The Role Of Social Media In American Politics

Paper #2: The Role of Social Media in American Politics

This is the grading rubric for Paper #2. Please review this file prior to writing your essay. The Rubric lays out the information that needs to be included in the paper.

Social media has become a ubiquitous part of modern society and has emerged in recent years as a tool for people to participate in politics. In the article linked below, Malcolm Gladwell expresses some reservations about the utility of social media as an instrument of political participation. Read the article and then answer the questions listed below.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell

Questions for the paper:

1. Briefly summarize Gladwell’s argument. Why is he skeptical about the use of social media?

2. Do you agree or disagree with Gladwell? What changes to how social media is used do you think could happen to answer some of Gladwell’s concerns?

3. How do you think social media can best be used in the future by political campaigns? How can it best be used by citizens to participate in/engage with the political system?

Please feel free to find other sources that discuss the role of social media in politics. When using other sources, be sure to cite them in the paper and list them in your references.

Papers should aim to be somewhere between 3 to 5 pages (though the most important thing is that all questions are answered in a complete and clear manner). Please use double-spacing and default margins.

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PaperRubrics.docx