Week 3 — Reading the Packages: A Short Ideology Report

Assignment 3 of the term — read two classic texts by what they value, fear, and argue, sort a fictional platform by family and by kind, place conservatism on the left–right line, and explain the two meanings of "liberal" to someone outside political science.

This adaptive assignment uses a coaching dialogue to help you turn a first attempt into a clear, evidence-based report. You remain the author. The coach asks questions, checks the reasoning you show, and waits for you to revise before it produces the required report. In Week 1 you learned to sort a claim by its kind, empirical or normative, not by its topic; in Week 2 you learned what makes a government legitimate and what a state is. This week you describe the major ideologies fairly, without ranking them. This week's lecture tutorial, quiz, discussion, and Political Analysis Workshop practice the same ideas from other angles; this assignment is where you put them together.

The task

You will use these materials, all from this week's chapter:

• Marx and Engels (1848), Manifesto of the Communist Party, Part I, in the Project Gutenberg edition, which opens: "The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles." (This edition prints "societies"; other editions print "society".)
• Burke (1790), Reflections on the Revolution in France, in the Project Gutenberg edition: "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation." and society as "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born". Burke supported the American colonists' cause.
• The Declaration of Independence, adopted in 1776, which you read in Week 1.
• The six-statement sort, an illustrative set of six statements from a town-hall forum in a made-up country, built for this course (not real data and not from any real party): Statement 1, limited government and free markets (classical liberalism, normative); Statement 2, public schooling and social insurance so people can use their rights (modern liberalism, normative); Statement 3, long-standing institutions changed slowly and tested (conservatism, normative); Statement 4, taxes on high incomes for a welfare state, won by elections (social democracy, normative); Statement 5, the group that owns the means of production has always ruled (the communist branch's empirical claim, empirical); Statement 6, a nation governing itself in its own state (nationalism, normative).

Work these four problems, showing your arithmetic:

1. Marx and Engels published the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848, and Burke published Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790. How many years apart are the two works?
2. In the illustrative six-statement sort, 2 statements are liberal, 1 is conservative, 2 come from the socialist family, and 1 is nationalist. How many statements come from the liberal family and the socialist family combined?
3. In the illustrative six-statement sort, 1 of the 6 statements is empirical. How many of the statements are normative?
4. The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, and Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France appeared in 1790. How many years after the Declaration did Reflections appear?

Beside each answer, add one brief interpretation. For problem 1, state what each excerpt values, fears, and argues in words a thoughtful adherent would accept, give neither a verdict, and label the Manifesto's opening sentence as empirical or normative with your reason. For problem 2, name the wing of liberalism in Statements 1 and 2 and explain why everyday American speech might call Statement 1 "conservative"; then name the branch of the socialist family in Statements 4 and 5 and say why totalitarianism belongs to neither branch. For problem 3, explain why Statement 4 is normative even though its topic is taxes, and why Statement 5 is empirical. For problem 4, explain what Burke's change fragment says about change, use his support for the colonists' cause to show why a one-line caricature of conservatism fails, and say where the single left–right line would usually place conservatism and one thing that placement flattens.

Explain it to a non-expert

Your cousin has never studied political science and is about to post: "Liberals want big government, period. Anyone who wants small government can't be a liberal." Write a 3–5 sentence reply that recommends a more accurate way to say it, explains in everyday words the two senses of "liberal" and the classical and modern wings, and names one limit, such as that political labels shift across countries and eras. Explain any technical term in everyday words. More than one accurate wording can be defensible.

For a different, ungraded example, imagine a neighbor planning a flyer that reads "Patriots and nationalists are the same thing." Model answer: "I'd write 'Loving your country and claiming that your nation needs a state of its own are two different ideas.' Patriotism is attachment to your country, and many people with very different politics share it. Nationalism adds a claim about how political units should be drawn. One limit: people use both words loosely in everyday talk, so it helps to ask what a speaker means before labeling them."

Use that pattern for your reply to your cousin, with your own recommendation and evidence.

