Texas Politics Today, Enhanced

Each chapter ends with new "Think Critically and Get Active" projects that support hands-on and purpose-driven activities, political involvement and personal introspection. Pedagogy links to targeted objectives throughout the chapter equip students with a cohesive learning experience. An annotated list of websites and social media sites provides additional resources to help students increase their personal political involvement and reflect on their place in the political system.

Each chapter opens with numbered learning objectives that are repeated in major sections throughout to help students focus their reading, track their progress and maximize their study time. Now organized by learning objectives, end-of-chapter bulleted summaries and review questions further drive home important concepts. In addition, key terms are defined within the margins to ensure thorough student understanding as they progress through each chapter.

Carefully written video, photo, figure and table captions succinctly summarize the major takeaway messages. A critical analysis question following each caption helps students apply chapter concepts to real-world issues. In addition, process-oriented charts walk readers step-by-step through political processes. Popular "How Does Texas Compare?" features put Texas policies and institutions into perspective by comparing them with the other 50 states. All-new discussions highlight women in the Legislature, ease of voting, lobby regulation and the revolving door, legislative districting and alternatives to gerrymandering, capital punishment, and college affordability among the 50 states.

Visually distinct and thoroughly updated, "Insiders" boxes give readers insight into the role of campaign contributors and lobbyists who influence politics and policy behind the scenes. New to this edition are features that highlight campaign contributions to the speaker, the governor's appointment of donors to state office, and the role of municipal contractors in funding campaigns for city offices.