The policy brief is a document that outlines the rationale for choosing a particular policy alternative or course of action in a current policy debate. It is commonly produced in response to a request directly from a decision-maker or within an organization that intends to advocate for the position detailed in the brief. As any policy debate exists in a marketplace of competing ideas, the purpose of the policy brief is to convince the target audience of the urgency of the current problem and the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined**.** In this sense, effective policy briefs serve quite clearly as an impetus for action, and should be written with an eye toward persuading your intended audience that your preferred course of action should be theirs as well. For the purposes of this assignment, assume that you are writing for an audience of policymakers with the power to institute the changes you are proposing. Depending on the focus of your policy proposal that could mean:

• The members of a congressional committee charged with crafting a federal policy response to a specific issue;
• State-level education officials responsible for implementing new polices or interpreting state laws to achieve policy goals, or state representatives whose job is to make or amend laws related to the provision of education in a given state;
• Local officials, such as school board members, whose job is to make policy at that level;
• School officials, such as principals or even teachers, who do the daily work of ensuring that students receive the best education they can receive.

General Guidelines

Overall, your policy brief should present a coherent and persuasive argument that advances a powerful and properly grounded vision for the implementation of your proposed policy change—one that accounts for the future of public schools in the United States as you envision it, especially with regard to the issue you have chosen to highlight. The best policy briefs are:

• Clear and focused — All aspects of the policy brief (from the message to the layout) need to be strategically focused on achieving the intended goal of convincing the target audience to accept your proposed solution. To do this, the argument provided must build on what the audience already knows about the problem, provide insight about what the audience doesn’t know, and be presented in language that reflects their values, i.e. using ideas, evidence and language that will convince them.
• Professional, but not academic — The common audience for a policy brief is not interested in the research/analysis procedures conducted to produce the evidence, but is very interested in the writer’s perspective on the problem and potential solutions based on the evidence presented.
• Evidence-based — The policy brief is a communication tool produced by policy analysts—people who spend their time thinking deeply about policy problems and analyzing possible solutions. As a result, potential audiences for policy briefs not only expect a rational argument but will likely only be convinced by argumentation supported by evidence that the problem exists and the consequences of adopting particular alternatives.
• Limited in scope — To provide an adequately comprehensive but targeted argument within a limited space, the focus of the brief needs to be limited to a particular problem or area of a problem. Trying to tackle a problem too
• Succinctly written — ****The type of audiences targeted commonly do not have the time or inclination to read an in-depth 20-page argument on a policy problem. As a result, it is common that policy briefs do not exceed 6–8 pages in length. For the purposes of this project, your policy brief should be no more than six pages long.
• Easily understood — This not only refers to using clear and simple language (i.e. not the jargon and concepts of an academic discipline), but also to providing a well-explained and easy-to follow argument targeting a wide but knowledgeable audience.
• Accessible — The writer of the policy brief should facilitate “ease of use” by the target audience by subdividing the text using clear descriptive titles to guide the reader.
• Sharply focused on what’s practical and feasible — The policy brief is an action-oriented tool targeting policy practitioners. As such the brief must provide arguments based on what is actually happening in practice with a particular policy and propose recommendation that seem realistic to the target audience.

The policy brief is one of the most common and effective written communication tools used in a policy campaign—but that doesn’t make it easy to write. As you try to balance the criteria above, remember that this is not a simple checklist; you should approach this work holistically, keeping the criteria in mind even before you begin the process of writing to ensure that you have selected a topic and policy solution that is appropriate to the task. The most important thing you can do is keep your audience in mind. Knowing who you are writing for goes a long way toward choosing an appropriate tone and focus for your writing.

Common Structural Elements of a Policy Brief

Policy briefs directly reflect the different roles that a policy analyst commonly plays, from researcher to advocate. The type of brief that we are focusing on is one from the more action-oriented, advocacy end of the continuum. Although there is much variation even at this end of the scale, the most common elements of the policy brief are as follows: