Assignment Description |
Now that we have practiced the scholarly writing process with our first paper, we will work to better our skills through practice (just as we do when we learn anything new, we improve with practice) and delve further into understanding the impact of US policy through a very detailed and thorough policy analysis. All aspects of the scholarly writing process hold true. We are working to share our truths and visions with others so that they are drawn to a deeper understanding through our words and synthesis of the existing research on the policy. PLEASE review the above CRT assignment description “Scholarly Writing Process”. Do not just tell us what you know.
Purpose of the Assignment
Learners will be required to recognize and understand the historical, social, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. They must also be knowledgeable about policy formulation, analysis, implementation and evaluation. The purpose of this assignment is to challenge students to recognize and understand the relationship between social problems, social values, social institutions, client advocacy, and social change.
Policy analysis involves a systematic investigation of a social policy or a set of policies. Learners will demonstrate how policy framework can be useful in implementing policies that are in harmony with the historical and contemporary contexts of the problem and the proposed policies. Various sources will be used for locating policy relevant information including that of internet resources, which have made both data and information easily accessible for policy analysis. (If a student is currently enrolled in the Social Work with Communities course, it is strongly suggested that the policy for analysis be directly related to the community organizing final group project in the Social Work with Communities course. Please talk to instructors if you have any questions).
Students will be expected to refer to the official policy documents (available online), as well as related journal articles and reputable websites to support their research. Students are encouraged to use the policy analysis framework from the Karger and Stoesz text. The analysis includes:
1.Historical background of the policy,
2.An examination of the problems that necessitate the policy,
3.The policy description,
4.A policy analysis including the policy goals and political, economic, and administrative feasibility.
Students will also assess the policy through the lens of the Benedictine values, determine which values are reflected in the chosen policy and which may be directly violated or ignored.
The final written assignment will be 10-15 pages in length using APA formatting including the proper citation of references in the text and on the reference page. This assignment will be broken down into components for feedback from the instructor: (1) Annotated bibliography, (2) Annotated outline, (3) Draft Literature Review, (4) Final Paper.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (4 PTS)
This paper develops through a drafting process adding depth of understanding. We will start with an annotated bibliography. A bibliography is a list of sources such as books, journals, websites, etc. An annotation is a summary or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography summarizes, assesses, and reflects on sources gathered for a certain topic. Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you’re forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you’ll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you’ll then be able to develop your own point of view.
For the purposes of this assignment, you will identify five sources on an American policy approved by the instructor and write an annotated bibliography on each.
An Annotated Bibliography consists of a paragraph including four key areas.
- The APA citation of the article or website.
b.The institution the authors are from and their area of expertise as it relates to the article content, if known.
c.Three to five sentences that explain the relevance of the article to your research topic and what information is helpful from the article to promote a different view point on the topic.
- A sentence or two on how the article supports your literature review.
An example annotated bibliography is provided in Blackboard.
ANNOTATED OUTLINE (4 PTS)
An annotated outline can help you organize the main points of the paper and ensure the research supports the thesis. Creating an annotated outline can save valuable time. An Annotated Outline includes topic areas for an outline for your literature review and includes citing of article within each area. A reference page should be attached that will cite in full each article from the outline.
Your annotated outline should begin with an introduction section, titled “Introduction”. Underneath this section heading “Introduction” include one point each for the main points and the thesis statement. The following section headings should be labeled and ordered so they support your thesis statement. However, the headings can be as general or as specific as you would like. The important thing is that they relate directly to the thesis. Each section heading should then contain at least two paragraph headings that support the points made in the section. You can have more than two paragraph headings in each section heading as long as the information is relevant to the thesis. Have at least two supporting examples in each paragraph and content summary that explains how the paragraph connects back to your thesis. Your supporting examples should be quotations and paraphrases from your research and support the paragraph’s topic sentence. Your annotated outline should then end with a final section titled “Conclusion”. Underneath the section heading “Conclusions”, include one point for rephrasing the thesis statement, concluding details and a final line that reinforces your thesis.
An example annotated outline in provided in Blackboard.
LITERATURE REVIEW (8 PTS)
A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. Depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant. A literature review DOES NOT summarize single articles. It synthesizes the findings from multiples sources on multiple aspects of your thesis.
Students are encouraged to use the policy analysis framework from the Karger and Stoesz text found in Chapter two, questions to be answered for each aspect of the analysis can be found there. The analysis includes:
1.Historical background of the policy,
2.An examination of the problems that necessitate the policy,
3.The policy description,
4.A policy analysis including the policy goals and political, economic, and administrative feasibility.
An example literature review is provided in Blackboard.
FINAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (6 PTS)
The written assignment (which can be written as a group) will be anywhere from 10-15 pages, double spaced, and APA compliant. Please remember to site within the text of your paper. You should include no less than 10 sources on your reference page.
An example final policy analysis is provided in Blackbaord.
