Each student is required to write a final paper in the form of a national intelligence estimate. Students will select one threat found within the 2024 Worldwide Threat Assessment https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ATA-2024-Unclassified-Report.pdf
The national intelligence estimate must follow the NIE format found below:
https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Special%20Report_ICA%20Global%20Water%20Security.pdfLinks to an external site.
Your paper must include the following four sections:
1. Scope Note
2. Key Judgments
3. Risks and Opportunities
4. Discussions
NIEs are forward looking documents. So, the focus of your paper will be to assess, long term, how the threat/issue will continue to affect the United States in the coming months and years.
You should narrow your topic. For example, rather than writing an NIE on terrorism, your paper should focus on a specific group such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, etc. Rather than writing on China, you might want to examine China’s Navy, or its cyber operations. The more narrow your focus, the stronger the research and assessment will be.
Following are guidelines, expectations and requirements for completing the NIE:
The paper must reflect your original work.
You must include proper source citations within the text and a list of references or bibliography at the end of the paper. Wikipedia is not considered a valid source for academic papers.
The NIE must be completed and submitted as a Word document.