This class uses what is called the Conceptual Learning Model. That is, instead of just giving you a set of facts,
it strives to first teach you concepts, ideas, in context. Then, I try to guide you to apply those contextual concepts
to political occurrences, both across time and currently.
So far, you have been taught about the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill, the framers intent for the
presidency, the framers fears concerning what could go wrong with our presidency, basic rules of law
concerning presidential power, court decisions about this, how past presidents have used their power, and
finally, a little bit about how President Trump used and abused the power of the presidency. And hopefully,
before your essay is due, the second impeachment of President Trump will have concluded.
By Saturday, March 13, you must complete a Concept Report Essay. This assignment is worth up to twelve points.
The purpose is to access how well you are able to comprehend concepts taught so far, and relate them to
historical and current events. Your writing skills will also be accessed.
Your essay should be about 800 – 900 words. Longer is okay, but if you write succinctly, your essay should not
be too much longer. I will not count off for longer papers unless they are repetitive and do not stick to main
and important points. I will, however, count off for short papers (less than 800 words), as there is more than
enough content in the lessons to give you this much to write about.
What to write and how to write it:
I expect that you will cover concepts (and history) that you have learned from the lessons so far and then apply
them to the current situation regarding our presidency. At a minimum, consider the following points:
Why did the framers of our Constitution institute the separation of powers, checks and balances and the
impeachment process? What were they most concerned about? Why?
Why, at the same time, did the framers build in flexibility when it comes to descriptions of the duties of
the president?
What might be disastrous (to our democracy) about the idea that a president can do anything he wants
so long as he believes (or purports to believe) that it is what is best for the people?
What might be disastrous (to our democracy) about a president spreading the belief that an election was
stolen from him? Why?
What was different about the Trump presidency as compared to that of previous presidents?
How has the accepted power of the presidency changed over time?
Is Congress still an effective check on the presidency? Why or why not?
Style:
Think of these essays as semi-informal style essays:
You may use the pronoun I
You must, however, use good grammar and full, correctly structured sentences.
Slang terms are not allowed.
Colloquial language is not allowed.
Do not use outside opinion sources. You MAY use outside journalistic news sources to bring in facts about
what took place with the insurrection and the impeachment, but do not base your entire essay on this
2
news. These are not research papers, they are intended to help me gauge what you have learned from the
lesson material, and how well you understand the taught concepts. In particular, are you able to apply
learned concepts to an understanding of what has recently taken place with the presidency?
It is okay to use your own opinion, but this should not to be merely or even mostly an opinion paper. You
must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts taught, and an ability to appropriately
apply those concepts to what has taken place.
You are not required to use the standard five-part essay format, but may if you wish, so long as you are
able to cover all minimum points listed above, at least to some degree.
Writing skills matter. Proofread your papers, preferably more than once, before you upload them. Check
spelling, grammar, sentence construction, and punctuation.
Your work must be typed, double-spaced, and should use Times New Roman or Arial font, as these are the
most common, are standard size and are least likely to cause formatting issues when you upload your paper.
Font size must be 12 points for Times and 11 or 12 points for Arial.
You do not need a cover page for essays in this class. However, be sure to put your name and the subject or
title of the essay at the top of your paper.