EBR - The Making of a Great President Project

Part 1: Analyzing what makes a great presidential candidate.

Although the Constitution only lists three requirements for the presidency, the American people have had other informal expectations and requirements for who they would elect. 

The information MUST be written in your own words and sources cited from your research.

Address the following questions:

1. What characteristics do you think a president should have?
2. What kind of background do you think they should have?
3. Are there any other informal, unwritten requirements that would keep the American people from electing someone president?
4. How much of a presidential candidate’s personal life should be revealed to the public?
5. Does the public have a valid concern to know about a president’s financial dealings?
6. Should requirements about ethics and finances be added?
7. Should limits on age be added?

Part 2: Profile of Admired U.S. President

You will research a U.S. president you find most admirable. You will create a project using a type of presentation software such as PowerPoint. 

Elements needed in the presentation:

• The name of president, including a picture
• Facts about the president, including childhood history, family, religion, college, and military experience.   (Include 2 photos)
• Political party affiliation
• Years in office

Address the following questions:

1. At the time of the election, describe the informal qualifications that led to the election of this president.
2. Are there any current informal unwritten requirements that would have helped or hurt the president from being elected today? If not, discuss some that would have impacted other presidential candidates.
3. Discuss five influential factors that made this president great. Focus on major events or accomplishments that happened during the presidency.

Part 3: Reasoning for Presidential Choice

Why would you vote for this president?

Write one paragraph (5 to 6 sentences) discussing reasons why you would vote for this President.  

Works Cited Page: 

Use a MLA citation guide to cite your sources. You can use information from the content pages and reputable internet resources for your research. You will need to cite all information appropriately. Include the citations in your finished file.

For Works Cited, find examples and information from the MLA lesson in your course or by searching Purdue Owl - Online Writing Lab - MLA General Format.

Scoring Guideline

Part 1:  7 questions  (20 pts.)

Part 2:

• name, childhood, family, religion, college, military experience, political party, years in office (8 items)  (20 pts.)
• informal qualifications  (5 pts.)
• current informal requirements  (5 pts.)
• five influential factors - 5 major events or accomplishments  (20 pts.)
• images  (10 pts.)

Part 3: Reasoning for Presidential choice paragraph (10 pts.)

Works Cited Page -  (10 pts.)

See the Scoring Rubric below for grading insight.