10.1 Analysis of the Polls and Essay: Where I stand on the issues and why

Instructions:

Complete all work on loose leaf. Don’t forget to date and title your entry! Don’t forget to restate the questions!

PART A. Compare your class on the issues to the country by looking at the chart of your class poll results and the country poll results in the blue packet.

1.  Are there any issues for which your class and the country were opposite in terms of majority/minority as to what was morally acceptable? (Yes or No?) ______

2.  Make a chart that lists the issue(s) where the country and class differed, the % of the country finding the issue acceptable, and the % of the class finding the issue acceptable.

EXAMPLE:

Issue / % Country saying Morally Acceptable / % Class saying morally acceptable
Death Penalty / 62% / 33%
Stem Cell Research / 57% / 48%
Testing on animals / 57% / 11%
Gay relations / 49% / 52%

3.  Make a hypothesis as to why the country and the class might have opposing view points on each of the issues you identified in the chart.

EXAMPLE

My hypothesis is that our class is younger than the sample polled for the Gallup poll and so we have different values about divorce.

PART B. Now compare your own survey results to those of the country. Identify the areas in which you were in the majority and those in which you are in the minority. (Marking your survey with MAJ or MIN might be a good strategy!)

Write a paragraph essay that answers the following question:

Out of all of the issues, do you more often stand with the majority or minority?

Start your essay with a topic sentence that directly answers/restates the prompt question. Finish your paragraph with the following information (choose column a or b).

a. If you answered “majority

Ø  List 3 examples of issues on which you stand with the majority.

Ø  Justify your position (why you said the issue was morally acceptable or unacceptable) about those 3 issues.

Ø  Make a hypothesis as to why the majority of the country feels the same way as you about the morality of the issue.

b. If you answered “minority

Ø  List 3 examples of issues on which you stand with the minority.

Ø  Justify your position (why you said the issue was morally acceptable or unacceptable) about those 3 issues.

Ø  Make a hypothesis as to why the minority of the country feels the same way as you about the morality of the issue.