 1 3 SSTH 037

[Begin essay here.]