Chapter 11: Groups and Interests

Study Plan

In this chapter, we will:

• seek to understand the character of interest groups. We will look at types of interests, the organizational components of groups, and the characteristics of members. We will also examine the important question of why people join interest groups.
• assess the growth of interest-group activity in recent American political history. The number of interest groups has proliferated in recent years, and we will examine the reasons.
• review and evaluate the strategies that competing groups use in their struggles for influence. The quest for political influence takes many forms.

As you work through the below assignments, don't forget to generate a Progress Report. Fill out the sections you have completed and send a copy to your email account.

Organize

1. Follow this Study Plan to access your chapter assignments.
2. Print out the Chapter Outline and bring it to lecture to help structure your note-taking and check-off topics covered in class.
3. Access Quiz+! The results of this chapter quiz create a Custom Study Plan that links you directly to materials that will assist your pre-exam review.

Learn

1. Read Chapter 11 in your textbook or ebook.
2. Read the Chapter Review of Chapter 11. Note any material you have difficulty remembering from the text.
3. Master the key terms for this chapter by working through the deck of Flashcards.

Connect

1. Explore the Interactive Politics Simulation and the questions that follow.
2. Complete the You Decide Exercise after reading the Policy Debate box in Chapter 11 of your textbook or ebook.
3. Answer the Questions for Discussion and Thought and articulate your own point of view on the chapter's material.
4. Complete the What Government Does Exercises to understand the structure of American government and how it affects your life in a direct way.
5. Complete the Get Involved Exercise to see how you can use what you have learned in this chapter to effect change in politics and policy.
6. Watch the Video Exercises for this chapter and answer the accompanying questions.
7. Mobilize for political action with Mobilize.org!

Links

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