Title

Create a title that engages the reader’s interest and focuses on your topic area.

i. introduction and background of the issue.
This section provides background information about the social issue.

· how did the issue originate? what is the historical background of the issue? are there
critical incidents which emphasize the importance of the issue?

· why is this an important issue for society at large and policy makers to address? why
should citizens be concerned with this issue?

· what philosophical or ethical issues underscore the importance of the issue?

ii. statement of the problem
This section provides analysis of the specific issues related to the problem and the societal
consequences if this problem continues unaddressed.

· what evidence is there suggesting a change is policy is needed?
· how does the problem affect critical populations, groups, and society at large?
· what is the specific problem? (define the specific problem.)
· what are the major causes of the problem?
· what are the key questions, ethical debates, or controversies associated with the problem?

iii. current policies

This section provides analysis of current policies (or programs) that deal with the problem.
· what aspect of the problem are current policies (or programs) trying to solve?
· have these policies solved, alleviated, exacerbated, or had no effect on the problem? why

or why not?
· who supports the current policies? why do they support them?
· what are the major flaws or limitations of the current policies?
· who is in favor of changing the current policies? why do they want to change them?

(these questions can serve as a transition to the next section of the paper.)

iv. alternative solutions
Provides analysis of two or three alternative solutions to the problem. In selecting the alternative
solutions, choose alternatives that have been seriously proposed by advocates or policy makers.
You do not have to analyze every possible alternative, but you should analyze alternatives that
have been or are being seriously considered. Expanding (or modifying) current policies (or
programs) can be treated as one of the alternative solutions. For each alternative solution,
analyze its strengths and weaknesses and discuss which groups, opinion leaders, or policy
makers support or reject it. Ultimately, keep in mind that you might be rejecting these alternative
solutions or using parts of them for your own policy proposal in the next section of the paper.
The questions to address are as follows:

· what are the alternatives to the current policies?
· what are the strengths and weaknesses of the alternatives? why?
· who supports and opposes the alternatives? why?
· why haven’t these alternatives been made into policy? is there some fatal flaw inherent

in them or in the way that society views them? is there another reason why these
alternatives haven’t been implemented?

v. policy recommendations, feasibility & implementation strategies {or this section is

sometimes called – “action plan” (proactive connotation)}
the purpose of this section is to formulate an effective policy proposal for the problem you are
addressing, demonstrate that your proposal is practical and feasible, and prove that your proposal
will work. the questions to address are as follows:

· what are the specific policy recommendations proposed to solve the problem? what
specific administrative or legal guidelines will your policy provide?

· how does your policy proposal solve the problem better than current policy or any of the
alternatives? what evidence can you offer that demonstrates your proposal will be
effective? what reasoning and/or evidence can you provide that demonstrates your
proposal is feasible and workable?

· what legislative body, agency, or other policy-making group will need to approve your
proposal in order for it to be implemented? what agency or group will be responsible for
administering your proposal?

· how might you go about influencing these specific groups so that your proposal will be
adopted? what spokespersons or policy makers might realistically be interested in
supporting your proposal? what evidence can you provide which indicates these people
will be likely to serve as advocates for your proposal? what other groups might you
entice to form a coalition in support of your proposal? what other implementation
strategies might you use to gain support for your proposal?

· what are the most critical obstacles (financial, legal, ethical, or political) you anticipate in
implementing your policy proposal? how do you plan to overcome these obstacles? what

policy-makers or groups might be opposed to your proposal? why would they be opposed
to your proposal? how will you counteract the influence of these policy-makers and
groups?

· are there additional benefits or advantages of your proposal? if your policy proposal is
adopted, how soon might we see results? what changes can we expect to see right away?
five years from now?

vi. Summation and conclusion

this section is the capstone of your policy paper, and, as such, should briefly summarize the
argument you have made. this section should also include a final persuasive appeal to you
reader(s).

vii. Works cited or reference page
this section contains the works cited page or reference page (for apa). Only list references cited
in the text of the paper. follow apa/mla procedures when formatting each reference.