Policy analysis paper: writing guide, tips, and examples

Policy analysis sounds like something incredibly complex and impossible to write. Besides, only a PoliSci major should worry about it, right? In reality, you can get assigned a policy analysis essay or research paper in any class. All it takes is a creative professor.

You’re in luck, because today we’ll explain how to write an analysis for a policy, share expert research, and writing tips. We’ll also remind you that you can always hire a paper writer to take over for you.

What is a policy analysis paper?

A policy essay is dedicated to policy analysis or suggestions. In most cases, you will need to learn everything about a specific policy and research its implementation, effectiveness, impact, and unintended positive and negative effects. It’s not a policy summary. Instead, it’s an in-depth analysis with suggestions for improving or revamping existing regulations.

Policy papers aren’t exclusive to Political Science classes. They can touch on many topics, from gender and racial equality to healthcare, business, high tech, and ecology. If there’s a law or policy regulating something, you can write a policy analysis about it. So, you can choose the topic that really matters to you if the professor leaves the topic choice up to you.

On the surface, a public policy paper may seem dull and complex. But it’s an invaluable learning tool. Aside from practicing your writing skills, you’ll also develop research skills, critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis. Moreover, you’ll learn to read between the lines of fine print. Finally, you’ll learn how to use things you learn in class to change real-world issues.

If we managed to get you excited about policy writing, let’s take a closer look at its structure.

Policy analysis paper structure

Whichever essay format you choose, professors expect to see certain things in your paper. To ensure you don’t miss anything, create and use a detailed plan. Here is a policy paper outline you can use if you’re analyzing existing policies:

1. Introduction. Whether you write a report, essay, or research paper, you need an introduction. Here, you explain the issue, state your objective, and introduce the policies you’re analyzing. Depending on your paper type, you should also include a thesis statement or a research question.
2. Background and context. Discuss the basic information about the policy. Explain when and why it was introduced. Provide historical context, and list the major stakeholders. This section should be informative and objective. Anyone unfamiliar with the topic should glean enough information to understand the following sections of your paper.
3. Evaluation criteria. You cannot base your policy analysis on gut feelings and subjective takes. You need to provide objective criteria and explain your methodology to prove your conclusions are valid. You can use established theoretical frameworks, feasibility charts, or PEST and SWOT matrices. But you need to explain your choice. Skip this section, and you’re basically complaining about the policy you don’t like.
4. Policy analysis. This is the core of your policy research paper. Here, you evaluate whether the policy goals are clear, whether the policy implementation plan is effective, and whether the positive outcomes outweigh the negative impacts. You’ll rely on the evaluation criteria from the previous section to support your claims.
5. Recommendations. If your analysis shows the policy is ineffective or outdated, this is where you suggest changes. Remember to provide evidence to support your recommendations and outline the future steps necessary to develop and implement the updated policies.
6. Conclusion. Reiterate your thesis statement from the introduction and summarize your analysis’s main points. Explain the limitations of your research and suggest potential future development.
7. References. Use the recommended citation style to provide a full list of policies and other publications referenced throughout your paper.

By the way, if you buy research papers on policy from SpeedyPaper, that’s the blueprint our experts will follow. But note that this outline does not work for developing and suggesting new policies. If that’s your task, the policy paper structure will look a little different and include the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Literature review
4. Evaluating policy alternatives
5. Case studies
6. Implementation recommendations
7. Conclusion
8. References

In this case, your task is to analyze possible ways to resolve the issue and find the most effective policy with the least negative effects.

Writing tip from SpeedyPaper

Writing a policy analysis paper in 5 steps

Here’s a brief guide for how to write a policy paper that SpeedyPaper experts swear by:

