Policy Recommendation Paper
You are to write a 2000 word paper, +/-10%. The due date is April 21. Please ensure that
you keep to within +/-10% of the specified word limits. Essays that do not keep to within these
limits will be penalized. To make sure your essay respects the word-count, use the “review” tab in
Microsoft Office and click on “word count,” make sure to un-tick “Include, textboxes, footnotes…”.
A word count should appear at the end of your essay.
The paper is to answer the following prompt:
Imagine that you are the current Director of Homeland Security for your state (Massachusetts most likely, but possibly New Hampshire). A new governor has asked you
for a briefing paper on homeland security and how it applies to the state. The governor
is a novice and has no prior knowledge of homeland security.
Since the governor knows nothing about the topic, you should briefly bring him/her
up to speed on the history and concept of homeland security both at the national level
and in your state.
Describe to the governor the threat environment in your state regarding potential
hazards. To do this: use an all-hazards perspective; that is, discuss in a general
manner the hazards your state faces, with an eye to vulnerability, criticality, and loss
(that is, cover only the most severe hazards). Be sure to identify critical infrastructure
at risk.
Explain to the governor how the homeland security system works (for example, how
does he/she declare an emergency or request federal assistance). Conclude by identifying any areas where you think it is deficient.
Rules For Writing the Paper
The format of the paper should adhere to the following principles:
– No cover sheet is needed. No abstract is to be included.
– Late submissions will only be tolerated in exceptional cases (such as a medical or family
emergency). Unless you have sought permission from the professor, essays that are submitted
late will receive an automatic 10 point reduction per day. Essays submitted more than five
days (the threshold at which the penalty would result in a 50% grade reduction) after the
deadline will not be accepted and will receive a zero.
– The aim of the essay is to gain practice at building an argument and to learn how to recognize
good research. As such, students must provide attribution throughout their paper for each
fact, assertion, or argument. Attribution is given with in-text, parenthetical citations and a
bibliography. All quotations should be cited, of course, but overly-extensive use of quotes to
inflate your word-count will result in a lower grade.
– You must use at least three scholarly sources (journal articles, academic books, government
reports, etc.). The aim of the exercise is to gain practice at original research and to learn how
to recognize a good source on which to base an argument. As such, questionable websites
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and encyclopedias are not permitted for use as references. Generally, questionable websites
include anything with a “.com” or a “.org” top level domain. Citing or giving attribution
to Wikipedia is expressly forbidden. News articles can be cited, but your paper should rely
mostly on academic sources. Over-reliance on news sources will result in a lower grade.
– All citations must use parenthetical citations, in APA format.
– A full works-cited page must also be included at the end of the essay, listing all sources in
alphabetical order. The bibliography must be excluded from the word count.
– Plagiarism, which is defined as claiming the work of others as your own, is totally unacceptable. As well, using the language of another source with only a few word changes is a
form of plagiarism, even if you provide a properly cited reference. Attempting to artificially
construct a paper by pasting together the words of others, with little or not original writing
of your own, is simply another form of plagiarism and will be treated as such. The aim here
is for you to generate your own research.
