Exam #4- Unit D- Written Questions (Opens Opens December 16- Closes December 20)

PLSC 200 Written Question Study Guide- Exam #4

Four (4) of the following questions will be the short answer responses on Written Exam.  It is an open note exam and you may prepare notes on all of the questions.  Answers will need to be a minimum of 150 words per short answer response.  Students who cut and paste responses from online sources will receive a score of zero (0)

 

Campaigns and Elections

  1. Define a political realignment. Why do realignments occur? What is a critical election?
  2. What barriers have the Democrats and Republicans created to block the entry of Third Party Candidates? Outline and discuss the reasons why it is so difficult for a Third Party to win seats in the US two-party system.
  3. How have Primary elections been “front loaded” in the modern election era. How does Front Loading impact the candidate selection for each party? What is the Invisible Primary?
  4. Outline the process of how the Electoral College operates and chooses the President of the United States. How are the electors distributed per state? How many electors does a president need to win the election? Can a president win the popular vote and lose the election? Explain.
  5. Compare and contrast a closed primary vs. open primary. Which type of primary do political parties favor and why?
  6. Define a list of barriers to voting in the United States since the founding of the country. Define the item (barrier) and explain its purpose and who it blocked from access to the ballot.

 

Campaign Finance

  1. Definitions and Explanations: Compare and Contrast Soft Money v. Hard Money
  2. How did The Watergate Scandal change campaign finance? What is the Federal Elections Committee and what was its intended role in American Politics?
  3. Define the legal outcome of Buckley v. Valeo (1976).  How did this case change campaign finance in the United States?
  4. Define the legal outcome of Citizens United  (2010).  How did this case change campaign finance in the United States?
  5. Define and illustrate the role of a Political Action Committee. (PAC) What is a Super-Pac and how are they influencing America’s political agenda?

Exam Instructions:

You will have 60 minutes to complete three of the following four questions-3 of 4.

You are to leave one question BLANK.-DO NOT RESPOND TO ALL FOUR QUESTIONS.

The questions are worth 15 points each and your answers should be at least 150 words per question.  DO NOT cut and paste information from the internet into your answer.  Students may write out answers on a Google Doc and then paste responses into the submission area. 

 

The blank essay will be assigned a point value of you best response.

#1 Score. 12

#2 Score. 14

#3 Score. 13

#Blank. Assigned a score of 14 (HIGH SCORE)

 

Written Response Validation-

AFTER completing and submitting the exam to Canvas, students will be required to cut and paste their responses from the GRADE to  into a Turnitin.com portal for review.

 

YOUR EXAM RESPONSES WILL BE RUN THROUGH TURNITIN.COM.