What are the academic arguments used to defend Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system? Do you find them compelling, or not, and why?

Election Campaigns in Canada

In this research essay students are expected to critically engage different views on an important issue concerning Canadian elections, and develop their own argument through an informed and balanced analysis of the existing debate on the subject. Students much choose their topic from the list of choices included below. All essays must begin with a clear thesis statement and contain proper citations of the sources used. Students should rely extensively on scholarly sources like journal articles and academic books, and use more popular sources like newspapers and blog posts very sparingly. This assignment should be written as an ‘argumentative’ essay. In other words, it must develop and defend a particular position on an issue or topic. Students should write with a sense of purpose – in this case to convince the reader to accept the validity of the argument being made. To that end, essays must engage and fairly assess alternative views on the research question and all opinions must be informed by facts and arguments. Students must prepare a one-page proposal for their term paper outlining how they plan to take up their chosen topic and include a bibliography of at least 5 academic sources demonstrating that they have done some preliminary research. Note: the final paper itself should contain many more sources than just five. The proposal will be due March 18th and requires approval from the instructor to proceed. In addition to the completed essay, students must also submit outline drafts and the notes they have taken from the sources they have used to prepare their essay (note – outline drafts and research notes do not count toward the essay page/word count). Essays will be graded in terms of three specific criteria: -argument, organization and logic Is the thesis clear and presented in a logical and convincing manner? -research and use of evidence Does the essay demonstrate both extensive and effective use of available research sources? Does it contain proper footnoting and a bibliography? -communication Is the paper organized and written as clearly and concisely as possible? For help with your research essay, consult with your professor or a librarian. For help with your writing skills, check out the York’s Learning Skills Services or The Writing Centre.

Potential Research Essay Topics

1. What are the academic arguments used to defend Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system? Do you find them compelling, or not, and why? 2. Why has voter turnout been declining in Canadian elections since the 1970s? What might/can be done about it, if anything? 3. What are the concerns about how media cover elections? Is there anything that is or can be done about? 4. Are Canadian elections very democratic? Why or why not? 5. How is social media reshaping the way Canadian elections are conducted? Are the concerns about it impact justified or overblown? 6. How should money come into elections? Unregulated private donations, regulated private donations, public subsidies and tax credits, a combination of some of these or something else entirely? 7. What steps might be taken to get a greater diversity of people to run in Canadian elections? Here diversity could be understood in terms of both identity and/or class position. 8. Independent candidates – those not running with a major party – seldom get elected in Canada. Why not? What contributes to the rare victory for an independent? 9. Should Canada’s Senate be elected? How would such a thing be organized? How might electing Canada’s Senate alter the way Canada is governed? 10. Should ‘third parties’ (i.e. organized groups that are not political parties) be limited in participating in Canadian elections? What are the concerns about their involvement? 10 Steps to a Research Essay 1. Pick a topic -general topic, can be narrowed later -try to think in terms of a question you want to answer 2. Research your topic -is any or sufficient information available? -is too much information available? -time to narrow or broaden topic 3. Read some key sources -try to get a sense of what debate exists on the topic -read the more recent work first, try to find a review essay -re-evaluate your decision – is topic ‘do-able’? If not return to step one. If it is, go to step 4 4. Firm up the research question -convert your exploratory question into a tentative thesis -sketch out a preliminary outline of how you think you’ll pursue this question 5. Enter the research phase -gather all the relevant materials – books, journal articles, etc. -take notes on each source – copy down proper publishing information/page numbers 6. Revise the thesis and outline -after reading and taking notes on sources, revise thesis and outline accordingly, adding more detail, and changing elements in light of your new knowledge -outline should now clearly indicate how you plan to develop your argument – i.e. the specific question you will be addressing, the various opinions on it, and what will you be arguing -essays don’t organize themselves – you have to think about how you will make your argument and make decisions about what issues to take up first, second, and so on. In other words, you have think about which ideas logically follow others to make your point 7. Write the rough draft -leave plenty of time for writing – don’t use up all your time in the research phase -write draft -don’t worry at this stage about getting things absolutely perfect; you can edit later -when completed, leave some time before moving on to final draft; a day or even just a few hours – you can better judge the paper’s real strengths and weaknesses after a break -get a second opinion – have a friend look over the paper and make comments 8. Getting to the final draft -reassess the paper – is the organization most effective? Should some sections be rearranged or eliminated so the paper is stronger or flows better? -fine-tune thesis if necessary -rewrite paper – smooth out writing, fix awkward sentences and transitions between ideas 9. Proofread your work -re-read final draft – check for spelling, grammar, page numbers, proper citations -have someone else read the paper to catch things you’ve missed -make changes and finalize copy to submit 10. Getting the paper in -make sure that all relevant information is on the title page including your name, your professor’s name, the course name and number, the paper’s title, and the date -hand in the paper on time, at the right place, and to the right person.