Term Paper Project and its Component Parts:

Introduction: In this section, your core task is to frame a position for a larger piece of work. Your goal is to build a case as to the vitality of choosing your crime for analysis. In it, you will lay out a road map and prescription of analysis (one page).

You should have roughly five sources to build your case.

Background Research: The research section is designed to analyze and pull together all of the empirical research that has been conducted on your topic.

It is to your advantage to organize this section in a comprehensive and organized manner. Once you have read through the material, the last paragraph should spell out two or three key questions that you will analyze in the remaining sections of this project. You should find 5-10 academic references for this section (2-4 pages).

Data and analysis: In this section, your task is to examine data. There should be two, and maybe three, forms used. First, you should identify the historical trends and directional patterns of this aspect of civil litigation.

Second, you should be able to delineate specific empirical patterns for your study. Finally, you should dig deeply into the data (even qualitative types) to tell a story. The data will directly impact the nature of your policy recommendation later (two - four pages).