Write an essay that analyzes the Texas Constitution using the following outline: I. Introduction with thesis II. Body A. Legislative Branch 1. Provisions set out in the Texas Constitution 2. Criticisms and Problems associated with these Provisions 3. Suggested Reforms regarding these provisions B. Executive Branch 1. Provisions set out in the Texas Constitution 2. Criticisms and Problems associated with these Provisions 3. Suggested Reforms regarding these provisions C. Judicial Branch 1. Provisions set out in the Texas Constitution 2. Criticisms and Problems associated with these Provisions 3. Suggested Reforms regarding these provisions III. Conclusion with thesis Your essay must be typed, a minimum of 600 words and include your name on the actual document. Include information from at least two sources other than your text. This includes research on previous attempts to rewrite the Texas Constitution and the major provisions that have been targets for criticism and attempts at reform. You may include your own analysis, but remember to back up your arguments with information and analysis from reputable sources. Make sure you provide citations for any other author’s words or ideas using parenthetical citations within the text of your essay and full citations on a Works Cited page. You can find easy instuctions for citing information using MLA format by googling “mla format”. Sources that can be used, may use textbook and two other sources from the websites listed. Texas Politics Textbook Texas Politics Textbook http://webtexts.com/texaspoliticsbasic Texas Government Websites Texas State Government http://www.state.tx.us/ Texas State Legislature http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ Texas Governor”s Office http://www.governor.state.tx.us/ Senator Kirk Watson http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist14/dist14.htm Representative Mark Strama http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist50/strama.htm Representative Dawnna Dukes http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist46/dukes.htm Representative Eddie Rodriguez http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist51/rodriguez.htm Representative Elliott Naishtat http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist49/naishtat.htm Reprseentative Patrick Rose http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist45/rose.htm Representative Donna Howard http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist48/howard.htm Texas News Websites Texas Tribune http://www.texastribune.org Texas Observer http://www.texasobserver.org Texas Monthly http://www.texasmonthly.com NPR – Austin http://kut.org Austin American Stateman http://wwwstatesman.com Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com The Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com The Dallas Observer http://www.dallasobserver.com The Houston Press http://www.houstonpress.com Texas Interest Group Websites Business & Trade: Texas Association of Bussinesses http://www.txbiz.org/ Texas Association of Builders http://www.texasbuilders.org/ Texas Alliance of Energy Producers http://www.texasalliance.org/ Labor & Professional: Texas Trial Lawyers Association http://www.ttla.com/TX/ Texas Medical Association http://www.texmed.org/ Texas American Federation of Teachers http://tx.aft.org/ Single Issue: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (TX) http://www.madd.org/tx Texas Right to Life Committee http://www.texasrighttolife.com/ Sierra Club Lonestar Chapter http://lonestar.sierraclub.org/ Texas State Rifle Association http://tsrapac.com/ Public Interest: Texas Public Interest Reseach Group http://www.texpirg.org/ Common Cause (TX) http://www.commoncause.org/ click on TX chapter U.S. Government Websites The United States House of Representatives http://www.house.gov The United States Senate http://www.senate.gov The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov The United States Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Huthinson (Texas) http://huthinson.senate.gov U.S. Senator John Cornyn (Texas) http://cornyn.senate.gov U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (Texas 10th District) http://www.house.gov/mccaul/ U.S. Representative Michael Conaway (Texas 11th District) http://www.house.gov/conaway/ U.S. Representative Ruben Hinojosa (Texas 15th District) http://hinojosa.house.gov/ U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (Texas 21st District) http://lamarsmith.house.gov/ U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (Texas 25th District) http://www.house.gov/doggett/ U.S. Representative John Carter (Texas 31st District) http://www.house.gov/carter Election / Voter Information Websites League of Women Voters http://www.lwv.org Project Vote Smart http://www.vote-smart.org MTV’s Rock the Vote http://www.rockthevote.org Electoral Reform Group http://electionline.org/ Electoral College Reform Group http://www.electoral-vote.com Center for Responsive Politics http://opensecrets.org/ Watchdog Group http://www.factcheck.org National & International News Websites The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com The Wall Street Journal http://www.wallstreetjournal.com The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com The Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com The Observer http://observer.guardian.co.uk/ The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/ The Economist http://www.economist.com The Financial Times http://www.ft.com/home/us Reuters http://www.reuters.com Independent Television News http://itn.co/uk/ National Public Radio http://www.npr.org Public Braodcasting Station http://www.pbs.org LINK TV http://www.linktv.org CNN http://www.cnn.com ABC News http://www.abcnews.go.com MSNBC http://www.msnbc.com CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com All Politics http://www.allpolitics.com Politics Online http://www.politicsonline.com The Nation http://www.thenation.com The National Journal http://www.nationaljournal.com The Talking Points Memo http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com The Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com Salon http://www.salon.com Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com
