Function of Political Parties - Reading Comprehension
for edHelper.com subscribers - Sign up now by clicking here!

Function of Political Parties Reading Comprehension
     Function of Political Parties reading comprehension (sample is shown below)

Build 50+ Printables from the Word List
     Customize Printables - edit and save words and definitions

Quiz (includes vocabulary, quiz questions, and essay questions)
     Custom quiz (PDF Format)


Function of Political Parties
By Phyllis Naegeli 		  
1     The main purpose of political parties is to join people, who hold similar points of view about the government, together. These groups work to participate in and influence the government by having its members elected to a government position. Even though many people choose to be associated with a certain party, they don't all share exactly the same beliefs. However, the core beliefs about how government should be run are shared.
 
2     The United States is a two-party system. Although there are minor parties, none have been able to gain the support needed to win a national election. In America we have a two-party system where the Republicans and Democrats dominate the political scene. However, there is a growing trend in the United States for voters to be registered as independent. This group votes for different parties in each election. An independent may vote for a Republican for president and a Democrat for Senator. The Republicans and Democrats work hard to understand this group of voters.
 
3     Parties must promote a broad set of core beliefs to reach their members as well as independent voters. Even those voters who choose to be affiliated with a certain party tend to choose candidates who hold a middle of the road view. For these reasons, parties tend to form their stand based on reaching those who hold a moderate viewpoint. This is beneficial to our country in many ways. Most importantly, it keeps our government from taking on an extreme point of view that would appeal only to a small portion of the population.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper