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Learning Objective: The purpose of a policy brief is to persuade with facts the
Learning Objective: The purpose of a policy brief is to persuade with facts the urgency of a current problem and its solutions. The task is to convince your audience with a persuasive argument, scientific evidence, and recommendations/solutions.
The paper must be about 1,500 words (3 pages single-spaced) and not more than 1,800 words. Papers must be correctly formatted, single-spaced, and cited according to APA format. A minimum of three sources are required for this policy brief. A rubric and a student example are provided, as well.
Step 1: Develop a thesis statement. This is the concise statement of the question you are asking with the paper. It should be one to two sentences, and it should be very “direct.”
Topics must be related to environmental studies/ science, environmental justice, climate change, etc. Some possible general topic areas include the following: health impacts from climate change on California farmworkers, environmental justice impacts in West Oakland, decreasing biodiversity from pesticides and fertilizers, fast fashion impacts, etc.
• What is the purpose of your brief?
• Who is your targeted audience?
• Think of the following: Your potential readers; their level of knowledge of the subject; the type of information needed to make a decision; and your recommendations.
Step 2: Prepare your policy brief. Your Policy Brief must include the following format:
I. Title of the Policy Brief
II. Executive Summary: A few sentences to capture the reader’s attention.
III. Context and Importance of the Problem: What is the environmental issue, impact(s), or problem? (Must include In-text citations)
IV. Policy Solutions or Recommendations (In-text citations)
V. References (minimum 3 sources)
For more details keep reading.
I. Title of the paper
The title must be succinct, captivating, and descriptive to capture the audience’s attention.
II. Executive Summary
The executive summary aims to convince the reader further that the brief is worth in- depth. Provide a few sentences.
For example:
A description of the problem or issue
a. A statement on why the current impact, issue, or approach/policy needs to be changed or addressed.
b. Your recommendations or solutions
III. Context and Importance of the Problem (use peer-reviewed articles or other credible sources, such as government reports or websites) (APA format)
The purpose of this element of the brief is to convince the target audience that a current and urgent problem exists which requires them to take action. The context and importance of the problem is both the introductory and first building block of the brief. For example:
a. A clear statement of the environmental problem or issue: What is the issue or problem?
b. An overview of the causes of the problem
c. A clear statement of the consequences if our society does not address this problem or issue.
IV. Policy Solutions and/or Recommendations (use peer-reviewed articles or other credible sources, such as government reports or websites) (APA format)
Provide your recommendations for solutions. For example:
a. A breakdown of the specific practical steps, solutions, recommendations, or measures that need to be implemented to solve the environmental issue or impact.
b. Include a closing statement re-emphasizing the importance of action.
V. References cited: At the end of your paper, skip a space and give the full citations for only the articles and sources you cited in this paper.
The contents of a professional example of a policy brief: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/handle/10625/57376Links to an external site.
Social equity for effective climate action Social equity for effective climate action (dspacedirect.org)
APA Style Guidelines. Cite in the body of the paper using correct in-text citation style. For example, you might paraphrase information from an author then cite the author after the information as (Author, year). Or, you might say, According to Author (year), blah, blah, blah. If you use the author’s exact words you must both use quotes around those words and cite the author. If you do not attribute ideas or exact words to the author, you are plagiarizing. Include a “References Cited” section at the end of your paper, giving full bibliographic citations for all the papers. The full citation includes the author’s name, year of the article, title of the article, journal in which the article was published, the URL, and the date you accessed the article from the website.
Other style points include:
• Do not use personal subjects or pronouns such as we, us, I and you.
• The author of a paper and year of publication always go together.
• Do not start sentences with “It, This or That”. Rather, give the full subject.
• Use meaningful subheadings.
Avoiding Plagiarism. You must convey the information from the sources you use totally in your own words. This is paraphrasing. Be sure to always cite the source of your paraphrased information using in-text citations. If your paraphrase is close to the exact words used by another author or if, in fact, you use the exact words of an author without citing that author, then you are plagiarizing. Plagiarizing is a form of stealing and is a punishable offense at San Jose State University. Changing one or a few words from another author is not paraphrasing; it is plagiarizing. If you use an author’s exact words you must quote those words and then cite the author.
Student work will be assessed based on the essay’s demonstrated completeness of the following: locating and appropriately citing quality sources of information on environmental topics (GELO1); correct application of rhetorical or logical arguments using high quality evidence on environmental issues (GELO2), written synthesis of information from at least three or more sources, acknowledges and addresses contrary argument about an environmental issue (GELO3); and effectively showing a logical conclusion based on evidence presented earlier in the context of the environment and sustainability (GELO4). The content and depth of analysis for this (research) Policy Brief Paper should be substantially more comprehensive than the Critical Thinking Papers.
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