Key Chapter Concepts:

• Five principles of politics can help us think analytically about American government and make sense of the apparent chaos and complexity of the political world. These five principles are:
  • All political behavior has a purpose (rationality principle).
  • Institutions structure politics (institution principle).
  • All politics is collective action (collective-action principle).
  • Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures (policy principle).
  • How we got here matters (history principle).

Organize

• Follow this Study Plan to access your chapter assignments.
• Print out the Chapter Outline and bring it to lecture to help structure your note-taking and check-off topics covered in class.
• The Chapter Quiz provides a chance for you to measure your understanding of course content prior to the exam.

Learn

• Read Chapter 1 in your textbook or ebook.
• Read the Chapter Review of Chapter 1. Note any material you have difficulty remembering from the text.
• Master the key terms for this chapter by working through the deck of Flashcards.
• Take the Visual Quizzes to test your knowledge of the concepts presented in this chapter’s figures and diagrams.

Connect

• Complete the Principles of Politics Exercise for this chapter. Submit your responses to the exercise questions to the Norton Gradebook.
• View and complete the Analyzing the Evidence Exercise for this chapter. Submit your responses to the exercise questions to the Norton Gradebook.
• Read the latest news in American politics at the American Government News Feed.
• Read the most recent post on the Everyday Politics Blog and post a comment that reflects what you’ve learned thus far in the course.

Links

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