Step 1: Identify the issue and how the US government is currently addressing it. Then, identify strategies that could be used to improve those efforts.
Step 2: Gather three scholarly research articles that address the issue you selected and offer suggestions for improvement.
Step 3: Prepare a formal policy memo for the President of the United States (POTUS). This is the only part of the project you will turn in.
Step 1 – Identifying the Issue
A. Throughout chapter 14 of the textbook, you will find traditional methods and core issues used to create the foreign policy agenda. Use this information as a starting point for identifying the subject of your own research.
B. Next, identify a single issue that you feel should be the highest priority in American foreign policy and specifically how the nation should go about pursuing that policy.
Step 2 – Gathering Sources
A. Find three high-quality reference materials (articles published in an academic journal) using the following criteria:
- The article must be no more than ten years old, a minimum of five pages in length, and should meet the standards of college level material.
- Carefully choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
- Newspaper articles, magazine articles, textbooks and items of the like are considered “supplemental sources” on the collegiate level and are not quality research materials.
- Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), Almanacs, or an Atlas are reference materials and should not be listed in any works cited page on the collegiate level.
- Properly document your sources in your memo and on a works cited page.
Step 3 – The Memo
- Your paper should quickly explain how the President can take your advice and put it into action. He is a busy man, so keep it short and to the point.
- This document should quickly articulate (in 2-3 paragraphs) the relevance of the issue, your policy position (citing the supporting evidence) and conclude with a suggested course of action.
- The memo is to be 1.5 – 2 full pages in length using single spacing (using the formal formatting protocols for a memo). No more and no less is necessary for this activity. If you need help with the formatting, simply do a web search to find a style guide. Failure to meet the minimum writing requirement will result in a zero for the entire assignment (no partial credit will be awarded as this is a formal institutional assessment).
- Finally, add a cover page to the front of the document and include the works cited page at the end. Submit all pages together as one file to the appropriate dropbox.
