Overview: You will choose a contemporary political issue and propose a solution by your conception of the public good. You will have the opportunity to take a position on both your understanding of the public good and what you believe is the most effective solution to the problem you have chosen. Support for your positions will be drawn from scholarly, academic sources. You will be required to find sources examining the problem from diverse methodological perspectives using both qualitative and quantitative methods. You will evaluate the overall effectiveness of these methods in analyzing the issue. In order to promote a well-rounded analysis of the issue, you will be required to analyze sources that present a perspective contrary to the solution you propose and evaluate these arguments in an even-handed manner.  At this point, you have completed both Milestone One and Two to prepare you for your rough draft. You have selected a contemporary political issue, described why it is important to you and how it is relevant to the real-world practice of politics, as well as summarized the current literature relevant to your issue in a literature review. In Module Six, you will submit a rough draft of your final paper. Incorporate information from both Milestones One and Two into your rough draft. The rough draft will include the same elements as the final paper, but will not go into as much detail. This rough draft will help you prepare for completing the final paper, due in Module Nine. Prompt: Specifically, the following critical elements must be included in your rough draft: · An introduction, including: o A quick background for your chosen contemporary political issue  o A clear outline of your research · A personal theory of the public good, including answers to the following: o How do you define the concept of the public good? o How does your definition fit within broader discourses concerning the public good? o What benefits and costs/trade-offs are associated with your definition of the public good? · A chosen contemporary political issue, including answers to the following: o What contemporary political issue have you chosen to analyze? o How is the problem relevant to the real-world practice of politics?  o To whom do you believe the problem is most relevant?  o How does the issue you have chosen fit within the concept of the public good that you have outlined above? · A methodology, including answers to the following: o How do the quantitative and qualitative sources you have chosen analyze the issue?  o What methodological perspectives are represented by the sources you have chosen?  o How has the research informed your approach to conceptualizing the issue?  o What ethical implications are raised by the articles you have analyzed?  · Some solutions, including answers to the following: o How do you think the problem can be most effectively addressed?  o How have perspectives contrary to your own position info.

1. Overview:
You will choose a contemporary political issue and propose a
solution by your conception of the public good. You will have
the opportunity to take a position on both your understanding of
the public good and what you believe is the most effective
solution to the problem you have chosen. Support for your
positions will be drawn from scholarly, academic sources. You
will be required to find sources examining the problem from
diverse methodological perspectives using both qualitative and
quantitative methods. You will evaluate the overall
effectiveness of these methods in analyzing the issue. In order
to promote a well-rounded analysis of the issue, you will be
required to analyze sources that present a perspective contrary
to the solution you propose and evaluate these arguments in an
even-handed manner.
At this point, you have completed both Milestone One and Two
to prepare you for your rough draft. You have selected a
contemporary political issue, described why it is important to
you and how it is relevant to the real-world practice of politics,
as well as summarized the current literature relevant to your
issue in a literature review. In Module Six, you will submit a
rough draft of your final paper. Incorporate information from
both Milestones One and Two into your rough draft. The rough
draft will include the same elements as the final paper, but will
not go into as much detail. This rough draft will help you
prepare for completing the final paper, due in Module Nine.
Prompt:
Specifically, the following critical elements must be included
in your rough draft:
·

2. An introduction, including:
o A quick background for your chosen contemporary political
issue
o A clear outline of your research
·
A personal theory of the public good, including answers to the
following:
o How do you define the concept of the public good?
o How does your definition fit within broader discourses
concerning the public good?
o What benefits and costs/trade-offs are associated with your
definition of the public good?
·
A chosen contemporary political issue, including answers to the
following:
o What contemporary political issue have you chosen to
analyze?
o How is the problem relevant to the real-world practice of
politics?
o To whom do you believe the problem is most relevant?
o How does the issue you have chosen fit within the concept of
the public good that you have outlined above?
·
A methodology, including answers to the following:

3. o How do the quantitative and qualitative sources you have
chosen analyze the issue?
o What methodological perspectives are represented by the
sources you have chosen?
o How has the research informed your approach to
conceptualizing the issue?
o What ethical implications are raised by the articles you have
analyzed?
·
Some solutions, including answers to the following:
o How do you think the problem can be most effectively
addressed?
o How have perspectives contrary to your own position
informed your solution to the problem?
o Why is your solution best for the real-world practice of
politics? Justify your claims.
·
A conclusion, including:
o A quick summary of the main findings
o The ethical implications raised by the solution you provide to
the problem
o The solution that best serves the public good as you have
defined it

4. ·
Articulation of response
:
o Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization.
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission:
This should be
6 to 8
pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), formatted
according to APA style, and include at least
seven
resources that you will use in writing your final paper.
Critical Elements
Evident
Not Evident
Value
Introduction: Background
Includes a quick background for chosen contemporary political

5. issue (5)
Does not include a quick background for chosen contemporary
political issue (0)
5
Introduction: Research Outline
Includes a clear outline of your research (5)
Does not include a clear outline of your research (0)
5
Personal Theory: Define Public Good
Defines the concept of public good (5)
Does not define the concept of public good (0)
5

6. Personal Theory: Broader Discourses
Describes how definition of public good fits within broader
discourses concerning the public good (5)
Does not describe how definition of public good fits within
broader discourses concerning the public good (0)
5
Personal Theory: Benefits and Costs/Trade-Offs
Describes the benefits and costs/trade-offs that are associated
with the definition of public good (5)
Does not describe the benefits and costs/trade-offs that are
associated with the definition of public good (0)
5
Political Issue: Choice of Issue
Identifies the contemporary political issue to be analyzed (5)

7. Does not identify the contemporary political issue to be
analyzed (0)
5
Political Issue: Relevancy to Real-World Politics
Describes how the problem is relevant to the real-world
practice of politics (5)
Does not describe how the problem is relevant to the real-
world practice of politics (0)
5
Political Issue: Relevancy to Whom
Identifies to whom the problem is most relevant (5)
Does not identify to whom the problem is most relevant (0)
5

8. Political Issue: Public Good
Describes how the selected issue fits within the concept of
public good (5)
Does not describe how the selected issue fits within the
concept of public good (0)
5
Methodology: Quantitative and Qualitative
Describes how the quantitative and qualitative sources selected
analyze the issue (5)
Does not describe how the quantitative and qualitative sources
selected analyze the issue (0)
5
Methodology: Perspectives
Identifies what methodological perspectives are represented by
selected sources (5)

9. Does not identify what methodological perspectives are
represented by selected sources (0)
5
Methodology: Informed Approach
Describes how the research informed the approach to
conceptualizing the issue (5)
Does not describe how the research informed the approach to
conceptualizing the issue (0)
5
Methodology: Ethical Implications
Describes the ethical implications raised by the analyzed
articles (5)
Does not describe the ethical implications raised by the
analyzed articles (0)

10. 5
Solution
: Effectively Addressed
Describes how the problem can be most effectively addressed
(5)
Does not describe how the problem can be most effectively
addressed (0)
5