journal writing guide

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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