Policy Issue Analysis Project: Acknowledging different perspectives

POLICY ISSUE ANALYSIS PROJECT
Acknowledging Different Perspectives
(60 points)
I have attached the first assignment that ties into this assignment and will later be put together as a whole. I had uploaded it in word format and pdf format. Whichever is easier for you to view.

Purpose of Assignment:
To be an active participant in public policy, students must keep up-to-date on policy issues being debated or decided in local, state, or federal government. To do this, students are expected to follow the news in print, radio, television, and online media. Once students are up-to-date on the policy, students must be able to critically evaluate their own beliefs about a particular issue and be able to understand and listen to differing viewpoints. This involves two difficult but closely related skills. First, students must be able to clearly state their own beliefs and provide consistent and well-thought-out arguments to support their beliefs. Second, students must be able to do the same for beliefs that challenge their own. In essence, students must be able to thoroughly describe and explain the best arguments against their own beliefs.

Overview of Assignment: For this assignment, students will write a 4-5 page paper describing coverage of the specific issue and/or policy they are focusing on for this project.. After describing the policy, students will describe their own position on the issue they are focusing on (including any critical assessment of the articles/stories, policy implications and appropriate personal reflections), then provide the strongest possible argument against it. Finally, students will end the paper with a reflection on completing the assignment

There are four parts to this assignment:

Firstly, be sure to start your paper off with a brief introduction to your issue and your policy.
Part 1: Article Selection, Summary and Critical Assessment Students will select two articles discussing the issue and/or policy they are focusing on from either daily newspapers (e.g., The New York Times or Tallahassee Democrat) or weekly magazines (e.g., Newsweek). Although you may find articles through links on social media, the actual social media network may NOT serve as the actual source for this assignment. Students must NOT use editorials, opinion articles, or human-interest articles. Additionally, students should select articles from two different sources. If you are uncertain whether your selected article is appropriate, please check with the instructor no later than ONE WEEK prior to deadline. Please provide a screenshot of the first page of the articles with your final submission.
After selecting the two articles, students must summarize the articles. For example, what is the article about? What policy is it reviewing? What is the main point/argument of the article? Summaries should be brief, detailed, and accurate, and should avoid plagiarizing the article. The summary should refer to the article using an appropriate APA in-text citation.
Students must provide a critical assessment of the differences between the articles. Critical assessments should emphasize how much confidence the student has in the accuracy and objectivity of the articles, and support these claims with specific evidence. Students should be attentive to potential for bias/misinformation, and clearly identify these when they exist. Questions to consider: “Which article is more accurate?”, “How do these articles differ in terms of bias?”, and “Can I trust this information?”.

Part 2: Personal Position Students will clearly state their position on the policy issue they are focusing on for this project. Students must be specific here, and should not focus on broad topics (i.e., “gay rights” is too broad, but “same-sex adoption in Florida” is good). Students should then provide the best possible arguments to support their position, including relevant evidence and references to support their view. Students should not limit themselves to a single justification, but should provide multiple detailed arguments. This likely will require you to find additional sources.

Part 3: The Other Side Students will then provide the best possible argument(s) that can be made against their position. This should reflect both a criticism of the student’s own position and arguments supporting an opposing perspective (e.g., if a student favors allowing same-sex adoption in Florida, they should both criticize their own position and argue for disallowing same sex adoption in Florida). As with their own perspective, students should strive to present their arguments clearly and with the greatest possible detail and supporting evidence. This likely will require you to find additional sources. The goal of this section is to acknowledge the paradox and validate the opposing side.

Part 4: Reflection Students should reflect on the experience of arguing for and against their views. This is not a conclusion paragraph wrapping up your thoughts on the paper. This section should be at least one solid paragraph long, and include reflections on any difficulties, emotional reactions, or perspective changes students experienced while conducting the exercise of arguing for and against your issue. This section is very important so please provide thoughtful reflections and not simply a closing sentence or two.

Formatting Requirements: This paper must follow APA 7th edition formatting guidelines, including using 12pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, a title page, and 1-inch margins. Students should include in-text citations and a reference page.