SF 183: Politics, Power and the Media
Writing Assignment 3: Research Outline
Assignment: Due on October 28
There are three parts to this assignment: 1) Revise your research question (Assignment One) to include you a brief review of your literature and your thesis statement, 2) write an outline of your paper; and 3) provide a bibliography of all the sources you have gathered thus far.
Grading:
This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.
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Guidelines:
Argument: Thesis Statement
Now that you have introduced your topic, posed your core research question, and reviewed the relevant literature, you are in a position to state your own position on your topic. To achieve this, I want you to expand your original research question to incorporate a short review of the literature and argument.
Outline:
The purpose of an outline is to help you organize the overall narrative and
logical structure of your paper before you begin writing it. As a process, outlining requires you to explain not only how you plan to organize your paper but also how you think each section of the paper corresponds to and complements the others. In this way, an outline will help you identify any weaknesses in your argument/analysis.
Bibliography:
You need to include a full citation for every source you use to support your
argument. Thus, irrespective of the citing style you use, all sources must be identified with a complete citation.
Sample Outline:
Title: Trashy Language: Assessing the Impact of Lobbyist-Proposed Legislative Language on State E-Waste Policy
I. Introduction
Topic: The Impact of Lobbyist-Proposed Legislative Language on State Electronic-Waste Policy
Question: What role does lobbyist-proposed legislative language have on the ability of a lobbying interest to influence legislative outcomes, and thus win in competition with other interest groups?
Introductory Literature Review: (Introduce Schools of Thought)
Exchange Theory: Lobbying influences legislative action either through an exchange of contributions, financial or otherwise for votes.
Persuasion Theory: Lobbying influences legislative action by way of information-based strategic persuasion.
Limitations: The role of lobbyist-proposed legislative language, as a form of
persuasion has not been systematically analyzed.
Thesis: (Argument):
The use of specific legislative language by lobbyists does have a significant influence on legislative outcomes.
Hypothesis:
It is my contention that lobbyists who provide legislators with language that a lawmaker see as “constructive,” or more or less trustworthy and intended to further rather than destroy filed legislation are more likely to influence legislators and thus win in competition with other interest groups.
Roadmap:
Outline Paper: Review Different Schools of Thought (Exchange and Persuasion)
Statement of Sources
II. Literature Review
School of Thought One: Exchange Theory
Scholars: (Denzau and Munger 1986; Synder 1992; Hall and Deardorff 2006)
Summary: According to exchange theories of interest group advocacy, lobbying
involves a form of barter or trade between lobbyists and legislators.
Critique: There are clear limits to exchange theories of lobbying, including questionsrelating to how implied contracts are enforced, and the frequency with lobbyists focus their attention on sympathetic rather than undecided legislators.
School of Thought Two: Persuasion Theory
Scholars: (Hansen 1991; Austen-Smith and Wright 1994; Evans 1989)
Summary: In persuasion models, lobbyists provide informational signaling in order to gain access to legislators and persuade them of the benefits of a particular policy course.
Critique: (Optional)
Support: Persuasion arguments have helped account for not only how, but why influence does or does not occur.
Transitional Paragraph:
III: Argument/Analysis
Research Design: Panel Study
To measure the comparative impact of a language-based strategy, I conducted a pre and post-test/panel study of filed and finalized, passed and amended e-waste legislation in each of the states (19 in total)that have passed such laws that include TVs since 2003.
Scoring:
To measure the before and after effects of a language strategy in each state, I scored the favorability of all e-waste legislation on a five point scale based on both its similarity to market share requirements, and the stated preferences of legacy TV lobby.
(Best: Success) (Worst: Failure)
Market share Placeholder Bills Flat Fees Weight of Product Return Share
12 3 4 5
IV: Conclusion: Review/Restate Overall Argument