The C.I.A. Blue Paper: Telling the President
What He Needs to Know
A Project for Mr. Bergevin's C.W.P.
Class
Introduction
You are a C.I.A. operative and are to make a
report to the President (Bergevin) about your
particular country. First, you are to infiltrate
the country and become intimately acquainted with
its people, customs, history, and current concerns.
How can you do that? Vicariously, through the
wonders of the West Valley High School Library and
the Internet. The President is depending upon you
to give him the facts and advice he needs in order
to deal intelligently and effectively with your
country.
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The Task
Your "blue paper" to the President should
include: A short summary (brief overview) of the
history of the country since World War II.
- A review of important recent events - the
major focus should be from the 1990s to the
present.
- Identification of current trends &
problems in the country and predictions of
short-term and long-term outcomes.
- Descriptions of alternative courses of
action for the U.S. and recommendations of the
most likely to succeed - a carefully thought out
rationale is, of course, expected.
Some more requirements to keep in
mind:
- You must do a country from the following
list - No one else can do it - Get it approved
BEFORE you begin research: AFRICA - Congo
(formerly Zaire), Egypt, Libya, South Africa,
Liberia; AMERICAS - Colombia, Cuba, Mexico,
Venezuela; ASIA - China, India, North Korea,
Pakistan, Turkey; EUROPE - Belarus, Russia,
Ukraine
- The report must be typed
(double-spaced/no more than 1 inch
margins).
- Minimum length of 7 pages (use size 12
Times New Roman font).
- Use at least 8 different research
sources. Three of those should be from
periodicals, newspapers, or other media sources
within the last three years.
- MLA formatting is required and the paper
will NOT BE ACCEPTED until a works cited page
and parenthetical references are done correctly.
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The Process
Important Dates to Remember
- Library Day #1 - Tuesday, January
11
- 1st Progress Report Due - Friday, January
14
- Libary Day #2 - Tuesday, January
18
- 2nd Progress Report Due - Friday, January
21
- Library Day #3 - Tuesday, January
25
- Library Day #4 - Tuesday, February
1
- 3rd Progress Report Due - Monday,
February 7
- CIA Blue Paper Due - Friday, February 18
(10 point penalty per day late)
The Progress Reports are meant to move you
along towards completion of the paper and to let
you get feedback on your progress, skills, and
knowledge at each point.
- First Progress Report: Make a properly
formatted Works Cited of at least five
references from at least three different
sources.
- Second Progress Report: In a properly
written paragraph or two: (1) describe two
current problems and/or trends of importance for
your country AND (2) include a quote or sentence
that is properly parenthetically referenced.
Expand your properly formatted Works Cited to at
least seven references from at least five
different sources.
- Third Progress Report: Give a five-minute
oral report to the class on your country. No
notes or props may be used except for a 3 x 5
notecard and use of a classroom map. Be prepared
to answer a limited number of questions from the
class about your country.
Your oral report should address the following
questions. That experience and the feed back from
it should bring these questions into even sharper
focus for your paper:
- What makes this country special? What are
some of the unique characteristics of this
country?
- What are the major historical,
geographical, and/or other formative experiences
that made/make this country the way it is
today?
- What are the most recent important events
in or out that affect this country?
- What are the current trends, concerns,
and/or problems that this country is dealing
with now or will have to confront soon.
Finally, don't forget that although we want
the best for every country, we must look after our
own self-interests first. The President will expect
that perspective in your recommendations for U.S.
policy concerning your country.
Looking for some good sources of information?
Check out the following on the West Valley High
School Library Web Page:
http://www.wvsd208.org/hs/sitehome/library/library.shtml
- Grolier Online
- Facts.com
- Gale Group sources
- InfoTrac for periodicals, newpaper
articles, maps, & other references
- Guide to MLA Style Thesis
Generator
There's also great print sources in the
Library:
- Culturgrams (B.Y.U.) - notebook at
checkout desk
- Background Notes - notebook at checkout
desk
- Current Leaders of Nations - notebook at
checkout desk
- Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life -
reference section
- Encyclopedia of the Third World -
reference section
- Lands and People - reference
section
- World Almanac - reference
section
- Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations -
reference section
Other On-line sources:
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Evaluation
P O I N T S
P O S S I B L E
Progress Reports Points =
35 total
1st Progress Report 5 pts.
2nd Progress
Report 10
pts.
3rd Progress Report 20 pts.
