One of the most common interview techniques of criminal justice employers is the “writing proficiency test.” A criminal justice agency might ask an interviewee, after the verbal portion of the interview, to compose a letter or other document for the potential employer to review. This is a test of the interviewee’s ability to effectively communicate in written form. It is arguable that interviewees who recognized early in their academic careers the importance of developing proficient writing skills welcome the opportunity to separate themselves from the pack and to outshine the rest of the applicants. However, those who choose not to learn APA format and documentation during their college careers might be a bit more apprehensive about such a request during the interview process.

You are interviewing to become employed in the position of your choice. During the interview you are asked by the potential employer to conduct research in an area related to the field and to compose a paper demonstrating your ability to write proficiently, use proper grammar, use properly spelled words, utilize research resources, and implement APA format and documentation. State at the beginning of your paper what job you are interviewing for and what topic you are researching. Do not forget your title page and your reference page.

Writing Tips:

Remember to create in-text citations for every source you use to create a sentence for your paper.

Every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference on the reference page of your paper.

All homework assignments must be in APA format. They must have a title page, body, and reference page.

Every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference on the reference page of your paper.

Papers must be double spaced, using 10-12 point font, with one inch margins all the way around.

Tip: Website addresses are NOT references; they are links to websites only.

A reference contains four basic parts: An Author, year, title, and publisher. A website address does not contain those parts and is, therefore, not a reference.

Please do not include only a website address as a “source” in your references list.