PADM 7347 - Writing for Public Policy

Three credit hours.

Writing for Public Policy takes a technical writing approach to public policy making in a democracy, focusing on written and oral communication genres used in institutional and political processes. In this course, graduate students learn a general method for planning, producing and critically analyzing communications in a variety of real-life public policy contexts and situations. Students practice writing short documents like one-page memos, resolutions and press releases, and longer documents: public comments on federal regulations, policy briefs and position papers on issues, and technical policy reports. Students learn to evaluate long technical reports, legislative histories. and witness testimony before public agencies and legislatures and develop skills in writing for audiences with different needs, discourse analysis, and framing.