We are required to write a 1,000-word essay on ONE of the following
And my requirement is to write down quick notes about how you analyze the passage like this.
Because I have to present the whole passage in class and explain the points.
THE TAIWAN ISSUE
Policy memo: Write a memo on whether the United States should reach a deal or make concessions to China with respect to Taiwan. Be clear on what these concessions might be and the effects of doing so, both on Taiwan and China.
Additional Reading
Richard Bush, A , The Brookings Institution, March 2017. Download the full
report here; URL is to a summary only.
Susan Lawrence and Wayne Morrison, Taiwan: Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service, October 30, 2017 here.
John Mearsheimer, Say Goodbye to Taiwan, The National Interest March/April 2014 here. The full version of the Glaser piece can be found in International Security here.
Alan Romberg, Cross-Strait Relations: Skepticism Abounds, China Leadership Monitor (Fall 2017) here.
Isaac Stone Fish, Asias Other Nightmare Scenario, Slate October 4, 2017 here.
Two very different views of the US commitment are Richard Bush, The United States Security Partnership with Taiwan, The Brookings Institution here and Eric Gomez, A Costly Commitment Options for the Future of the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Relationship, CATO Institute Policy Analysis, September 2016 here.
Reuters, China angered as U.S. considers navy visits to Taiwan, December 27, 2017 here.
This is a policy-oriented course. We draw on theory, but we are interested in what actors have donethe policies they have chosenand what might have been done differently and more effectively given their interests.
A policy memo is designed as a real-world, real-time exercise in providing policy analysis and prescription (1000 words). A policy memo should be from someone, to someone, and have a date. The memo should reflect what the author and recipient knew at the time, not events or information that is only revealed subsequently. A policy memo should:
Outline the policy issue in question;
Consider options that were or could have been taken;
Reach a judgment about the costs and benefits of different policy choices.
It should also make a recommendation.
In this assignment, you must apply concepts from this course to address a . This paper is not a research paper or analytic essay; rather, it is a policy document for a hypothetical policymaker. There is some room to be creative with regards to who is your intended audience. But it is important to spend some time putting yourself in the shoes of that policymaker and thinking about what their goals and priorities are.
This paper will count for 20% of the final grade. You will have the opportunity to sign up for a prompt and position in sections (see Due Date section, below). Below you will find: i) detailed instructions about the assignment, ii) memo prompts and additional sources (beyond those readings from syllabus for that topic) and iii) a guide to good policy memo writing.
Length: Your memo must be approximately 1,000 words long.
Due Date: Your TAs will have you sign up for a due date for the memo based upon the topic you choose. This will be discussed during the first discussion section (week 2). In general, memos will be due a few days after the topic you select is discussed in lecture. Contact your TA if you have any questions regarding the due date after your first discussion section meets. Late assignments will be penalized.
Formatting: Assignments should be in 12-point font, Times New Roman. Assignments should have 1-inch margins. Assignments can be single or double-spaced.
Grading: Assignments will be evaluated according to clarity of the argument (20%), quality of analysis (30%), level of support (20%), accuracy of claims (10%), organization (10%), and style (10%).
Citations: In addition to assigned readings provided on the syllabus, we have created a bibliography of additional sources (below); you may do additional research if you like but it is not required. You should cite sources in the text of your assignment as footnotes or endnotes (these will not count towards the word count). You do not need to include a works cited page at the end of your assignment. You may use MLA, APA, or Chicago style
Academic Dishonesty: We expect you to do your own work. I am professionally and ethically responsible to report all possible integrity violations to the Academic Integrity Office. Integrity violations are not just blatant cheating (e.g., copying an online source for your memo), but what you might have thought of as “minor cheating” in high school, for example: copying other students’ papers or homework; copying or using old papers/report; working with others on individual assignments; forgetting to cite material you took from an outside resource; turning in work completed in total or part by another. Those students found to have violated academic integrity will face administrative sanctions imposed by the University and academic sanctions imposed by the course instructor. See the University Sanctioning guidelines
Policy Memo Prompts and Bibliography
at http://academicintegrity.ucsd..pdf.
