Advice needed on answering policy questions Forum

[fel1881]

Hi, I've always been kind of unsure answering policy questions. Wondering if anyone could provide any general advice??

[Avian]

It's hard to be specific without an actual question or topic. In general you want to lay out both sides of the policy debate in addition to picking a side. You will also want to discuss the underlying principles favoring each side (e.g., economic efficiency, equity, etc). In most cases I've found that these almost always come up on a topic that the professor focused on in class, so they're looking to see if you paid attention and can intelligently discuss the policy disagreement.

[encore1101]

There's no one way to answer a policy question, but in general, remember that people choose the paths of least resistance, motivated by self-interest, and they'll game the system if given the opportunity. That may sound kind of emo/dark, but imagine how a new rule or law would backfire when occurring in the aggregate.


ETA: also remember that the court will generally avoid condoning or rewarding illegal or immoral behavior. If it will lead to undesirable or "immoral" results, then that could be your policy argument. For example, a wife kills her husband in order to collect on his life insurance and will. She goes to prison, but as a policy matter, it's repulsive to think that this woman will be enriched from her crime. So what do you do? Set up a constructive trust.

[banjo]

I generally have a short (2-3 page) outline for pure policy questions, organized around themes (e.g., exclusion theory vs. bundle of rights, property vs. liability rules). Then I flip through the textbook and pull out talking points from the secondary materials. Sometimes I jot down a few of my thoughts on the article--occasionally drawing on class discussion, other outlines, or old exams. I might spend a few minutes googling a topic, too, just to see what people are saying. If the policy question counts for a lot, I might make a checklist of themes/arguments I want to address.