Learning Objectives for Interns
A primary goal of the Project Vote Smart internship program is to increase interns' knowledge of the legislative process and help interns acquire critical thinking and writing skills that will assist them in their careers. To that end, the following learning objectives are proposed for all interns, regardless of whether or not academic credit is sought.
Over the course of the internship program, all Project Vote Smart interns should:
- Become thoroughly familiar with the legislative process on both the state and Congressional levels;
- Be able to obtain information about legislation from a variety of sources and locate relevant existing law in the revised statutes and U.S. Code;
- Become proficient at identifying the intent and key provisions of a wide variety of bills, some of which may be lengthy, complex, and contain technical language; and
- Develop a writing style that is clear, concise and non-partisan, and use it to describe relevant aspects of a bill while omitting superfluous information.
Interns are also encouraged to think carefully about what they would like to gain from the experience and to set their own personal and professional goals. Any questions about the educational or professional development components of the internship should be directed to your supervisor.
Note: All interns will work on state level bills, but only those who express the interest in working on national legislation to their supervisor will be considered for the move to congressional bills. Interns who are introduced to congressional work will demonstrate excellent attention to detail, understanding of complex bills and consistency in the clarity and structure of bill summaries. Congressional work will be at the discretion of the intern supervisors based on the needs of the department.