These sanctions are not at our discretion but your grade, the academic sanction, however, is at my discretion. And we will give an F (0) on any assessment in which an academic integrity violation occurred – regardless of the extent of the violation. NOTE: Students who facilitate academic integrity violations (e.g., giving their paper to another student), are also violating academic integrity standards.
For the policy memo in particular, we expect students to produce their own original memo, appropriately cite credible outside sources that were used during the writing of the essay, and seek assistance from class instructors as needed. Most confusion over academic dishonesty can be addressed by communicating with the instructors before the assignment is submitted. We encourage you to do so. Please feel free to contact your TA if you have any questions as to what may constitute a violation.
Accessing reliable information is a difficult task, so we have selected additional readings that we suggest you use for writing your policy memo. You do not have to use all of them, and you are free to expand your search. But everyone in the class is able to complete these assignments successfully drawing only on the material in this bibliography. The work falls in several categories:
Books, most from academic presses (in electronic form).
Articles from major policy journals (for example, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The National Interest and The Diplomat).
Policy pieces and blogs from major think tanks (for example, CSIS, Brookings, American Enterprise Institute).
Articles from academic journals.
Articles from reputable journalistic sources.
In each case, start by reading the required readings for the class, which are also listed below under each topic and prompt. Once you have read enough to decide what position you want to take, then consult the memo on how to write a memo and consult with your TA. There is no right or wrong answer: all students in the course can succeed taking either position where two alternatives are under consideration.
I.Elements of a Policy Memo
What is a policy memo?
The structure of a policy memo and briefing is somewhat different than a more academic paper that is trying to test a theory with some data. A policy memo is more action- oriented and usually has the following components. You will see that we have provided you prompts around which to write.
What problem needs to be solved?
What is the environment?
What are alternative solutions?
Evaluate the alternatives, and select one or more
Implementation plan
What decision needs to be made? What critical problems is the organization having?
Sometimes this is obvious, but often it requires work to figure out the real problem at hand. Is there in fact a problem at all or has it been exaggerated? Sometimes, the best advice is to continue doing what you have been doing or do nothing at all.
Each actor has to have some assessment of the nature of the environment and actors that matter, which includes not only foreign players but the domestic scene as well. For example, you can outline a bold approach, or you can ignore the issue altogether. Both may be defensible; but how will other parties and your domestic audience react?
Policies are always formed in the context of alternatives and you need to think about what these might be.
Much of your effort and prose will go into this step. It is useful to prepare some kind of comparison table summarizing the costs and benefits of different courses of action, if only for yourself. Of course, evaluating each alternatives does not mean simply evaluating it from your perspective; you have to look down the game tree at how other parties might react, including in the unexpected ways. Remember: one possible option is always to do little or nothing at all!
Think through the next steps. You’ve said what should be done, but how do you actually make it happen? What obstacles and contingencies do you need to plan for? For example, if you need agreement from other parties, what arguments will you make to persuade them? If your plan entails major financial outlays, how will these be met?
How should a policy memo be formatted?
There is no single established format for a policy memo, but most share a number of features that will be outlined here and that we expect you to broadly follow.
The standard memo style typically starts with a four-line block at the top. For example:
To:President Xi Jinping
From: Yang Jiechi, State Counselor and Secretary General of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group
Date: January 1, 2018
Re:Enforcement of North Korea sanctions in 2018.
Note that your policy is from someone, to someone on a particular date. The people you choose for your memo should be actual decision-makers or a plausible advisor. (for example, Stephan Haggard, Advisor to the President on the North Korean issue).
Your subject line (the Re: line) should be clear and can even be argumentative, telling your reader exactly what the controversy is and what position you take. For example, it could be Stronger Enforcement of North Korean Sanctions in 2018 or Resisting US Pressure for Collapse of North Korea through Sanctions Enforcement
Executive Summary: The first paragraph of your memo is the Executive Summary. DO NOT stage set; go straight to the essential information of the memo:
What is the question you are answering?
What are the critical pieces of evidence for your analysis?
