Princeton WWS policy memo discussion

[Colocho]

Who else is putting the finishing touches on their policy memo? I feel pretty good about my topic and how it relates to the rest of my application. However WWS is very vague about what they're looking for in the memo. I'm particularly curious to know how others are approaching formatting. The WWS website states:

Structure.  The format of a memo should enhance its readability.  It is not written as one lengthy essay. Rather, it is divided into sections, with headings that identify the content or major point of each section.  Each paragraph should begin with a significant point (the “topic sentence”), to be supported or expanded upon in the rest of the paragraph.  Each major point should be the focus of a separate paragraph.  Do not “bury” major themes in the middle of a paragraph.

A typical memo may include the following sections:

• Description and significance of the issue or problem you are examining.
• Evidence of the scope of the issue.
• Factors contributing to the issue or problem.
• Recommendations or conclusions about the issue.
• Counter-arguments against your position.
• Rebuttal to counter-arguments.
• Implementation issues for any recommendations (i.e. political, economic, environmental, technical, etc.).

I feel like all of these elements are incorporated into my memo, but I don't explicitly use each recommended bullet as its own section. Other examples of policy memos that I've seen online typically have 3-4 sections. 7 Seems like a lot. How are others approaching this?

 

[shrimps]

I agree - though I made sure to cover all listed topics in my memo, I didn't use these as guidelines for my actual section headings. Seven subsections just seemed excessive and unhelpful for a 4 page, double-spaced paper. For my own memo, I started with a section of background/evidence/scope of the problem, and then gave each of my three main policy recommendations their own section, which seemed to be more in line with the examples I'd read. 

Hope that helps - and best of luck to everyone finishing up their WWS apps in the next two weeks!

[rightgolefts]

Any thoughts on using a policy memo that you already wrote? Ie if your job has you writing similar memos using one that you found to be particularly effective?

[beefmaster]

I am adapting a policy paper I did for work into a shorter policy memo!