Internship in Economics 4445 Report Guidelines

Writing Your Report

Your report should consist of at least three major sections: (1) description of your internship company, (2) description of your internship duties and responsibilities, (3) analysis of economics concepts. In terms of approximate emphasis and relative length, place about one-third on each. Because every internship is unique, you may find it necessary to emphasize one more than the other sections. Do not let any of these sections fall below 20% emphasis or relative length. 

Description of your Internship Company

Here are some possible areas of your description. Describe the relevant operations of your internship company. You may want to describe its product/service lines. Historical information on its growth or movement into or out of markets is also useful. The organizational structure can be related. With very large companies, you may need to restrict most of your descriptions to your division or a more specific area of the company in which you are working.

Description of your Internship Duties and Responsibilities

This section of your report aims to communicate the specific duties, activities, assignments, functions, tasks, responsibilities, requirements, and other experiences that were involved in your internship. Creative ways interns have written this section include job descriptions, diary or chronological descriptions of experiences, compilations of memos and/or other directions from superiors, and straight narratives.

Analysis of Concepts in Economics

This section is the most important in that it is where you identify specific economic concepts you are applying, ones you see being applied by the company either correctly or incorrectly, and/or ones you do not see being applied but that you believe should be applied. In this section, you should draw not only from your experiences but use economics textbooks, company records and other materials, and references such as trade journals, business periodicals, or other sources.

Report Length

The required minimum length is 25 pages for a 3-hour internship (100 hours of practical work experience). Text pages should be double-spaced. This length includes exhibits, tables, references, etc.

Report Due Date and Grading

Your report is due to your supervising instructor by the date of the first final exam during the semester you are registered.

Note: This is a pass/fail course. 

Note: If you decide to drop this class after you have submitted your internship description form, please notify Richard Stahl (abyssean@lsu.edu).