Guidelines For Writing Internship Papers

(Govt, Hist, Crim 454) 

  1. Length:  minimum 25 pages, maximum 35 pages (not including graphs, charts, etcetera), typed, double spaced, 12 point font.
  2. After 2 weeks, you must call or visit or e-mail your decision on the topic.
  3. Journal articles for your research of paper must come from the following list of journals or others approved by the professor. 

Government Interns:

Political Science Quarterly, Public Administration Review, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Opinion, Public Personnel Management, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Policy Analysis, Policy Studies Journal, Policy Studies Review, Public Interest, Privatization Review, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, 

Criminal Justice Interns:

American Journal of Criminal Justice,  American Journal of Police, American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, British Journal of Criminology, Canadian Journal of Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, Crime, Law, & Social Change, Criminal Justice Behavior, Criminology, Deviant Behavior, International CJ Review, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Journal of Crime & Justice, Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and Justice Quarterly.

  1. Topic must reflect both an internship activity/interest and in-depth research of that activity or interest.
  2. Must include at least 3 tables or graphs (figures, not including handouts or other written materials for an agency/organization etc.) and include appropriate end and support pages.
  3. Must include pertinent citations and footnotes, all correctly done according to proper style  (Note:  Criminal Justice Interns must use the APA citation style).
  4. Pages must be numbered appropriately, starting with a table of contents.
  5. While the topic of your paper must concern some central issue you are involved with at the work‑site, it is important that the paper do much more than simply describe your duties and observations while at the work‑site.  Your paper must also show that you performed some significant amount of research at the library(s).  Central to your paper should be the relationship between the internship, the topic of your paper, and the political, historical, social, legal or criminal justice impact(s) of the subject of your paper.  In short, the paper should be neither an abstract philosophical argument nor a description of duties or actions performed, but a well balanced research paper on a topic relevant to your appointment. 
  6. Your paper should not merely describe an issue or topic (that is called a "term‑paper").  Your paper should include an explanation of a topic, a historical perspective, opinions of opponents or proponents, explanations of problems and benefits involved, the current or possible future impact on today's government or criminal justice system, comparisons of other agencies or governments and their resolution to problems presented and current and future social, economic, religious or political implications if applicable. 
  7. Begin with a thesis statement that clearly defines the goals and intent of your paper.  Then explain the topic or policy and the problem or conflict at hand.  Be sure to frame the issue from a literature review and include enough historical information so that the reader can understand your paper in the broader context of the ongoing administrative issues.  Discuss the current status of the topic or problem. Identify pro's and con's.  Include other contributing factors or mitigating circumstances pertinent to the topic or policy. Clearly summarize your findings or analysis.  Your references should include at least fifteen (15) journal articles (news articles may be used, if pertinent, but do not count toward the total number of references), seven (7) books from which supportive information has been drawn, interviews from policy officials (local, state, judicial, etc.) if relevant and obtainable, and information available from sources at your work site.  Any articles retrieved from the Internet must have a journal title, an article title, an author, date, etc.  If it doesn't, then you don't know if it is legitimate.  (Note: for CJ, be sure to cite your web-based resources according to the APA (4th ed.) guidelines for electronic media).

  8. Given the above, your final paper will include:

    a.    Cover page (see item #12 below)

    b.   Table of contents

    c.    Citations within the text of the paper,

    d.   Footnotes within the text of the paper, when necessary (not applicable to CJ-APA style)

    e.    A citations page (not applicable to CJ-APA style)

    f.     A bibliography (works consulted page), and

    g.    End notes page, when necessary (not applicable to CJ-APA style).

  9. Do not hand your paper in enclosed in a binder or folder of any type.  Use only standard paper with one staple (no paper clips) in the upper left‑hand corner.  The cover page (title page) will state in the exact middle of the page only the following:

(Your Name)

(Paper's Title)

Govt 454, Hist 454, or Crim 454

(Date) 

 13.  Papers will be graded according to the following more specific requirements:

a.       Substance of the paper will be graded according to the above directives, insight, creative thinking, interpretation, clarity, and degree of supportive research.

b.      Grammatical mistakes will cause loss of grade levels (e.g., spelling, punctuation, fragmented sentences, and run‑on sentences).  More mistakes will mean greater loss of grade levels.

c.       A thesis statement must begin the paper.  Providing a weak or missing thesis statement in the paper may again seriously affect the grade.

d.      Missing or incorrectly prepared support pages (citations, works consulted, end notes, etc.) will affect the paper and may result in grade reduction.

Date Last Modified:  Spring 2001