Policy memo
DC-format memo. Bottom-line up front, analysis, options, recommendation. Built for researchers and analysts who need a structured, sourced answer they can stand behind.
Key highlights
Bottom line up front
The recommendation in the first two sentences — the way decision-makers read.
Three real options
Distinct paths with pros, cons, and the second-order effects each triggers.
Clinical, no hedging
Tight, declarative prose under 1500 words — no fluff to wade through.
Names what would change it
The recommendation states the evidence that would flip the call.
About this template
A policy memo exists to help someone decide. This template writes one in the DC format decision-makers expect: bottom line up front in two sentences, the minimum background the call needs, a clear-eyed analysis of the live causal claim, three distinct options with their second-order effects, and a recommendation that says what would change it.
The tone is clinical — no hedging, no padding, under 1500 words — because a memo that buries the recommendation is a memo nobody acts on. Use it to brief a principal, frame a board decision, or force your own thinking into a shape you can defend.
Model Diplomat vs. generic AI
The same prompt in a general chatbot can produce something that reads right and isn't. Here's the difference.
| Aspect | This template | ChatGPT / generic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | Primary documents, cited and openable | Often fabricated, or none at all |
| Format | Structured brief with a synthesis you can cite | An unstructured summary you have to organize |
| Verifiability | Every claim checkable against its source | No way to tell what's real |
| Built for the work | Tuned for diplomacy, politics, and law | General-purpose, not domain-aware |
| Cost | Free to start | — |
Who it's for
Policy analysts and researchers
Producing a policy memo they can cite and stand behind.
Students and pre-law readers
Getting a structured, sourced footing on an unfamiliar issue fast.
Journalists and writers
Grounding a piece in primary sources before deadline.
Briefers and chiefs of staff
Turning a tangle of facts into something a decision-maker can act on.
What you'll fill in
A preview of the one field you'll complete in the composer — the rest is written for you.
The prompt
This is what lands in your composer — edit the [blanks] and send.
Write a policy memo on: "[the decision to be made]". Format strictly: (1) BLUF — bottom line up front in two sentences; (2) Background — the smallest set of facts the decision needs; (3) Analysis — the live causal claim and its evidence; (4) Options — three distinct paths with pros, cons, and second-order effects; (5) Recommendation with rationale and what would change it. Clinical tone, no hedging, no fluff. Maximum 1500 words.
Start from this template
Model Diplomat fills it in with answers grounded in primary sources — every claim comes with a citation you can check.
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