Texas Bill of Rights Assignment
Guidelines & Requirements
Instructions
Go to this website to read the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights – yes, that whole website is the Bill of Rights. For this assignment, based upon what you have learned about Texas politics and about Texas government so far, you’re going to come up with one additional right that you think should be added to our State Constitution’s Bill of Rights; OR, you can come up with one right currently in our State Constitution’s Bill of Rights that you think should be removed. Then, you’ll identify sources to help you support the idea that this is addition/removal will benefit Texans and what the consequences might be if this were implemented.
Tip: After reading the questions in the Word document about finding sources, if you are not quite sure what you might want to look for, here are just a few possible ideas:
• Your source might have a survey showing that Texans are concerned about this topic.
• Your source might have a case study or interview showing how something has been a problem in the past.
• Your source might show that another state did something similar with positive results.
• Your source might show that a new technology or way of thinking has changed how people feel about a topic.
Of course, these are just a few examples to help get your brain going! Be creative!
Tip: Most national news outlets don’t cover much about state politics because they’re trying to appeal to viewers/readers all over the country and not just people in Texas, so it’s often easier to find a news article about Texas politics from state or local news outlets. Here are a few you can look through if you’re not familiar with any state or local news outlets:
• The Dallas Morning News,
• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
• The Houston Chronicle,
• The San Antonio Express-News, or
• The Texas Tribune
After you have given this some thought, type your answer to each of the following questions below, and then save your document to upload it in Canvas. Your answers will be graded for completeness and accuracy. Please be as detailed in your responses as you can be, and double-check that you have fully answered each question.
Assignment
1. Provide the EXACT wording of the right that you think should be added to or removed from the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, and then explain why this addition/removal is important to you. (20 points):
2. Find one news article from a reputable news source (newspaper, magazine, or other reputable news outlet) that helps support your idea that this right should be added or removed.
a. First, provide a working link to your news article, as well as the title, author, name of news outlet, and date of publication of the article.
Answer here (4 points):
b. Second, summarize the article by clearly stating the main point, as well as identifying some of the specific details supporting that main point in the article.
Answer here (8 points):
c. Finally, how does the information in this source help you show that this change would benefit Texans? Make sure you use specific details to support your response.
Answer here (8 points).
3. Find a second news article from a reputable news source (newspaper, magazine, or other reputable news outlet) that helps support your idea that this right should be added or removed.
a. First, provide a working link to your news article, as well as the title, author, name of news outlet, and date of publication of the article. (4 points):
b. Second, summarize the article by clearly stating the main point, as well as identifying some of the specific details supporting that main point in the article. (8 points)
c. Finally, how does the information in this source help you show that this change would benefit Texans? Make sure you use specific details to support your response.
(8 points).
4. What do you think the consequences (positive or negative) would be if your proposal to add/remove a right from our State Constitution were actually done and implemented? Explain, providing as much detail and specific information as possible.
(20 points)
5. Writing style: format, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other writing style flaws should be minimized. This component of the paper is worth up to 10 points.
