Policy Writing

This Sierra Club primer includes
three ways to engage your representative. You’ll learn how to write a letter that will get noticed, how to structure a question at a town hall and what to do if you have the opportunity to meet with your representative.

The main premise of this 2-minute read on policy writing is: KIS (Keep It Simple).

UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center offers this policy briefs guide—a great one-stop shop for info about how to write policy and / or reach policy audiences.

This easy-to-consume article focuses on writing press releases for biz products, but its guidelines are vivid, with easy-to-apply newsworthy announcements. Using potent headlines, quotes, and data relevant to your intended audiences and media sources to broadcast your key messages are tips we can all embrace.

Geared towards university community members publishing op-eds nationally, the tips presented here are helpful for all writers. Dive into this practical guide for easy-to-follow techniques to craft powerful opinion pieces.

This guide provides recommendations for writing persuasive, efficient, evidence-based papers and reports that can be and are used in a variety of venues (not just academic institutions or think tanks). There’s a great discussion (and examples) about criteria for developing policy choices and recommendations, including conducting sound analysis and weighing context.

White papers began as official government docs communicating positions, issues analysis, and related solutions to challenges of all sorts. Today, white papers are widely used in biz as marketing tools to sell products and services. You might be called upon to write a white paper for your organization to make an official statement on an issue, or to present needed services to your community. If so, dive in here for help.

PACE’s Writing for Policy Audiences module teaches skills for communicating with policymakers and other nontechnical audiences through written formats. In this evergreen course, you’ll learn how simple and clear writing makes messages more compelling and how to structure a policy brief.

Beyond traditional policy writing, here’s a treasure trove of inspiration for action. Originally published in 2020 (updated 2021), it emphasizes that the “commitment to fighting for racial justice must extend beyond the page. To that end, we are compiling a list of resources that we hope will help you in your own response to racial injustice and police violence.”