Political Scandals—Who, What, When, Where, and Why!

Purpose: The primary goal of this weekly summative assignment is to probe and scrutinize a major political scandal.

Prepare: Review Chapters 11 and 12 in the course text and the following website:25 Biggest Political Scandals In History (Links to an external site.).

Reflect: As you have learned over the last few weeks, politics is often about power. In their efforts to obtain and maintain power, some politicians violate widely held ethical and moral limits and even laws. Political scandals can abruptly end promising political careers, and, sometimes, they are used to gain electoral and political advantages over opponents. These violations are often revealed to the public by the news media. Understanding how scandals affect politics and political actors, and the role the media plays in unveiling these scandals, contributes to a better understanding of how political behavior impacts other public and private arenas.

Write: In your essay of at least three pages, research one major scandal involving politicians (Watergate, Bill Clinton, Iran-Contra Affair, Silvio Berlusconi, etc.), and address the following:

• Describe how the media portrayed the politicians involved (1 page).
• Discuss the outcome of the scandal (1 page).
  • Did individuals gain greater political power and exposure? Did they resign from office or were their political careers cut short due to the scandal?
• Explain what effect, if any, the scandal had on the political environment and the media and why (1 page).

The Political Scandals—Who, What, When, Where, and Why! paper

• Must be at least three pages (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must use at least three appropriate sources in addition to the course text.
  • Be sure to integrate the information from your sources rather than simply inserting it. Watch the Integrating Research (Links to an external site.) tutorial for assistance.
  • The web page 25 Biggest Political Scandals in History (Links to an external site.) will count as one of your three sources.
  • You can also include additional resources found on the Ashford University Library website. The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types.
• Must document all sources in APA Style as outlined in the Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.).
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must include a conclusion that summarizes the main points and restates the thesis.
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource for specifications.