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8/4/2019 Journal Writing Guide
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So you want to make the world a better place, but how exactly? In order to solve the worldsmost pressing problems, we need innovative ideas for action. Unfortunately, todays policy
leaders have fallen short, so now more than ever before, it is time for students to speak up.
The Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network, the nations first student think tank, was founded to
help us get our ideas into the policy process. With over 8,000 members at over 80 chapters across
the country, we have developed many different opportunities for students to make their voices
heard.
Since 2007, the Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network launched a new series of short policy briefs
called 10 Ideas. Each year, three publications are put together with the best student ideas around a
particular policy challenge and are then distributed to legislators across the country. The next
series will focus around three challenges selected by student leadersmaking democracy work,ensuring equal justice in the criminal system, and promoting community development.
This guide is designed to help you start compiling your own submission to the 10 Ideas and alsoimprove your policy writing more generally. By better articulating our ideas for a better society,
we will be one step closer to making them a reality.
In this guide:Overview of the 10 Ideas Format: The Anatomy of an Idea .............................................. 2
Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network Policy Writing Rubric.3
10 Ideas Annotated Examples
- Predatory Payday Lending ......................................................................................... 4
- Making the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award Tax-Free ...................................... 6- High Performance Schools for America .................................................................... 8
Guide toGreat IdeasPreparing a submission for the 10 Ideas publication
It isn't sufficient just to want -
you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Overview of the 10 Ideas FormatAnatom y of an idea
How do you change the world in 650 words?
Theres no one formula, but heres a basic out-line to get you started...
First page (300 words)Title: Be direct and get to the point so the reader
can get to the proposal. (4-7 words)
The idea: A one sentence elevator pitch of what
you propose to do, how it helps solve the chal-
lenge, and what makes it great. (~20-30 words)
Key facts: Give the readers the simple statisticsthat make them think. How big is the problem?
How much does it cost? What evidence is there
that your idea will work? (~50-75 words)
Talking points: Talking points are for the politi-cian who picks up your paper and need to tell
their constituents about it. Why is it better than
all the other alternatives on the table? (~50-75
words) Front page: The text on the front page
presents the idea, the key facts, and the talkingpoints in a coherent narrative form. Choose your
limited number of words wisely. (~150-200
words)
Second page (350 words)
History: Where did this idea come from? What like it has been tried? Is anyone currently tryingit? Has it been implemented somewhere? If it has been implemented, what are the results?
Analysis: This section justifies the facts and figures on the front page. What would it cost, why
would it cost that much? How many people would be affected and which people? You wont be
able to describe all your research here, but keep a copy of your references and resources for when
an interested legislator starts asking for more information.Audience: Who benefits from this? Who should care about the idea? Where do you want to take
this idea? (You may write about audience at the end, but keep it in mind throughout the paper).
Next steps: If someone is interested in running with this idea, what do they need to do? Is this
something someone could implement now or is it far out and would require more research to
make it happen? If we can act on it now, where do we start and what is the five-step process forgetting it done?
Sources: Tell us how you know what you know (But dont cite Wikipedia!)
Good ideas
Dont be bound by practicality. We
want some stuff to be implementable andget implemented out of this, but we also
want some stuff where people are like,
huh, thats so crazy it just might work.
Its OK if its not youridea.We canwrite
up ideas that come from our friends, from
other folks on campus, or even stuff thats
already going on around us that could beported to another state. If you did get your
idea from somewhere else, be sure to cite
your sources and think about how you can
make a good idea even better.
Bad ideas
Something thats not an idea. This is not
the place for arguments or analyses or
reframing or anything like that.
Something that could not be done.
These are 10 things you can do or thatsome s ecific erson can do.
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10 Ideas Annotated ExamplePredatory Payday Lending
Adapted from the 25 Ideas for Working Families Publication, Summer 2007
Overview:This submission is a good example of a group-written policy piece that clearly explains an idea
for effectively implementing payday lending reform. Writing as part of the Economics Policy
Center at the Yale Chapter, these authors were able to use their submission to summarize some of
their findings from a longer policy paper they wrote together.
The authors idea isclearly stated in the
first sentence and is
related to the yearschallenge, working
families
A succinct definition
of payday lending at
the start helps theaverage reader who
Using a few key facts to
illustrate the experience
of a typical borrowerhelps the reader better
understand the impact of
a da lendin
After explaining the
injustice of the current
situation,the authors
explain the magnitude of
the problem in order to
make the case for
Talking points should
summarize the mostpersuasive parts of
your argument
This analysis section
outlines the research
that the policy centerdid
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Predatory Payday Lending Example (Page 2)
Adapted from the 25 ideas for Working Families Publication, Summer 2007
Conclusion:Overall, this policy brief is a good example of clear, effective policy writing. The idea itself is not
entirely new, but the authors add a new perspective to the issue by providing cogent examples and
by presenting their idea in a logical, actionable way. As a result, the authors of this piece have
actually been able to help implement new legislation. After reading this policy piece, the Center
for Responsible lending invited co-author Ben Lazarus to testify about payday lending in front ofthe DC City Council in June 2007. A preliminary vote ended up passing the anti-payday lending
measure.
he authors effectively
compare and contrastpolicy alternatives. By
using an example
rom their home state,
CT, the authors also
add some credibilit .