Paper Points = 120
total
(20 points for each
of the following categories)
1. Paper Mechanics (capitalization, punctuation,
spelling, grammar, appearance)
2. Works Cited and Parenthetical References
3. Significant Background/Personality of the
Country
(what made or makes it the way it is)
4. Recent Important Events
5. Current Trends and/or Problems
6. Your Thoughts - Predictions for the Country
AND Recommendations for U.S.
Policy
GRADING: Each category will awarded
points based on the following rubric.
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18-20
(A)
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16-17
(B)
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14-15
(C)
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12-13
(D)
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below 12
(F)
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Paper Mechanics
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Title page, margins, page numbers, and
length are flawless. Capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, and grammar are
near perfect.
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There may be a slight flaw in format of
title page, margins, page numbers, or
length. There are up to five small errors
in capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
and grammar.
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There are flaws in format of title
page, margins, or length that are clearly
noticeable. There are between six to
fifteen errors in capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
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The paper is more than a page short
and/or has enough format flaws and/or
capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and
grammar errors to detract from the reading
of it.
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The paper is two or more pages short
and /or has numerous format flaws and/or
capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and
grammar errors that interfere with the
reading of it.
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MLA Style: Works Cited &
Parenthetical References
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Number of sources meets requirements.
Uses parenthetical references effectively
and properly. Perfect or near perfect use
of MLA style.
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One short of number of sources
required. Uses parenthetical references
effectively. May have two minor errors in
MLA style.
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Two short of number of sources
required. Parenthetical references are
usually used to good effect. May have
three to four minor errors in MLA
style.
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WILL BE RETURNED AND NOT GRADED UNTIL
COMPLETED AT A "C" LEVEL OF
COMPETENCY.
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WILL BE RETURNED AND NOT GRADED UNTIL
COMPLETED AT A "C" LEVEL OF
COMPETENCY.
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Background/ Personality of
Country
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Reader gets an excellent sense of the
country and how it has been shaped.
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Reader has a good sense of the
historical events affecting this country,
but it is still more of a timeline than a
personality description.
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Reader has adequate information on the
background of the country, but the story
is somewhat disjointed and doesn't easily
relate to how the people are today.
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Information is there but disjointed and
lacking in some respects. There are one or
two misstatements of fact. Very little to
relate to the people today.
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Information is available but seems
almost random. Little or no coherent
development. Difficult to make much sense
of the people today.
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Recent Important Events
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Thorough, thoughtful, and
insightful.
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Highlights only, accurate, and
respectful.
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May miss some or the significance of
some, but those reported are treated
well.
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Describes some, but not in enough
quantity or detail to easily understand
what's going on.
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Events, if listed, are dated or not
significant for understanding the
county.
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Current Trends/ Problems
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Explanations are clear and specific.
Issues are discussed from the U.S. and the
local people's point of view.
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Clearly identified, but may lack detail
or not quite make the connection to the
U.S. or local people in a powerful
way.
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Only the obvious are reported or dealt
with in a simple way. Reporting may not
take into account the local people or the
link to the U.S.
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Missing one or two important issues
entirely, with the remainder obvious and
dealt with in a simple way.
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Insufficient quantity and depth of
coverage to understand the country's
current situation and significant
issues.
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Predictions/ Recommendations for
U.S. Policy
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Flow naturally from other sections. Are
realistic and creative. Respect local
people while clearly protecting identified
U.S. interests.
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Make sense and don't contradict other
information.
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Again, only obvious information or
reported in a way that doesn't take into
account all interested parties.
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Show some direction, but not always
coherent with other parts of the paper or
with the real situation. May not address
at least one important area.
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Generally lacking in coherence and
direction. May be unrealistic. Lacking in
direction and specifics.
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Conclusion
After you have completed this assignment, you
will understand the people and situation in your
country with a greater depth and empathy than for
any other country besides your own. Perhaps
sometime in the future you will be able to travel
to your country and see what you wrote about
first-hand.
You should also have a better feel for the
dilemma of United States foreign policy. While we
want to do what's right for all peoples, we first
have to make sure that we don't endanger our own
institutions and interests. Foreign policy is
multifaceted and difficult to carry out
effectively. There are rarely easy answers or quick
fixes.
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Credits
CIA emblem image. [onlime image from
images.google.com]
available
http://www.kypros.org/Documents/
cia.gif
Thanks to the West Valley High School "first
lunch" teachers for their anwers to numerous
questions.
Special thanks go to Mary Ann Perri for her
instruction and help in the construction of this
web page.
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Links
West
Valley H.S. Library Web Page
Background
Notes
World
Factbook (CIA)
CIA
Emblem Image
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