Memo Seminar Follow-up

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Memo Seminar taught by Ms. Murphy. Those in the audience had good questions.

Here are a few more tips from Ms. Murphy for improving your memo writing skills.

1) Make an appointment with the Writing Center. They are a good resource to use.

2) Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (Revised Edition) by Deborah Stone is one of the books recommended by Ms. Murphy. I also personally recommend this book. I kept this book after using it in my PLCY 220 class because it was so helpful. Stone does a good job breaking down policy analysis into theoretical ideas. Stone covers the goals of policy (equity, efficiency, security, and liberty), how policy problems are defined and understood (symbols, numbers, causes, interests, and decisions), and the components of policy solutions (inducements, rules, facts, rights, and powers). She also has nifty tables that summarize the main points of each chapter that are great for refreshing your memory.


3) Writing Public Policy: A Practical Guide to Communicating In The Policy-Making Process by Catherine F. Smith is another book that Ms. Murphy highly recommends. While Stone focused more on theory, Smith is much more practical and covers all the different types of communication required of policy analysts. Some of the things she covers includes: writing legislative histories, writing argument papers, writing effective petitions, giving effective witness testimony, writing briefing memos, and soliciting public comment. Smith also includes handy checklists at the end of each chapter, and much of the information is presented in bullets or lists.