Students often havea better chance
implementing
legislation at the
state or local level.
Specific steps are
su ested so that amaker could read
this piece and act on
the authors idea.
he authors conclude
by addressing the bigpicture of how our
society can betterhelp working families
in financial need.
Reputable sources areidentified to support
the facts in the article
ooks are used where
possible and
Wikipedia is not used!
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10 Ideas Annotated ExampleMaking the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award Tax Free
Adapted from the 25 Ideas for Education Publication, Summer 2007
Overview:
This policy piece is effective in focusing on a very specific policy issue that has broad, national
implications. National policy is often the most difficult for Roosevelt Fellows to write
effectively, but by limiting her scope, this author is able to write a paper that a policy maker
could easily act upon. Moreover, by selecting a topic which is uniquely related to students andyoung adults, the author takes advantage of the RI Campus Networks comparative advantage in
offering student ideas for
student issues.
Although most summary
statements for policy
briefs are limited to onesentence, it is OK for the
author to use two sen-
tences here, since the
issue is likely unfamiliar
to the reader.
The key facts are very
logically organized in
order to explain themagnitude of the issue
and the implications ofpolicy change.
By comparing and
contrasting the Segal
Education Award with
other scholarships, theauthor emphasizes the
inconsistencies of the
current policy.
The talking points helpconnect the facts of this
policy with the larger
ethical and political val-ues at stake.
If the author had more
space, she shouldelaborate on this study.
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AmeriCorps Scholarship Example (Page 2)
Adapted from the 25 ideas for Education Publication, Summer 2007
Conclusion:While not perfect, this policy piece provides the basic structure for a well-written argument. Acomplicated national issue of taxation for students is made simple and compelling by focusing on
the particularly acute problem of AmeriCorps volunteers. The author did a really good job
compiling key facts for why the issue was important, but she could have included more details
about why her proposed policy was feasible. Good facts are essential for good policy briefs, and it
is particularly important to carefully select your facts in short policy briefs like the 10 Ideas sothat you can counter any objections that could be made to your proposed policy.
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Describing the
conditions ofvolunteers adds a
personal side.
ven if the idea isnt
new it can still be
he economic costs ofthis policy are logi-
cally compared to the
benefits. In future
research, the authorcould try to estimate
the impact in dollars.
A specific audience is
specified and nextsteps are identified.
Another way to
improve this policy
brief would be to be
more specific about
what steps have al-ready been taken and
what obstacles stand
in the way of reform.
Con ressional testimonies on the topic and
other government
resources can be good,reliable sources.
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10 Ideas Annota ted Exampl e High Perfo rmanc e Schoo ls for Ameri ca
Adapted from the 25 ideas for Energy Publication, Summer 2007
Overview:
This policy piece is a good example of expanding on existing data to present a truly innovativesolution to an important challenge. In addition to reviewing the latest data on green schools, the
authors suggest a novel mechanism for funding the construction of these schools which differs
from existing approaches. This policy brief stemmed from a larger policy paper that the authors
wrote for the class, but it does a good job summarizing their main findings.
A concise summary state-
ment is compelling, even
if the readers dont ex-
actly know about a
standard and loanfund.
The authors use cite anew study to add credi-
bility and relevance to the
issue of green schools.
The term high perform-
ance schools helps
frame the idea as one that
will help both studentsand the environment
An informative group of
key facts are selected,which go beyond com-
mon-sense knowledge.
The authors are able to
show the effectiveness of
green schools concretely
using a specific case-study from California. Inmany ways, this example
is more persuasive than
the talking points, which
are a bit abstract. In
general, try to showreaders rather than tell
them something.
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High Performing Schools Example (Page 2)
Adapted from the 25 ideas for Energy Publication, Summer 2007
Again, this specific
example of successhelps emphasize
feasibility.
Here, the authors
acknowledge theeconomy of scale from
expansion.
This new idea of a ro-
tating loan problem is
presented clearly, andincludes the authors
own calculations.
The authorsproposal,
the most innovative
component of theirpolicy brief, is also
presentedclearly. This
policy logically follows
from the analysis above
and the authors do agood job anticipating
concernsand
implementation.
The study that was
cited at the beginning
of the paper is cited atthe end for those who
want to read more.
Conclusion:Overall, this paper embodies the spirit of what a 10 Ideas paper should be: an innovative approach
to a pressing policy challenge. The idea is not exceedingly complex, but it does provide a different
way of looking at the problem. While it is impossible to fully elaborate an idea like this one in the
context of a short policy brief, the 10 Idea format is a good way to summarize the most important
points so that they can be understood by a wide audience. Indeed, the authors were able to takeadvantage of their publication in the Roosevelt 10 Ideas series to present the rest of their findings
at the Roosevelt DC Policy Expo and other venues.
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