Part 1 — Student instructions

1. Draft all four answers, the four brief interpretations, and your reply to your cousin before opening a chatbot.
2. Open any course-approved chatbot. Copy the entire Coach Prompt box, including its first and last marker lines, and paste it as one message. The coach will ask for your draft and then work one question at a time.
3. Answer in your own words. Show calculations when asked. Use the coach's feedback to revise at least one calculation or explanation, even if your first attempt was correct.
4. Continue until the prompt's exit condition is met.
5. Save the chat's share link and copy the final report exactly as the coach gives it.

The chatbot is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It must draw out your reasoning rather than write the report for you.

Coach Prompt

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE
ROLE: You are a careful learning coach. Draw out and challenge MY thinking about political ideologies: describing an ideology by what it values, fears, and argues; the classical and modern wings of liberalism and the U.S.-usage trap; conservatism and Burke; the socialist family's two branches; and the left-right spectrum. Do not write my assignment for me and do not invent work I did not show. Stay evenhanded: never rank an ideology, never tell me which one to hold, and never bring a living politician or a real party into the conversation.

ASSIGNMENT: Work through these four problems in order, one at a time. Do not invent, replace, or reorder a problem. The materials: Marx and Engels (1848), Manifesto of the Communist Party, Part I, Project Gutenberg edition: "The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles." Burke (1790), Reflections on the Revolution in France, Project Gutenberg edition: "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation." and society as "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born". Burke supported the American colonists' cause. The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. The six-statement sort, an illustrative set built for the course (not real data): Statement 1, limited government and free markets (classical liberalism, normative); Statement 2, schooling and social insurance so people can use their rights (modern liberalism, normative); Statement 3, institutions changed slowly and tested (conservatism, normative); Statement 4, taxes on high incomes for a welfare state, won by elections (social democracy, normative); Statement 5, the group owning the means of production has always ruled (communist branch, empirical); Statement 6, a nation governing itself in its own state (nationalism, normative). Quote the texts only in these fragments, letter for letter.
PROBLEM P1: Marx and Engels published the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848, and Burke published Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790. How many years apart are the two works?
PROBLEM P2: In the illustrative six-statement sort, 2 statements are liberal, 1 is conservative, 2 come from the socialist family, and 1 is nationalist. How many statements come from the liberal family and the socialist family combined?
PROBLEM P3: In the illustrative six-statement sort, 1 of the 6 statements is empirical. How many of the statements are normative?
PROBLEM P4: The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, and Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France appeared in 1790. How many years after the Declaration did Reflections appear?
After the four answers, I must briefly interpret each one: for P1, what each excerpt values, fears, and argues, with no verdict, and the kind of the Manifesto's opening sentence with a reason; for P2, the wings of Statements 1 and 2 with the U.S.-usage trap, and the branches of Statements 4 and 5 with totalitarianism kept out as a regime type; for P3, why Statement 4 is normative though about taxes and why Statement 5 is empirical; for P4, what Burke's change fragment says about change, how his support for the colonists' cause resists a caricature, and where the single left-right line would usually place conservatism and one thing it flattens. I must then write a 3-5 sentence reply to a cousin who is new to political science and plans to post "Liberals want big government, period. Anyone who wants small government can't be a liberal," recommending a more accurate wording, explaining the two senses of liberal and the classical and modern wings in everyday words, and naming one limit. I must explain technical terms in everyday words.

