Immigration Policy

This assignment is a 4 – 5 page academic essay exploring an immigration policy of your choice with attention to the intended and unintended consequences the policy has on immigrant communities. Your essay should advance an argument (eg. thesis) about your selected immigration policy and this argument should be developed and supported throughout your essay with high-quality sources. The following is a recommended template for your essay that outlines the key components that you will be graded on. You are welcome to change the suggested ordering of content to support the logical development and flow of your essay.

Introduction (1 paragraph, 5 points)
• Include an interesting and effecting opening sentence that establishes the context of the selected immigration policy
• Introduce the immigration policy to be discussed; the immigration policy introduced is appropriate for the assignment
• If applicable, clarify if you are examining a particular aspect of an immigration policy (eg. employer sanctions within IRCA)
• Conclude with a multi-dimensional thesis statement
• An effective introduction will provide the reader with a general sense of the essay’s direction and aims

Body paragraphs (~ 3 – 5 paragraphs, 10 points)
• Overview of the immigration policy
o Sufficient information is provided about the immigration policy regarding the key stakeholders, scope and reach, affected groups, and motivations and intended outcomes.
• Analysis of the immigration policy
o Does this policy promote inclusion or exclusion, or both?
o What makes this a successful or unsuccessful policy? Why?
o If relevant, does the immigration policy share any similarities to other policies that could provide insight into the selected policy?
o Consider what we can learn from this policy to inform future policy development and suggest areas for change.
o Develop a discussion around the extent to which the policy has met its intended objectives and/or resulted in unintended consequences.
o Analysis should be supported by prior research on the policy or similar policies
• Organize body paragraphs to support your thesis statement and ensure logical presentation and development of ideas.
• Claims and arguments advanced in the body paragraphs are supported by high-quality sources using in-text ASA style citations.

Conclusion (1 paragraph, 5 points)
• Summarize key points from analysis
• Demonstrate support for thesis statement
• Suggest future directions for policy development or research

Grammar, mechanics, formatting and other important elements (5 points)
• Formatting requirements: 1-inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font
• A reference page with the cited sources in ASA style
• There are at least five sources used throughout the essay, with a minimum of two that are peer-reviewed
• The essay is organized into paragraphs that support the logical flow and development of ideas
• Grammatical errors that remain after proofreading should not impede the clarity of your writing
• The overall tone of the essay is formal

Recommended resources: Elements of the academic essay
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