Week five includes an syncronous class session on Saturday (06/27/26). In $2.00 a Day, Edin and Shaefer (2016) shift toward the work of survival that can be so consuming for people living on the margins. There is a forum to consider potential policies that could support this population or reflect on the systemic nature of this poverty. Linquiti’s (2022) reading is focused on the characteristics that make up an effective policy analyst. Students will engage in several forums this week—developing and sharing their own Fermi Cheat Sheets, responding to applied policy discussion questions, and critically examining what it means to “deconstruct” a policy claim. During the in-person class session, we will consider this practice with constructing and deconstructing policy claims and understanding the characteristics of an effective policy analyst.

The agenda for the in-person class session includes:

• The characteristics of an effective policy analyst
• Understanding numbers and inequality
• Developing a sound, well-reasoned, evidence-informed, policy-relevant claim
• PLAIN vs APA writing style

The learning objectives this week include:

• Identify and reflect on the six core mindsets of effective policy analysts
• Apply a framework to develop and critique policy claims using real-world topics collaboratively
• Compare APA and PLAIN writing styles
• Explore broader critical frameworks and consider how they expand the scope of policy practice
• Reflect on the structural causes of poverty and explore potential policy responses
• Identify and evaluate the components of a well-structured policy claim