CAS 100: Keywords
Types of Policy Speech Arrangement
Structure
Appropriate If…
The points
Example
Problem /
Cause /
Solution
…your audience has only a basic
understanding of the problem,
requiring you to spend more time
explaining the problem and its causes
in order to set up an effective solution.
1) Problem: An explanation of the problem, its
extent, and its harms.
2) Cause: An argument for why the problem
exists and what factors are to blame.
3) Solution: A policy proposal that would
address the causes.
Problem: High greenhouse gas emissions by
electric companies.
Cause: Resistance to “green” technology or to
implementing pollution controls.
Solution: Impose strict taxes on companies with
high carbon emissions.
1) Cause: Describe why a problem exists,
addressing why this explanation provides a
better account than others.
2) Effect: Illustrate how the causes lead to the
problem.
3) Solution: A policy proposal that would
specifically focus on the stated causes.
Cause: Mandatory minimum sentences for drug
offenses, developed and strengthened by decades
of law.
Effect: High incarceration rates for nonviolent
crimes, with racially disparate consequences.
Solution: Eliminating mandatory minimum
sentencing to provide room for judges to assign
sentences on a case-to-case basis.
Cause /
Effect /
Solution
Problem /
Existing Plan /
Counterplan
Need /
Plan /
Advantage
…the problem is well-known to the
audience, but the solution is new and
tackles the problem by focusing on a
different set of causes.
…various misconceptions about causes
prevent audience members from
supporting effective solutions.
…society has acknowledged the
problem and put a policy in place to
correct it, but the existing policy is not
effective. This speech structure
proposes ways to improve the policy or
a new policy to put in its place.
…the problem can be quickly
synthesized and conveyed to the
audience, allowing more time for
unpacking the policy plan and its
advantages over other proposals.
…the plan competes with several other
strategies that have long been in use or
are under consideration.
1) Problem: Briefly explain the problem and
relevant aspects of its causes.
2) Existing Plan: Discuss way that policy
agents have tried to solve the problem—
and why that approach doesn’t work.
3) Counterplan: Propose an alternative that
improves or replaces existing policy,
explaining why it would work better.
1) Need: A discussion of the problem that
focuses specifically on the particular needs
and concerns of a group of people.
2) Plan: A detailed elaboration of a policy
plan that includes multiple instruments
and likely unfolds over stages.
3) Advantage: An explanation of how the plan
improves on other strategies in use.
Problem: Prohibitively expensive health care
premiums, especially in certain regions.
Existing Plan: A sliding scale based completely on
income levels.
Counterplan: Modifying the sliding scale to reflect
the varying costs of living in different parts of the
country.
Need: School readiness programs for low-income
families who cannot afford private preschool
education.
Plan: Create a multi-pronged approach to provide
cradle-to-college services.
Advantage: This plan provides academic
socialization years in advance of typical programs
like Head Start. Unlike traditional programs, it also
continues to serve through college.
1) Problem: An explanation of the problem,
its extent, and its harms. The scope,
…your audience has only a basic
severity, and frequency (or rate of change)
understanding of the problem,
of the problem are both quantitatively and
requiring you to spend more time
qualitatively explained.
explaining the problem in terms of the
Problem /
condition or state-of-affairs that are
2) Solution: A policy proposal that would
Policy Solution having an adverse impact.
address the specifics of the problem
/ Outcomes
detailed in MP1.
…the caus(es) of the problem can’t be
3) Outcomes/Implications: A demonstration
eliminated so instead only the effects of
that the policy is an appropriate fit for the
the caus(es) can be mitigated.
problem as described in MP1 by showing
that the specifics are mitigated.
Problem /
Alternatives /
Better
Solution
...when there are two publicly known
competing solutions to a problem and
you want to address your audience’s
preferences or biases as well as
demonstrate your own credibility by
not seeming to ignore what your
audience already knows.
1) Problem: An explanation of the problem,
its extent, and its harms. The scope,
severity, and frequency (or rate of change)
of the problem are both quantitatively and
qualitatively explained.
2) Alternatives: Explain the two known
competing policies.
3) Better Solution: Argue for the better of the
two policies (usually the second of the two
presented) by demonstrating it better
satisfies a set of criterial you defined.
Table developed by Marcy Milhomme and Michael J. Steudeman.