policy briefs

This week, you are looking at policy briefs. As stated in the Boston University School of Public Health Writing Guide, a policy brief is “a well-organized argument based on careful analysis of relevant fact.” While a policy brief must be persuasive, it should not be overly emotional. yet it also can not just be a list of facts and figures. The audience must be engaged in order to be persuaded. Thus, the writer of a policy brief must consider the words they use, how sentences are formed, and how the writing is organized in order to be persuasive.

For this week’s discussion, we will use the policy brief readings from the class, the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Policy Brief, and the Policy Brief on Effective Coordination of Food and Nutrition Security in Eastern Africa. Select the Policy Brief that you found most persuasive and analyze why you found it persuasive. In your response, consider addressing the word choice, sentence structure, organization, and how the author used these to create a persuasive tone. In responding to your classmates, discuss if you agree or disagree with their analysis. Use the text to support the position(s) you take in your response. Remember to engage deeply; general agreement or disagreement is insufficient. Consider your own bias in your response – are you more interested in one topic over another and why.

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