Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2047: American Politics

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The American Constitutional Framework

Ideology, Public Opinion, and the Media

Interest Groups

Congress

The Courts

The President

Bureaucracy

Voting, Elections, and Parties

Public Policymaking

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26.5	123.5

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	16.5	11 x 1.5 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	10	10 x 1 hour Tutorials
Guided Independent study	123.5	A variety of private study tasks directed by module leader. These tasks may include (with an indicative number of hours): Reading assignments (70 hours) Preparation for and completion of examination (25 hours) Writing a multi-part critical essay (25 hours) Following American political news events (5 hours)

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

(For specific readings, see ELE – vle.exeter.ac.uk)

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Discussions in lectures and tutorials	During lectures and tutorials	1-7	Oral
Tutorial quizzes	At the beginning of tutorial sessions	1-6	Oral

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
50	50	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Examination	50	2 hours	1-6	Written
Multi-part essay	50	2,100 words	1-6	Written
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Examination	Examination (2 hours)	1-6	August/September assessment period
Multi-part Essay	Essay (2,100 words)	1-6	August/September assessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

David McKay, American Politics and Society
The Federalist Papers
Baumgartner, Frank R. and Jones, Bryan D. 1991. Agenda Dynamics and Policy Subsystems. Journal of Politics.
Henry E. Brady, Sidney Verba and Kay Lehman Schlozman. 1995. Beyond SES: A resource model of political participation. American Political Science Review
Richard F. Fenno, Home Style: House Members in Their Districts, Ch. 5