1. Understand the assignment. Don’t skip this step. It’s vital to your grade. Read the prompt carefully to ensure you understand all requirements. Pay special attention to the verbs and other key words in the prompt’s wording, but don’t forget other requirements, like word count, formatting style, number of references, etc. They’ll help you understand the scope of your research and writing. For example, if your paper is only three pages long, your policy analysis won’t be too detailed, but if you have to turn in ten pages, you’ll have to dig up more sources and dive deep into the policy specifics.
2. Research the policy. Before you can analyse a policy document, you need to read it and take notes. You’ll also want to find secondary sources. These are papers, articles, and other resources that cite or reference the policy or provide relevant data. For example, if you’re analyzing border security policies, you can cite data on illegal border crossings or the change in the rate of drug flow across the border. The numbers will help you evaluate the policy’s effectiveness.
3. Create an outline. We’ve already covered how to structure a policy analysis paper, but it’s important not to skip this step. When you have a clear outline, there’s less chance of straying off topic or missing something critical. Besides, creating a plan helps organize your thoughts and ideas to ensure your paper is not a mess of random facts, but a cohesive piece. You can make your outline as rough or as detailed as you want. For example, you can add topic sentences for major paragraphs as subheadings or leave it at a bullet list stage.
4. Write the paper. If you complete the previous steps, writing public policy analysis should be a breeze. Just take your sources and notes and fill in the gaps in your outline using the data. Remember to add your analysis. Don’t just quote policies and research findings. Explain why the wording matters or why the implementation was not as successful as expected. If you don’t add anything to the raw data, your paper will just be a collection of unrelated facts.
5. Edit, proofread, and format the paper. Post-writing cleanup is just as critical to your policy analysis paper grade as the previous steps. Take a break after your piece is done, and return a few hours (or days) later to look it over with fresh eyes. First, look for inconsistencies, redundancies, illogical conclusions, etc. You might need to cut whole paragraphs or add new ones to make your paper better. When you’re happy with the contents, work on the wording. Use professional tools like Grammarly to weed out typos and missing commas. Finally, format the paper according to the required formatting style before submitting it for grading.

Take a look at our collection of free policy analysis essays — most of them were created using this simple 5-step algorithm.

Writing tip from SpeedyPaper

Effective policy analysis paper writing tips

Now you know the basics, but there’s more to policy analysis than merely following our algorithm. That’s why we asked our assignment help experts to share their most valuable tips. Here’s what they advise:

• Check what others say about the policy. We don’t mean podcasters or bloggers. Instead, look for policy analysis in niche publications or mainstream media. For example, you’ll likely find plenty of opinion pieces and analyses on tax reforms in The New York Times or The Atlantic. But you’d better skim medical journals if you need to cover a new healthcare policy.
• Use recent, credible, and objective sources. Avoid biased or sponsored publications and opt for journals and other publishers with a solid reputation unmarred by scandals. Ideally, you should use references no older than five or ten years in undergrad and MBA essay writing. But you may cite historical data to make a point.
• Keep your notes organized. When you’re dealing with ten or more sources, it’s easy to mix things up. It’s not a huge problem, but it might raise questions about the validity of your research if you cite the wrong source.
• Consider foreign alternatives. When you’re working out a policy recommendation, don’t just look in the past. Instead, learn what other countries are doing, especially if they are known to show better results. For instance, Finland is renowned for its primary and secondary education quality. Check out their policies if you’re working on a paper about school policies.
• Every data point should come with your analysis. We’ve already mentioned it among the steps of policy analysis, but this is your reminder that raw data does not make a point on its own. You need to weave it into your narrative to show the audience why the numbers matter and what they mean in relation to the policy.

By the way, most of these tips are universal and apply to any other assignment type, from law essay writing to theses and capstone projects. So, make them a habit, and your school record will gradually get even better.

Example of a policy analysis paper

A full policy analysis paper example would be too long to fit into this short guide, so we’ll offer an introduction style sample to get you started, and if you want more examples, check out our free Health Policy Proposal essay sample and other papers in our database.

Example: “The Impact of Tariffs on the American Economy”

Globalization has had both positive and negative impacts on the US economy over the last thirty years. On the one hand, relocating manufacturing facilities to China, India, Vietnam, and other countries allows American consumers to enjoy lower prices across a broad range of everyday household items. On the other hand, manufacturing outsourcing resulted in severe unemployment in some cities and states, as well as the dereliction of industrial facilities. In the wake of the global pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains, relocating manufacturing facilities to the US may seem like a sound long-term investment, designed to future-proof the American economy. However, introducing blanket tariffs across all items imported from other countries may not be the best strategy for encouraging local manufacturers. Instead, it can result in short-term price hikes, stock shortages, and bankruptcies across small and medium-sized businesses that rely on Chinese and other manufacturing facilities. This paper will analyze the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities presented by the introduction of import tariffs to assess their impact on the American economy on a nationwide and individual scale.

Conclusion

Now you know that writing a policy analysis paper is not as scary as it seems at first glance. Sure, it’s a complicated piece that takes plenty of research, planning, and analysis. But you can do it all if you follow our 5-step writing process and remember to use the outlines we share as a roadmap for your writing. Make sure to check our free samples if you want to see how all these recommendations translate into real papers.

And if you’re too short on time and have zero chance of meeting the submission deadline without help, let SpeedyPaper take over. We employ hundreds of academics ready to write a paper for money. All you need to do is place the order.