About 5-6 pages, double spaced
Due:
In this 5-to-6-page paper, you will perform a basic critical analysis of an existing or proposed public
policy. Your paper will be structured around a series of descriptive and analytic tasks.
First, you will describe an existing or proposed social policy,
Second, you will identify a social problem or problems that the policy aims to address, and describe
that problem in terms of its size, scope and possible causal factors (i.e. the factors that appear to be
creating or driving the problem).
Third, you will characterize the policy’s goals, analyzes its relevance and coherence, and assesses
its overall effectiveness, efficiency and equity.
For this assignment, you may use the policy or policy proposal that your group presented in
Assignment II. You are also free to choose to present on a different policy or policy proposal.1
Requirements
This paper should be about 5 pages double-spaced, typed pages with 12-point font. This page length
does not include references. The references and footnotes should follow American Psychological
Association (APA) formatting. Please see the publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (5th Ed) for guidelines. It is also available on the web at www.apa.org.
Contents/Outlines
Your paper should generally follow the outline below. Certainly, it should address all of the elements of
points 2 and 3.
1. INTRODUCTION (1-2 paragraphs)
Introduce your reader to your paper topic and your argument/thesis. What point are you going to make
in this paper with regard to how your highlighted policy or set of policies is addressing a particular
social problem?
2. DESCRIBE THE STRUCTURE OF THE POLICY (about 2 pages)
Summarize a current policy and its approach to addressing a targeted social problem(s):
a. Describe the social problem or problems that your selected policy addresses.
i. Briefly discuss the problem in terms of its significance, who it is affecting and what is
causing the problem and/or driving its growth or spread.
b. Describe the main elements of the policy.
c. Lay out the theory or “logic” behind the policy or policies: that is, show how the elements of the
policy work together towards some general goal
d. Specify what is the goal of the policy. (Here we want to remember that policy goals can vary
quite a bit. Lining them up from more to less ambitious goals, decide which type of policy goal
your policy is driving towards (pick one and explain):
1 Students choosing a new policy or policy proposal will be given consideration in grading for the fact that this will
likely entail additional research.
i. Eradication of the problem; Prevention of the problem; Reducing the incidence of the
problem; Treating or ameliorating the problem, or Treating or ameliorating only a part of the
problem (i.e. one of many symptoms)
3. CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE POLICY. (about 2 pages)
a. As you assess the policy’s effectiveness, keep in mind a few criteria policy analysts typically
utilize in critical analysis (see the addendum to this instruction sheet, “Eric’s advice on how to
critically examine policies” for details on the following):
i. Is the policy relevant? That is: does it fit with our best understanding of the nature of the
social problem it addresses?
ii. Is the policy effective? Does it meet or make substantial progress towards its particular goal
(see goal definition above)?
iii. Is the policy an efficient deployment of available resources?
iv. Is the policy equitable in its implementation? Are the groups most affected by the problem
benefiting from the policy? Are some groups unable to access the policy’s benefits?
4. FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION: (1/2 to 1 page)
a. Based on your analysis, offer suggestions as to the policy direction that we should take in
tackling the problem. Why, based on scholarly/research evidence, would your suggestions be
effective? Relate your conclusion back to the paper’s main thesis
Due:
In this 5-to-6-page paper, you will perform a basic critical analysis of an existing or proposed public
policy. Your paper will be structured around a series of descriptive and analytic tasks.
First, you will describe an existing or proposed social policy,
Second, you will identify a social problem or problems that the policy aims to address, and describe
that problem in terms of its size, scope and possible causal factors (i.e. the factors that appear to be
creating or driving the problem).
Third, you will characterize the policy’s goals, analyzes its relevance and coherence, and assesses
its overall effectiveness, efficiency and equity.
For this assignment, you may use the policy or policy proposal that your group presented in
Assignment II. You are also free to choose to present on a different policy or policy proposal.1
Requirements
This paper should be about 5 pages double-spaced, typed pages with 12-point font. This page length
does not include references. The references and footnotes should follow American Psychological
Association (APA) formatting. Please see the publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (5th Ed) for guidelines. It is also available on the web at www.apa.org.
Contents/Outlines
Your paper should generally follow the outline below. Certainly, it should address all of the elements of
points 2 and 3.
1. INTRODUCTION (1-2 paragraphs)
Introduce your reader to your paper topic and your argument/thesis. What point are you going to make
in this paper with regard to how your highlighted policy or set of policies is addressing a particular
social problem?
2. DESCRIBE THE STRUCTURE OF THE POLICY (about 2 pages)
Summarize a current policy and its approach to addressing a targeted social problem(s):
a. Describe the social problem or problems that your selected policy addresses.
i. Briefly discuss the problem in terms of its significance, who it is affecting and what is
causing the problem and/or driving its growth or spread.
b. Describe the main elements of the policy.
c. Lay out the theory or “logic” behind the policy or policies: that is, show how the elements of the
policy work together towards some general goal
d. Specify what is the goal of the policy. (Here we want to remember that policy goals can vary
quite a bit. Lining them up from more to less ambitious goals, decide which type of policy goal
your policy is driving towards (pick one and explain):
1 Students choosing a new policy or policy proposal will be given consideration in grading for the fact that this will
likely entail additional research.
i. Eradication of the problem; Prevention of the problem; Reducing the incidence of the
problem; Treating or ameliorating the problem, or Treating or ameliorating only a part of the
problem (i.e. one of many symptoms)
3. CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE POLICY. (about 2 pages)
a. As you assess the policy’s effectiveness, keep in mind a few criteria policy analysts typically
utilize in critical analysis (see the addendum to this instruction sheet, “Eric’s advice on how to
critically examine policies” for details on the following):
i. Is the policy relevant? That is: does it fit with our best understanding of the nature of the
social problem it addresses?
ii. Is the policy effective? Does it meet or make substantial progress towards its particular goal
(see goal definition above)?
iii. Is the policy an efficient deployment of available resources?
iv. Is the policy equitable in its implementation? Are the groups most affected by the problem
benefiting from the policy? Are some groups unable to access the policy’s benefits?
4. FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION: (1/2 to 1 page)
a. Based on your analysis, offer suggestions as to the policy direction that we should take in
tackling the problem. Why, based on scholarly/research evidence, would your suggestions be
effective? Relate your conclusion back to the paper’s main thesis