In some cases, you may need to note the key players in a debate
What is the solution you propose?
Treat this paragraph as if it is the only one in the memo likely to be read. You have the option to use bullet points here if you feel this would be most effective in getting your point across.
Ex. Poor Executive Summary:
North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (abbreviated DPRK), is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. In 2017, North Korea conducted a series of missile and nuclear tests that demonstrated the country’s ability to launch ballistic missiles beyond its immediate region and suggested that North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability was developing at a faster rate than had been assessed by the U.S. intelligence community. This, coupled with a regular joint U.S.South Korea military exercise undertaken in August 2017, as well as U.S. threats, raised international tensions in the region and beyond. Trump Administration officials have stated that all options are on the table, to
include the use of military force to denuclearizegenerally interpreted to mean eliminating nuclear weapons and related capabilities from that area.
[Note that this summary identifies a problem in broad terms, but it does not focus on policy choices and simply describes in broad terms what has happened.]
Ex. Good Executive Summary [note this is from a much longer report than 1000 words and thus much longer than you will need for this assignment]:
North Koreas apparently successful July 2017 tests of its intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, along with the possibility that North Korea (DPRK) may have successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead, have led analysts and policymakers to conclude that the window for preventing the DPRK from acquiring a nuclear missile capable of reaching the United States is closing.
A key issue is whether or not the United States could manage and deter a if it were to become capable of attacking targets in the U.S. homeland, and whether taking decisive military action to prevent the emergence of such a DPRK capability might be necessary. Either choice would bring with it considerable risk for the United States, its allies, regional stability, and global order.
One potential question for Congress is whether, and how, to employ the U.S. military to accomplish denuclearization, and whether using the military might result in miscalculation on either side, or perhaps even conflict escalation. In this report, we identify seven possible options, with their implications and attendant risks, for the employment of the military to denuclearize North Korea. These options are:
maintaining the military status quo
DPRK regime change
The paragraph should begin with an Assertion that states the argument of that paragraph (A)
The assertion should be followed with an eXample/piece of evidence (X)
The example should then be Explained (E)
enhanced containment and deterrence while
denying DPRK acquisition of delivery systems capable of threatening the United States
eliminating ICBM facilities and launch pads
eliminating DPRK nuclear facilities
withdrawing U.S. military forces.
Headings: Each section of your memo should have a clear heading so that a reader interested only in the background, analysis or recommendations can find them quickly. If you want to include sub-headings that add specificity, you may do that but make certain that they are clear and substantive. The headings after your Executive Summary would likely be:
Background: Again, this section should have relevant information only. You are not tracing the memo issue from the dawn of time. Indeed, a specialist may choose to skip this section; make the background explanation concise so that you have room in your memo for the analysis and prescription.
In the background section, then, you want to answer very specific questions: What happened? Why is the issue pressing at this moment? Who are the critical participants in the debate? What are the particular pieces of evidence that are important to both understanding the debate and your prescription?
Analysis: This is the section that examines, piece by piece, the evidence that supports your recommendation or argument. In a 1000 word memo, probably three quarters of your memo will be devoted to this section.
Each paragraph in the analysis should be dedicated to a single piece of evidence and have one point to make. Keep in mind the AXES rule as you write a paragraph:
The paragraph should conclude with a Statement that ties the evidence assertion back to the argument of your memo. (S)
The sequencing of your body paragraphs should be dictated by the logic of the evidence as it builds to your conclusion. Note that it is extremely important that you consider possible counterarguments to the one you advance: why other positions will have negative effects.
Conclusion/Policy Recommendation: You began your memo with an Executive Summary that contained a statement of your recommendation. Each succeeding paragraph built the case, piece by piece, for that recommendation. The conclusion, then, draws on everything in your analysis, explaining how the evidence fits together and points most logically to your argument.
One warning about the conclusionit should never have anything new; your conclusion should not surprise your reader. Take some time to look at your introductory paragraph and conclusion side by side. It may be the case that you need to do some rewriting of the front end of your memo to bring it in line with your argument.
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
GET A PERFECT SCORE!!! 
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
Read more