Hi Writing Prose,
This assignment for ENGL 301 Technical Writing is to provide three definitions of a complex term within my discipline. I am to present the term as if my fellow teammates are not familiar with it. As a political science student there are terms that I read every day that are common knowledge to me however, others may not fully understand what they mean. I believe it is important that voters educate themselves on key election issues in order to have a better understanding as to how the electoral system works. I have chosen the term “gerrymandering” and will provide a parenthetical definition, a sentence definition and expanded definitions for said term.
Term
Gerrymandering
Situation
The situation I chose was a gerrymandering lobbyist attempting to educate American voters.
Parenthetical definition
Gerrymandering (to change the boundaries of an electoral constituency in order to favour one party) is often used to gain more votes for an upcoming election in the US.
Sentence definition
Gerrymandering is a method of dividing electoral constituencies that gives one party an advantage.
Expanded Definitions
Visuals
Source: Change the Rules
Gerrymandering is a strategic way of setting boundaries for electoral constituencies. As you can see from the image above, if the centre method was chosen blue would win the majority. On the right however, it is the same area with different boundaries giving red the majority.
Operating Principle
Gerrymandering works by manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts to ensure one party wins the majority. Every 10 years the boundaries are redrawn, after the census is taken in the US. They are redrawn every 10 years because each district needs approximately the same amount of people. Politicians debate over the boundaries in order to give themselves the best chance of winning a seat.
Examples
Gerrymandering is often viewed as an unfair tactic. It manipulates the districts in order to create majority-minority constituencies. Examples on how it is executed are packing or cracking districts. cracking refers to splitting voters of one particular group into many districts in order to minimize their effect.
Etymology
The name gerrymander was coined in 1812 when Jefferson was in office. It started when the legislature of Massachusetts drew usually shaped senatorial districts in order to beat the federalists. One district looked like a salamander and Elbridge Gerry was the governor at the time. They called the district a “Gerrymander” after Gerry and salamander and the term has stuck ever since (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences).
Works Cited
Cortés, C. E. (Ed.) (2013). Multicultural America: A multimedia encyclopedia (Vols. 1-4). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Gerrymandering. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 308-310). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
The Role of Gerrymandering in the U.S. (2019, February 28). Retrieved from https://changetherules.org/gerrymandering-united-states/
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