Instructions:
All students must submit a topic proposal for their policy memo research project. Students can choose any current/ongoing United States foreign policy issue to use as their topic for this project. The proposal should include the following:
1. A brief description of the US foreign policy problem/issue and a short a short discussion (1 paragraph) of the most recent US actions regarding this problem.
2. A brief explanation of why this issue is important for US foreign policy (i.e. why is it significant?).
3. A short preliminary bibliography that includes at least 5 sources which are not included on the syllabus for the course. This does NOT need to be annotated bibliography, but you should include full bibliographic details for these sources.
What Is a Policy Memo/Brief?
A policy memo/brief is a short document that outlines an issue or problem and presents recommendations based on evidence for a non-specialized audience, such as key decision-makers, NGOs, journalists, etc. It provides policy advice and is meant to be informative and persuasive.
Organization of Your Policy Memo/Brief
While in your professional careers policy memos might vary in their organization, below is a common organizational flow for policy memos, and one that you will use in this course.
Title: Your title should clearly communicate your topic and may include the position of the writer on the issue. A good title should grab the attention of the reader. (5 points)
Introductory Paragraph/Executive Summary: Your memo/brief should include a short introductory paragraph that summarizes the problem you are addressing in the memo. In addition, the summary should briefly and clearly state the primary findings and recommendations of the memo. (10 points)
Description of the Problem and Reasons for Action: You will provide a brief overview of the policy that needs to be addressed and why it is important to do something different than current policy. Basically – what is the problem and why do we need to fix it? In this section, students should discuss key measures that illustrate the problem and failures of current or past policies. For example, current literacy levels and trends might be used to demonstrate the lack of effective current policies. Data and information are important here. You should specifically analyze the strengths and weakness of existing policy – be sure to include both! Do not just present your data, but rather discuss the implications or significant findings based on the data. (20 points)
Proposed Policy Alternatives: What are some potential alternatives to the current policy based on your research? Specifically, you should discuss the process through which each proposed alternative policy might fix the problems with the current policy. You should include a minimum of two potential policy alternatives. (10 points)
Analyzing Policy Alternatives and Making a Policy Recommendation: In this section, you will evaluate and analyze the proposed policy alternatives you discussed in the previous section and ultimately make a recommendation on the best course of action. You should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each policy alternative and clearly state the criteria are you using to evaluate these options. Weigh the costs and benefits of various options (based on these criteria), building an argument for the “best” recommendation. You should support your assertions with relevant data and avoid generalizations. You should also be sure to address potential counterarguments and rebuttals to your findings and ultimate recommendation. The key object of this section is to ultimately create a compelling argument for the option that you have chosen as a recommendation from the presented alternatives. (25 points)
Implementing Policy Recommendation: Clearly state how your policy recommendations should be implemented and a timeframe for implementation. Be sure to provide specific and detailed steps that need to be followed for the implementation of this policy; this requires you to consider the key actors (agencies, leaders, executives, etc.) involved in the implementation. Further, you should discuss the potential (intended or unintended) impact, both positive and negative, of these recommendations on key constituents. (20 points)
Conclusion: Provide a succinct and clear conclusion. Remind the reader of the “big picture” and overall goal of your policy recommendations – answering the “so what?” question. In other words, why is your proposed alternative better than the current policy and status quo? Why is it important to make this change and why is the proposed timeframe appropriate and necessary? (10 points)
Format of Your Policy Memo/Brief
While the length of policy memos/briefs may vary, since you are still acquiring the ability to write succinctly, for the purpose of these classes your policy memos should be 3-4 pages in length (single spaced). In addition, policy memos should be written with the reader in mind. They should be easy to read and it should be easy to find important information. You may consider bold or italicized fonts, clearly defined subsections, and/or bullets and lists to help the reader quickly and easily find key information.
Citations
Students should cite their sources using an appropriate citation method. For policy memos, footnotes or endnotes are preferred, but students may use whatever citation method they prefer.
Additional Grading Information
This is a formal writing assignment and you are expected to write clearly and for a professional audience. As such, clarity and organization of writing, use of appropriate grammar, spelling, and appropriate word choice and usage will be considered when grading your memos. Memos with such mistakes may be penalized up to 10 points, depending on the severity of the problems.
