Describe the critical differences between the legal systems of the United States and the county of your choosing?

Description

In this assignment, you will compare the legal system in the United States with that of a different country that you choose. In your comparison, you will describe whether the country uses civil law or common law (or another tradition), how courts are organized, whether cases can be appealed, the training of the legal actors (judges and attorneys), whether there are juries and any other notable features. You need to document your sources, and you should rely on sources other than Wikipedia. I expect that your paper should be between 5-7 pages (double speed). I will assign grades based on the quality of thinking, organization, presentation, and writing. Please include a complete reference section. You will lose 10% of your grade for each day the paper is late.

Rubric

POS 270 students typically write a paper comparing the legal systems of the United States and a country of their choosing. Our online class will be no different. Some of you have asked for a grading rubric. I have not created a point-by-point rubric, but I think it’s fair to describe my expectations and grading criteria. Obviously, this is not a traditional term paper, so I will not evaluate it as a term paper. Nonetheless, I do have some overlapping expectations. The first third of your grade will be technical, and the remaining third will be substantive.

Technical

Are there spelling errors?
Are there grammatical errors?
Did you write in complete sentences?
Did you use colloquialisms? I love colloquialisms, yet these rarely (once in a blue moon) work in academic writing.
Did you plagiarize?
Did you include a bibliography?
Did you pick a citation style and consistently apply it throughout the paper?
Is your paper the appropriate length and formatted correctly?
Did you submit your paper on time?
Did you include your name on the paper?
Did you include a title, preferably an original title?

Substantive

Is the style of writing appropriate for an academic audience?
Is the writing clear? Are your points clear to me, or are they buried in your presentation? Are your paragraphs well written, not merely breakpoints in your writing?
Is the writing concise? Are there unnecessary words?
Were you repetitive?
Were you able to describe the critical differences between the legal systems of the United States and the county of your choosing?
I described the different types of law. Were you able to integrate these categories into your discussion?
Did I find your observations interesting and insightful?
How many sources did you integrate into your presentation (More isn’t necessarily better, but I expect at least 4 to 6)?
What is the quality of your sources (Wikipedia is not a quality source)?
Were you able to integrate sources, or did you tell me what each author said individually?
Is your introductory paragraph interesting? Do I want to continue reading? A “hook” is not necessary, but it can be helpful.

Last Completed Projects