Assignment:
Assignment Objective
The objective of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to:
•Apply the analytical skills and intuition obtained in your economics courses to examine an economic issue in which you have a special interest; and
•Learn how to write a formal report.
Assignment Format
For this assignment, you are to submit a report which involves the application of microeconomic theory to explain some aspect(s) of an industry, or to analyze the effect(s) of a public policy..
Your report must be double-spaced. It must include in-text citations and a works cited page using the updated 2009 M.L.A. documentation style. Use at least six to eight varied sources (books, journal articles from databases, approved web sites). At least one of your sources must be an academic economic publication. Copies of all cited sources must be attached to your paper. Before turning in your assignment, you are encouraged to have it reviewed by one of your fellow students in the class.
1. Topic
You must submit a one-page paper carefully explaining the chosen topic. Make sure it pertains to microeconomic theory. Please start by writing one sentence (bold type) describing clearly the question or topic you want to analyze.
In this first part of the assignment, you should try to answer the following questions:
a. What am I trying to show?
b. Why should people care? Why is it interesting?
Be careful that your project is not too general/ambitious. Please narrow the topic to some specific aspect of a more general question. Remember that well-defined topics are easier to complete successfully. Be clear and concise. The more precise you are, the easier it will be to provide you with feedback.
2. Outline
You must submit a 2-3 page paper giving a clear outline of your project.
It should contain:
•A title page that includes the title of the report, your name, and the date on which you are submitting the paper.
•A clear introduction describing the topic you chose and the way you have decided to analyze it. The first sentence of your introduction should answer the question: what am I trying to show?
•A summary of your essential ideas or arguments. Try to limit yourself to 3 main points. You should separate each point by having different sections/paragraphs. Feel free to make subsections where needed.
•A conclusion in which you restate the question you are analyzing, summarize the main points you developed and present the results you drew from that analysis.
•A reference section (or bibliography) where you list the references used.
•You may add an appendix for graphs, data or mathematical derivations.
Be clear and concise. Try to present your main points as sharply as you can. Make sure that your arguments are coherent and think carefully about the structure of your paper.