Policy Brief Guidelines

Policy Brief Guidelines

Your policy brief should be no longer than 6 pages. You should use APA guidelines in terms of font size (12 pt), 1 inch margins, and appropriate headings/subheadings where needed. Your policy brief will be done in several drafts. The final brief should include all of the sections/components described below.

Your policy brief should include these sections:

Title: A good title quickly communicates the contents of the brief in a memorable way.

Executive Summary: This section is often one to two paragraphs long; it includes an overview of the problem and the proposed policy action.

Part 1 – Scope of Problem: This section communicates the importance of the problem and aims to convince the reader of the necessity of policy action.

Part 2 – Policy Alternatives: This section discusses the current policy approaches and explains why they are ineffective or need changing. It should be fair and accurate while convincing the reader why the policy action proposed in the brief is the most desirable.

Part 3 – Policy Recommendations: This section contains the most detailed explanation of the concrete steps you are recommending be taken to address the policy issue.

Appendices: If some readers might need further support in order to accept your argument but doing so in the brief itself might derail the conversation for other readers, you might include the extra information in an appendix.

Consulted or Recommended Sources: These should be reliable sources that you have used throughout your brief to guide your policy discussion and recommendations.

Policy Brief Writing Tips

How should a policy brief be formatted?

Everything about a policy brief should be designed with the reader (a policy decision-maker) in mind.  The format should be professional, and it should look and be easy to read.

Consider using bold or italicized fonts, bullets to identify a list, single or multiple column formats, etc.

No APA cover page, nor running heads, are needed.

What kind of title should a policy brief have?

The title is important and should clearly communicate what your brief is about.  It can be descriptive (“Kinship Care in Texas”) or it can sum up your overall argument (“Expanding SCHIP Doesn’t Fix Real Problems in U.S. Healthcare System”)

What kind of writing is used in a policy brief?

Your writing should be concise. Jargon should be avoided, as your reader may not be familiar with the terminology used in practice.  Write a document that a busy person, who isn’t as familiar with your policy as you are, will understand.

Clearly organize your writing.  Make sure that you communicate a clear take-home message to your reader through your brief.

Use specific headings to tell your story, to communicate your take-home message, and to entice your audience to read further.

How much evidence is necessary and how should it be cited?

All arguments and recommendations should be evidence-based. Relevant evidence (statistics, research findings about the impact of your policy, etc.) and citations must be used to justify your policy analyses and your recommendations.

All words, ideas, data, graphics, etc. that you have learned or gotten from other sources must be cited using either in-text citations or footnotes.  All citations must include the author’s name(s) and year, and you must include a complete reference list consistent with APA requirements at the end of your brief.

Format tips from S. Pritzker, Advanced Social Policy Analysis – http://influencingsocialpolicy.org

Policy Brief Grading Rubric