In each Policy Paper you will attempt to persuade a Congress person to vote for a policy in favor of your side of the topic. One goal of this assignment is to summarize information in a concise manner. Concise summary is an important skill, especially when attempting to convince someone of a particular point of view. The Policy Design Worksheet should be used as a guide on how to construct a thorough policy.
Useful Resources:
Grading feedback from your Policy Design Worksheet
APA Citation Guide (Links to an external site.)
APA Citation and Referencing: 6th Edition (Links to an external site.) tutorial
Technical Requirements for Policy Papers:
500-700 words, 5 paragraphs, essay format
Double-spaced, 12 point font, 1” margins
Submit to the correct link in Assignments. This uploads your paper to TurnItIn, a plagiarism detection device. See plagiarism information under Institutional Policies.
Correct grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.
Use peer-reviewed, academic journal references. All peer-reviewed articles are reviewed by experts in the article topic. Peer-reviewed journals are considered the gold standard of academic research. Some examples of peer-reviewed academic journals include American Journal of Public Health and New England Journal of Medicine. Magazines, news websites, and newspapers are not examples of peer-reviewed content. This paper must include a total of 5 peer-reviewed journal articles.
ProCon.org contains many sources on the topic, however not all of these sources are peer-reviewed journal references. If you use information from ProCon.org, cite the original source of that information, and verify that the original source is a peer-reviewed journal. Points will be deducted for failure to do so.
Format for Policy Papers:
Paragraph 1: Introduction and thesis sentence
Introduce the topic
Pro or Con – state whether your argument is Pro or Con (see above for assignment schedule)
Include a thesis statement as your last sentence. A thesis statement clearly states what your paper is going to cover. It gives an overview of the points you will make. This will organize and define the main points of your paper.
Hint: Write your thesis sentence last. That way you can focus on the flow of information within the body of your paper and then make your thesis sentence match your topics at the end of your writing process.
Example: This paper will illustrate the pros and cons of X, refute common arguments for/against X, and propose a public health policy to address this important public health topic.
Paragraph 2 and 3: Chosen side of the argument
Briefly, but persuasively, summarize your chosen side of the argument. This needs to be in your own words. You cannot use direct quotes from any source, including Procon.org. Be sure to use APA referencing when appropriate for summaries and paraphrasing.
Your summary should include 5 main ideas between the two paragraphs.
Include at least 3 references from academic, peer-reviewed journals. These must be different from the sources used in paragraph 4. Provide an in-text citation for each reference (see APA Style Citation Guide).
Your references must clearly support your chosen side of argument
You may use sources of information other than academic journals in addition to academic journals, but not in place of them.
Paragraph 4: Opposite side of argument and rebuttal
Briefly summarize the opposite side of the argument. This needs to be in your own words. You cannot use direct quotes from any source, including Procon.org.
Your summary should include 2 main ideas.
Include at least 2 references from academic, peer-reviewed journals. Provide an in-text citation for each reference (see APA Style Citation Guide & Tutorial).
Your references must clearly support the oppositions’ side of argument
You may use sources of information other than academic journals in addition to academic journals, but not in place of them.
Be sure to offer a rebuttal for each main idea. I encourage you to present a main idea and then refute it. Then present the second main idea and refute it.
Paragraph 5: Policy recommendations
Based on your completion of the Policy Design Worksheet, present your policy recommendation here. Be detailed in your discussion and improve upon what you wrote in the Worksheet.
Include stakeholders who may be affected by this policy recommendation (individuals on both sides of the issue).
Your policy should be unique, and should not simply state the assigned side of the topic. For example, your policy cannot be to keep the issue legal in states where it is already legal. This is simply maintaining the status quo, and will not be accepted as a unique policy.
Reference Page containing APA Style Citations
See Plagiarism Warning within syllabus. Provide a full citation for each source of information you cite in your paper.
APA is a referencing style that is used in the field of public health. Within this course, we rely on the use of APA to ensure appropriate referencing procedures are used to safeguard plagiarism and set a standard for academic writing. Adhere to APA style strictly. Please review the APA Style Citation Guide and APA Tutorial in Canvas under “Course Introduction”. Also be sure to include in-text citations throughout the body of your paper.