The Presidential Debates
Essay #1 – The Presidential Debates
Historically, presidential debates have tended to not matter very much. But this year could be different; this year’s campaign is different. In this paper, use examples from the first three presidential debates (Monday, 9/26, Tuesday 10/4 and Sunday 10/9) to evaluate whether and why the Clinton-Trump debates will affect this year’s presidential election.
You must read this:
http://www.vox.com/2016/9/12/12847632/debates-trump-clinton-polls-political-science
be sure to click on the various hyperlinks in that article to learn more about what political science says about debates.
You should also use the information about debates from your textbook.
Use historical examples, including the nomination battle earlier this cycle. Think about debates that mattered, like Gore sighing and looking at his watch, or Nixon declining makeup and looking swarthy.
M 9/26 FIRST CLINTON-TRUMP DEBATE
W 9/28 First Paper Assigned – library day
T 10/4 SECOND DEBATE
SUN 10/9 THIRD DEBATE
Essays should be 5-7 pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and either 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial font. Use proper citations; format of your choosing. Papers will be submitted electronically via MOLE, which automatically screens papers through Turnitin for plagiarism. Papers should contain less than 25% direct quotes. Any cover page or figures/graphs, and the bibliography, do not count towards the page limit.
