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Please note my policy brief must be written on H.R.4303, the Abortion Justice Act of 2023, a federal policy that has not yet been passed.
SOWK 502 Social Welfare Policy and Services
Proposed Policy Brief Assignment
Fall 2024
What is a policy brief?
A policy brief is a concise summary of a particular issue, the proposed policy options to deal with it, and some recommendations on the best option. It is aimed at government policymakers and others who are interested in formulating or influencing policy.
What should a policy brief do?
A policy brief should:
Provide enough background for the reader to understand the problem.
Convince the reader that the problem must be addressed urgently.
Provide evidence to support one alternative
Stimulate the reader to make a decision.
What should a policy brief contain?
To achieve its objectives, a policy brief should:
Be short and to the point. It should focus on a particular problem or issue. Do not go into all the details. Instead, provide enough information for the reader to understand the issue and come to a decision.
Be based on firm evidence, not just one or two experiments or a single year’s experience. It should draw evidence from various sources – preferably from several different areas or organizations.
Focus on meanings, not methods. Readers are interested in what you found and what you recommend. They do not need to know the details of your methodology.
Relate to the big picture. The policy brief may build on context-specific findings, but it should draw conclusions that are more generally applicable.
Structuring your policy brief
Title
Summary
Recommendations
Introduction
The body (the main text)
Policy implications
References
In addition, your policy brief will contain at least two different types of relevant:
Boxes and sidebars
Tables
Graphics
Photographs
Specifics of the assignment: You will write a 4–6-page advocacy brief that connects to a state or federal bill that has been proposed and has not yet been passed. The policy brief you will write includes the following information and format.
Title: The title should be short, catchy, and to the point. Try to keep it to less than 12 words. If that is not possible, consider breaking it into a title and subtitle. It should grab the reader’s attention. Try to include relevant key words or find an unusual turn of phrase that sticks in the mind. Also consider using a question as a title. It should be relevant to the topic.
Summary: Include a brief summary or policy message at the beginning –printed in a box or in bigger type. This may contain three or four bullets giving the main points in the policy brief. Ask yourself, “What are the main points you want policymakers to get – even if they read nothing else?”
Recommendations: You do not have to put your recommendations at the end: a policy brief is not a detective story where the answer comes on the last page!
There are various ways to present recommendations:
On the first page – as part of the Summary, or immediately after it, or in a separate box or sidebar.
At the end as a separate section.
Distributed throughout the policy brief where they best relate to the text, but with each recommendation highlighted in some way (e.g. with boldface type).
Wherever you put them:
State the recommendations clearly and in a way that is easy to understand. You can do this by starting each recommendation with an action verb and boldfacing the key words.
Make them easy to find. Print them in boldface, put them in a different color, or put them in a box labelled “Recommendations”. Many readers will skip straight to the recommendations without reading the rest of the text.
Keep them short. Do not overwhelm the reader with a long list of recommendations. Five or six are enough. If you have more recommendations than this, drop some of them, combine them, or consider writing separate policy briefs on different aspects of the problem.
Make them realistic. Policymakers will be more interested in recommendations that they can implement and that are politically, economically, socially and technically feasible.
Introduction: This is the first part of the main body of the text. Think of it as a statement of the issue or problem. It grabs the reader’s attention. It introduces the topic. It says why it is important. It tells the reader why he/she should do something about it.
The problem (What is the problem? Why is it important?)
Background, context (What happens, where, who is involved?)
Causes of current situation (Why? Give evidence or examples.)
Effects of current situation (What effects does it have? Give evidence or examples.)
Structuring the body: Make sure you structure the text in a logical manner. Do not force the reader to work to understand the logical flow.
Keep the paragraphs short and restricted to a single idea. Consider putting this idea into a single phrase or sentence and printing it in boldface at the beginning of the paragraph.
Use more headings and subheadings than you would do normally. In a four-page policy brief, you should have at least six subheadings – one for every two to four paragraphs.
Re-read each paragraph and ask yourself “so what?” If it is not obvious what the paragraph is trying to say, rewrite it or delete it.
Policy implications: Here is where you focus on the policy options and implications. You may want to include some of these:
Suggested revisions in policy. What are the various options?
Effects of the revised policy or policies. How will the policy changes improve the situation? Give evidence or examples if possible.
Advantages and disadvantages of each policy option. What are the potential benefits? What will it cost? What side-effects might there be?
If you have not given the recommendations at the beginning of the policy brief, you can put them here.
References: Use at least five credible sources in addition to at least one policy when writing your policy brief. Cite them in your brief and list them in APA format at the end of your brief. If you choose to put them on a separate page, that will be in addition to the 4-6 page requirements of the assignment.
Additional content (use at least two different types of options listed; for example, use one box/sidebar and one table)
Boxes and sidebars: You can use boxes or sidebars (small boxes positioned in the margin) to present various types of information that do not fit well in the flow of the text: definitions or explanations; information that does not fit within the main flow of the text; lists; or examples to illustrate points in the text. Boxes should be self-contained: the reader should be able to understand them without having to read the main text. Give each box a title and refer to it in the text. Do not have too many boxes: one on each page is enough.
Tables: Keep them simple. You can use tables to present either numbers or textual information. Make it easy for the reader to see the information you want to present. Make the title talk: “Irrigation boosts yields” is better than “Comparison of yields on irrigated and non-irrigated land”. Say where the information comes from: the date, place, project, etc. Put the details in a footnote if needed.
Graphics: Includes diagrams (such as flow charts or schematic diagrams), graphs (such as bar charts, line graphs and pie charts) and maps. Graphics are an important element in the design. Readers often look at them before reading the text. So, make them clear and easy to understand. Give an explanatory title or caption. Choose colors, shading patterns and symbols that are easy to distinguish from one other.
Photographs: Even more than graphics, photographs attract the reader’s attention. So, if you use photos, select them carefully to carry a message as well as to make the page attractive.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.