PLST 317 – Final Presentation ______________________________________________________________________________ You will present a compelling 10-minute argument for or against the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in your case, supported by the evidence compiled in your research report. Your presentation will be followed by a 5-minute Q&A period with your classmates. You will create an attractive and well-organized slide deck to use as a visual aid for this presentation. This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade and will be presented during our final exam period on Wednesday, December 13. You must submit your slides in the D2L dropbox as a PDF by December 13 at 11:59 p.m. Required sections of your presentation include: • Introduction

o Brief background of your case: What facts does your audience need to know? o Legal/logical basis for the Court’s opinion: How did they arrive at their decision? o Your perspective on the decision (treat this as your thesis statement and place it as the final

sentence of your introduction): Why do you agree/disagree with the Court’s ruling?

• Argument o Clear and compelling position, including supporting evidence o Analysis and rebuttal of opposing viewpoints: What are the strengths and weaknesses of your

opposition’s argument(s)? Your opposition may include the opposing opinion of the Court, hypothetical counterarguments, and prevailing public opinions.

o Implications: What are the potential positive and/or negative consequences of the Court’s ruling? Does your argument fully address these consequences?

• Conclusion o Summary of the main points of your argument o Final appeal: Why should your audience be convinced to take your side?

Any identified instance of plagiarism or use of generative AI in your submission is a violation of academic integrity and will result in a failing grade for this assignment and a possible referral for further disciplinary action.

PLST 317 – Peer Review ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You will offer positive, specific, substantive, and constructive feedback on all of your classmates’ final presentations using the provided template. In other words, your comments will go far beyond just saying, “Good job!” In addition, you will ask each presenter at least one question (and/or raise at least one point of debate) at the end of their presentation. This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade and will be submitted at the end of our final exam period on Wednesday, December 13.

Content Well-researched, well-argued, on-topic, etc.

Comments:

Presentation Slides Well-organized, attractive, easy to read, etc.

Comments:

Presentation Style Demonstrates preparedness, compelling, engaging, well-paced, well-spoken, professional, etc.

Comments:

Q & A How successfully do you feel the presenter answered your question and/or responded to your objections?

Write down the question(s) you asked the presenter: Your feedback on the presenter’s response(s):

PLST 317 – Research Report: Second Draft __________________________________________________________________ You will write the second draft of a 2,000-word research report arguing for or against the Supreme Court’s decision in your selected case. Your paper will reference at least five reputable sources, including at least three peer-reviewed articles. Your grade will be based on your ability to successfully incorporate all of the feedback I provided on your first draft. You must meet the 2,000-word limit within a 5% margin of error. Points will be deducted for submissions that miss or exceed the word limit by more than 100 words. This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade and is due Friday, December 8, at 11:59 p.m. Absolutely no submissions will be accepted after the due date. NO EXCEPTIONS. You must submit your report in the D2L dropbox as a Microsoft Word document. Your assignment will not be considered submitted if it is in any other file format (e.g., PDF). Your report must follow all APA Style guidelines. These include:

• 12-point, Times New Roman, 2x-spaced, 1” margins, page numbers in the top-right corner • Properly formatted title page with a descriptive, catchy title • Properly formatted in-text citations and References page

Any identified instance of plagiarism or use of generative AI in your submission is a violation of academic integrity and will result in a failing grade for this assignment and a possible referral for further disciplinary action.