What is the Writing Program?
 Not a separate class, but instead, the program is folded
into the Core classes at Harris
 Ensures that you gain critical communication skills to
showcase your policy analysis expertise
 Learn how to effectively and persuasively communicate
your econometric tests, cost-benefit analyses, and
program evaluation findings
Why emphasize writing so much?
 Policy writing is different than academic writing
 Quantitative skills—the bread and butter of what you will
learn this year at Harris—are only useful to the extent
that they can support an effective argument
 There’s no point in publishing the snazziest data points if
your key target audience doesn’t understand what
you’re talking about
Your goal:
 Learn how to break down complex concepts so that
intelligent non-specialists can understand them
 Don’t leave it to the person who’s reading your work to
grapple with what a t-test or a z-score or producer
surplus is. Make it easy for them to understand…
What can you expect?
 Many of your Core Classes will have Writing Assignments
and/or Policy Memo tasks
 Some are individual, others will be group-work
 These assignments will be graded not only on what they
say, but how they say it
Today we’ll focus on policy memos
 One of the most commonly used policy-making tools
 They communicate information to states’ leaders and
decision makers that drives choices and negotiations
 Persuasive, evidence-based, and structured writing of
this type represents one of the most powerful ways of
influencing the policy-making process
Policy memos differ from academic text
 In the public policy setting, good writing is aimed at
immediate effect
 Likely to be given to someone’s as s/he hurries down
the hall or skimmed while making a phone call
 Take a variety of forms in terms of length, structure and
depth of analysis
 Share a number of common characteristics
What is a Policy Memo?
 Short document used to convey critical information about a
specific policy issue
 Distills a large amount of information or breaks down a
complex issue in a concise manner
 Makes an argument (recommendation) and provides
supporting evidence
 Often evaluates alternative courses of action
What is a Policy Memo?
 Brief: typically 1000 words or less
 Busy policy-makers will not read long documents and may stop reading
short documents that are difficult to understand
 Direct: addressed to a specific audience
 Often provided by an advisor to a principal (policymaker or
practitioner) but could also be to a colleague
 Convincing: your ‘bottom line’ should be obvious ‘up front’
 Your reader should know the main conclusion of your memo after
reading the first paragraph alone
1. Respond to your audience
 Write for an intelligent non-specialist.
 You’ll usually be more of an expert on the details than your
audience but don’t treat your reader as being stupid
 Think carefully about the needs and expectations of your
audience
 An elected official will need technical terms defined (don’t
use jargon)
2. Organize your memo
 Introduction including recommendation
 Background and context
 Options, supporting arguments/ analysis
 Conclusion
3. Introduction
 “Bottom line up front”
 Open the memo by summarizing the problem/ issue
 Provide your recommendation
 The reader should know the main conclusion of your memo
after reading the first paragraph alone!!
 The rest of the memo should be structured around your
argument
 Don’t leave the reader trying to guess your conclusion like
a suspense novel!
4. Background and Issues
 Summarize any historical or technical information that your
audience needs for context
 What is the status quo? Why might it need to be changed?
 What events have triggered the need for a memo?
 It may be that no background information is needed at all.
5. Options
 Identify plausible courses of action, even ones that you might
not agree with
 Point out a few (not a laundry list) pros and cons of each
action
 Identify the risks/ potential opposition from particular
courses of action.
 Anticipate questions
6. Supporting Arguments/ Analysis
 Provide evidence to support your argument
 Is there a way to graphically display the information?
 Help the policy-maker identify who their key supporters and
opponents will be, based on your recommendation.
 Make sure you are clear about the sources of your
information (blend the reference into the memo).
7. Conclusion
 Should be consistent with your recommendation up front
 No new information should be presented. Keep it short.
 Wrap up loose ends
8. Style
 Choose simple words to express your ideas.
 Avoid jargon—or define your terms clearly.
 Make your sentences "active voice“ when appropriate.
 Use each paragraph to develop one idea.
 Be specific: generic recommendations are not convincing.
 PROOFREAD CAREFULLY
9. Format
 Address the memo with a header at the top of the page




From: (your name)
To: (the person you are addressing)
Re: (the scenario you are addressing)
Date: (date of submission)
 Use headings and subheadings
 Consider using bullets, numbering, and indentations
 Use bold or italics (but do not overuse)
 No need for footnotes – if it’s important, highlight a reference in the text
Ineffective tables, graphs, and figures
Effective tables, graphs, and figures
$1,400.00
$1,200.00
$1,000.00
Average
Weekly
Income
$800.00
Men
$600.00
Women
$400.00
$200.00
$1994
2004
Let’s look at some examples
 Read this handout
 http://www.hks.harvard.edu/content/download/66717/1
239678/version/1/file/sample-policy-memo.pdf
 Discussion
 Surprises from reading the memo?
 Things you liked (not content, but style, etc.)
How can you write a successful memo?
 Remember that writing is iterative
 We learned how to draft in elementary school because it is
effective!
 Write early, put it down, and return to it later with a fresh
set of eyes.
 Have others read your work. Sometimes they will point
out tone or grammar that you weren’t aware of.
How can you write a successful memo?
 Avoid sensationalizing the descriptive content of your
piece by over-using adjectives
 Instead, focus on explaining why your evidence proves
that the government should adopt your policy.
Writing Teaching Assistants
 Chosen because they are excellent writers and they have
also done well in the Core classes
 Also talented in providing constructive and thoughtful
feedback
 Use them to your advantage (take drafts seriously ,
attend office hours, send emails)
Good policy writing examples
 Think tanks
 Brookings Institute
 Government Entities
 Government Accountability Office (GAO)
 Congressional Research Office (these are longer)
Other Writing Program Events
 Monthly newsletter
 Great tips!
 Quarterly brown-bag lunches with Harris Alumni working for
organizations that prize good policy writing
 Come network, find out what they think is important about
writing, and tips of the trade
 End of year Writing Prize
 Earn $$ for your great writing!
Writing Resources
 Our website: http://harris.uchicago.edu/gateways/current-
student/harris-school-writing-program
 Strunk and White’s Elements of Style
 PlainLanguage.gov: The federal government has been
mandated by Presidents Clinton and Obama to use plain
language in communication to the public? They’ve built
a great site and many of their recommendations are those
you're practicing in your policy memos. Explore their
guides to word usage, effective headings, and spoken
communication.
Writing Resources (other schools)
 The University of California has a fantastic guide to good public
policy writing.
 UMASS: open, online courses on Critical Reading and Writing.
 ESL-specific exercises available from Purdue University.
 Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Management. (2010).
Memo-Writing Guidelines. Retrieved from
http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/services/files/WritingMemos.pdf
Writing Resources (University wide)
 The University-wide Writing Program has resources that
may be useful to Harris Students, including:
 Graduate Writing Consultants: work with writers not just
on particular problems in drafts, but also to develop
advanced skills for revision.
 The University’s Little Red Schoolhouse class: a quarter-
long, non-credit course
Concluding Thoughts
Questions? Comments?
 Don’t hesitate to stop by my office, 181
 Or send an email to fvabulas@uchicago.edu