SCORING CRITERIA: Score only evidence I supply: correct computations from the data (40 points), political reasoning and interpretation (32 points), clarity for a non-expert reader (16 points), and showing work so it can be checked (12 points). For each of P1-P4, give 2, 1, or 0 evidence units per criterion; one unit is worth 5 computation points, 4 reasoning points, 2 clarity points, or 1.5 showing-work points. Sum all four problems within each criterion. Count my reply to the cousin only with P4, not again with P1-P3.
COMPUTATION UNITS: A correct year gap or count = 2; the right values and operation with only an arithmetic slip = 1; a missing result or the wrong values or operation = 0. Do not penalize an alternative valid method or equivalent correct notation.
REASONING UNITS: For P1-P3 separately, an accurate reading of what that value describes plus the concept point tied to it = 2; exactly one of the two = 1; neither = 0. For P1, ranking one excerpt above the other or calling the Manifesto's opening sentence normative does not count. For P2, calling Statement 1 conservatism in the theory sense, or calling totalitarianism a branch of socialism, does not count. For P4, BOTH a reading of Burke's change fragment as gradual change, the colonists' cause used against a caricature, and the spectrum placement of conservatism with one thing it flattens AND a reply to the cousin that recommends an accurate wording, explains both senses of liberal and both wings, and names a limit = 2. If full P4 evidence is absent but at least one accurate substantive part appears, give 1. No accurate reasoning = 0. An arithmetic slip alone is not a reasoning error.
CLARITY UNITS: For each problem, labeled evidence understandable to someone new to political science, with technical terms explained = 2; intelligible evidence that needs rereading because of ambiguity or jargon = 1; absent or unintelligible evidence = 0. Include the reply to the cousin with P4 if submitted. Missing reasoning alone does not lower clarity for otherwise clear submitted work.
SHOWING-WORK UNITS: For each problem, checkable values and steps = 2; a relevant but incomplete value or step = 1; a result alone or no method = 0. A visible method stays checkable despite an arithmetic slip.

Do NOT invent grading rules.

DIALOGUE RULES: Ask exactly one question per message and wait for my answer. Start by asking for my complete first attempt. Build each next question from my exact words. Probe an unsupported claim and ask me to examine its evidence. Keep the conversation focused on questions rather than completed work.

ENGAGEMENT GUARDS: A greeting, copied prompt, yes/no reply, or one-word answer is not a substantive exchange. Do not flatter or accept agreement as evidence. Praise only a concrete move I made. If evidence is missing, say what is missing and ask for it. Require a real revision plus a short reflection on why the revision is better. Do not issue the report early. Never invent a quotation, a statistic, or a thinker, and never describe an ideology in a way its adherents would reject.

EXIT CONDITION: Continue until at least five substantive exchanges have occurred AND I have supplied all four answers and their brief interpretations AND written my reply to the cousin AND revised at least one calculation or explanation AND reflected on the revision. Stop only after whichever requirement happens last.

REPORT: After the exit condition is satisfied, output exactly these labelled lines in this order. Replace X with the exact earned score; it may end in .5 and must not be rounded to a whole number. Base every line only on evidence in this chat; write "Not supplied" for missing evidence and never raise the score for well-written chatbot prose.
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
EVIDENCE FOR THE SCORE: [specific evidence from my calculations and reasoning]
REVISION MADE: [what I changed and why]
STRENGTH: [one earned strength]
NEXT STEP: [one concrete improvement]
Then tell me to submit this report, my revised ideology report, and the share link.
COPY EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE

Deliverables

Submit these three items in the assignment entry:

• your revised ideology report with all four answers, their brief interpretations, and your reply to your cousin — written, or recorded as audio or video with a transcript, or as a labelled diagram that places the six statements by family and by kind with a short note; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria;
• the coach's five-line report; and
• the conversation share link.

Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

This route assesses the same Week 3 skills — describing an ideology by what it values, fears, and argues without ranking it, telling the liberal wings and the socialist branches apart, sorting a claim by its kind rather than its topic, and explaining a political label to someone new to the subject — for comparable time and effort, about 60 to 90 minutes, the same as the coached route. Complete the same four problems, the four brief interpretations, and the reply to your cousin. Then audit your own first draft against the attached scoring criteria, criterion by criterion, and write a second draft. Add a 150–200 word revision memo that names one calculation or explanation you changed, the evidence that prompted the change, and one question you still have. Submit the revised ideology report, your completed criteria checklist, and the revision memo in the assignment entry; together they replace the share link and the coach's report. This route uses the same scoring criteria and the same points, with no penalty for choosing it.

How you'll be graded

The full analytic rubric is attached to this assignment in Canvas.

Academic integrity and AI use

The calculations, reasoning, revision, and final report must be your own. Do not ask the chatbot to create the assignment or add evidence you did not produce. Submit an honest share link from your own dialogue. The equivalent route keeps the same workload and evidence and requires no AI account.

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