Title: TASK: Reaction to the Campaign Issues
Course: US Election 2016-Leuphana Copy > Section: 3. The Campaign Issues

[fa-check-square-o fa-3x pull-left fa-muted]In this task, you will...
  - compose a written text addressing the candidates’ positions on the campaign issues
  - choose between writing a speech for a candidate, an endorsement on behalf of an organization, or a news article after the first 100 days of the Presidency.

Choose one of the following writing activities and compose a text of not more than 400 words. Use your findings from the previous task. You can upload your text onto the database Learner Texts.

1    Write a memo for your candidate's volunteers   [fa-pencil]

You are a member of one of the candidate’s team of consultants for the Presidential campaign. As part of the campaign, volunteers all over the country knock on doors and make phone calls to win over voters. Write a memo that outlines what these volunteers would say in order to make a case for your candidate. Argue why you believe it is important to vote for your candidate and refer to his or her position on key issues.

2    Endorse a candidate on behalf of an NGO   [fa-pencil]

You are a spokesperson for an NGO (non-governmental organization) or activist group, for example fighting for environmental protection, gender or race equality, religious values, free trade, etc. Choose one group (fictional or real). Write a press release on behalf of your organization endorsing one of the two candidates rather than his or her opponent. Explain why, based on his or her positions on key issues, your organization thinks it is important to support them.

3    Write an article "100 days after the Election"   [fa-pencil]

You are a news journalist and are supposed to write an article about the first 100 days of the Presidency. The candidate you focus on has won the election and you report about what he or she has achieved so far regarding two to three key issues from the campaign. Describe what the candidate has been able to achieve so far and what he or she has announced to do in the near future with his or her government.

[fa-lightbulb-o]    Writing tips

For all three options, make sure to introduce briefly what the issues, concrete challenges and conflicts are that—according to the candidate—America is facing at the moment. Then, lay out the candidates’ positions on these issues. Feel free to use some of the previous talking points by the candidate as quotations.

These guiding questions might be useful.

[fa-question-circle]   Guiding questions

- What does the candidate stand for?
- Why should people vote for him or her and not for the opponent?
- What will the candidate do should he or she win the election?
- What would be the consequences if the other candidate wins the election?