Prof. Joe Meyer's Poli. Sci. 1

How to Pick a Topic for Policy Problem Project

So if you have an opinion on anything to do with any level of government, start from there.

Your Policy Argument paper should be a detailed explanation of some policy that you support. It should be about a specific policy or action that a specific level of government should take (or stop doing). The more focused your problem area, the easier it is to do the project.

If you work for any level of government (schools, etc), the easiest thing to do is develop a specific policy to improve your job.

If the devil is in the details, so is salvation.

If you already have a specific idea (e.g.:  "I want a stop sign on my block") then most of your work is already done. For the Problem statement, simply say what level of government should do exactly what. For the biblio/web search just find three articles about traffic safety (or pedestrian safety) and find three web sites about the same topic. For the Policy Argument Paper, don't tell me "how" to get the stop sign up (that's a bureaucratic nightmare). Tell me exactly what should be done. Where should the stop sign go? Why not a stoplight or a yield sign? Why does your street deserve a sign more than others? Other ideas to make your street safer?

Pick an issue of local (or state) government if possible.

These are smaller more focused issues and they can be fully addressed in 3-5 pages.

Keep you resolution simple and realistic.  Don't say "a committee should be formed to look into..." or anything like that.  Propose a real, workable solution to an actual problem.

If you have a general idea of the problem area, start with that.

For the problem statement, try to focus on one specific problem (or sub-problem) with the existing system or current situation. Figure out what level of government is best equipped to do whatever you want them to do for this problem.

For the bibliography, find at least three professional academic journal articles or books about the problem area and three web sites that generally deal with the problem area.  You can find these all online.

For the Policy Argument paper, focus like a magnifying glass on an ant. Say exactly what should be done and by what level of government, to "fix" the problem (or at least make the situation better).

Start thinking about your topic today. Now!

Write about what interests you. Write about something you care about. This is not a research project. This is a process that you go through until you have developed a specific policy to solve a specific problem or situation.

Start thinking now about whatever problem you are going to develop a solution for in your paper).

The biggest part of the writing process is thinking.
 

As you think about your problem area, remember to do the following:

Narrow your scope.
Define your problem.
Identify the actors involved.
Think about the details of your solution.
Ask the standard questions: (Who gets hurt? Who gets helped? Who's for it? Who's against it? What's the cost (not just the price), etc.).

The more focus you bring early in the process,
the better written your paper will be.

It's so easy for me to see the difference between a paper that was constructed with thought and time and a paper that was written the night before. Of course, I grade accordingly.