American Democracy & Civics-Green
Public Policy Paper: Requirements, Project Progress Checks and Final Paper
Submission Deadline
10/20/2014
Public Policy Project
Your Public Policy Project is comprised of two parts: the Research Paper and a brief
Congressional Hearing presentation.
The Research Paper: Required Components
 Required Paper Length: Absolute Minimum 8 pages, 10 pages are
recommended, 12 font, double-spaced, proper paper margins & proper
utilization of page space required
 Minimum Required Number of Sources: 6
 Minimum Required Source Criteria: One magazine, One Newspaper, One
Government Source, One book, two legitimate websites. No blogs written or
sponsored by people/groups without credentials should be used. If in doubt,
check with me.
 No Wikipedia
Required Paper Format: Public Policy Outline required
components must be addressed—
Part I: Identify and fully describe the extent of the issue/problem,
including historical context and the status of the issue today. Address
what has been done to resolve the issue/problem.
Part II: Demonstrate the nature and full extent of the issue/problem;
include Constitutional references and democratic principles at issue
Part III: Propose and fully explain the specifics of your policy solution that
address or resolve the issue
 Title Page: Include a relevant Political Cartoon pertaining to your issue, include your
Name, Title of Paper, Name of Course, Date Submitted
 Works Cited Page in proper format (These pages are not counted as part of the 8-10
minimum page requirement) Alphabetize the sources for this page.
 MLA format: Credit sources with proper documentation using in-text citation
 Keep pace with the Due Dates for Progress Checks. They are firm dates for each
progress check.
First Assignment: Initial Project Proposal Requirements:
Due Monday: 11/03/2014 Submit Your Policy Proposal
--A cover page with proper course heading will state your desired topic and include a thesis
question about the issue.
-- Attach (staple) a minimum of two articles (annotated) to the cover which demonstrates
background reading has been done.
-- I will approve of the project proposal as soon as we have an opportunity to talk about it.
Prepare an alternate topic and thesis in case someone else also wants to research the same
issue. We want to avoid duplication when possible.
Please don’t change your topic/thesis without receiving approval from me.
Progress Check Due Dates
____________Initial Project Proposal/2 Sources Annotated and Summarized
___________Detailed, Typed 2 page outline using PPP Format/4 Sources
__________First 3 pages of Paper, in-text documentation, Works Cited Page
4 Sources
__________Rough Draft, Typed, 5 pages minimum, Works Cited Page
and in-text documentation/5 Sources
_________ Final Paper Submission Deadline—
8-10 pages, Title Page, Works Cited Page, In-Text Documentation,
PPP format