1. The Warren Court is considered an example of judicial activism, where the court goes beyond applicable law and considers the impact of its decisions on society. Some important Warren Court decisions included Brown v. Board of Education, the Miranda decision, and Engel v. Vitale. Considering those decisions, do you think the court exceeded its authority? 2. According to the Constitution, Congress has the power to declare war, not the president. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, however, gave the president broad war powers. How would that affect the balance of power between Congress and the president? Remember, the president is commander in chief, but Congress declares war. Why are those two powers separated in the Constitution? 3. Our system of checks and balances includes mechanisms for each branch to limit or oversee the others. As an example, how does the judicial branch check the power of the legislative branch? If you'd like to meet and brainstorm some ideas, let me know when you are available.

before we work more on piecing ideas together to form summaries and paragraphs, we need to look at fundamental sentence construction. imagine you are reading a book for school. you need to find important details that you can use for an assignment. however, when you begin to read, you notice that the book has very little punctuation. the sentences fail to form complete paragraphs and instead form one block of text without clear organization. most likely, this book would frustrate and confuse you. without clear and concise sentences, it is difficult to find the information you need.

for both students and professionals, clear communication is important. whether you are typing an email or writing a report or essay, it is your responsibility as the writer to present your thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely. writing in complete sentences is one way to ensure that you communicate well. this section covers how to recognize and write basic sentence structures and how to avoid some common writing errors.

a phrase from a poem by ralph waldo emerson about the battle of lexington and concord. emerson's words read, “here once the embattled farmers stood / and fired the shot heard round the world.”

march 8, 1917

explanation: