| Jim Whitney |
Economics 101 |
Writing assignment 5: Analysis of News Article
The final writing assignment for the class is designed
to give you an opportunity to apply the tools developed in the course to
a specific, current economic issue or event.
Step 1: Locate a recent article in a newspaper
or newsmagazine which deals in some depth with an economic issue. By "recent"
I mean that the article must have appeared sometime during the present
school term. An example of an "in depth" article would be a detailed analysis
or editorial concerning some recent economic development or policy proposal.
The article you select might involve some key analytical error that the
journalist makes, but such articles can be hard to find. So instead, your
article might deal with one or several key concepts in the course: opportunity
cost, price controls, taxes and subsidies, externalities, market power,
economic discrimination, fiscal policy, monetary policy, budget deficits,
and so forth. Tips:
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Good sources of appropriate articles include Business Week, The
Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The New York
Times, your hometown newspaper, or the library's Lexis-Nexis
Academic Universe.
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The article you select is crucial. Finding the most suitable article may
take you more time than writing the paper itself. Consider selecting at
least three possible articles, highlighting the passages you would analyze
for each one, and brainstorming the key points you would make. Then select
the best article for you to use, one that gives you several opportunities
for in-depth applications of course tools.
You do not have to get my approval for the article you select, but you
may run it by me for a "green light" if you are not sure whether or not
it is appropriate for this assignment.
Step 2: You should then write a two-to-three
page paper (typewritten and double-spaced, with standard fonts and
margins) in which you apply the tools of the course to interpret some key
point or points made in the article. Please keep the following advice and
requirements in mind:
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Consider including appropriate diagrams along with your text. Diagrams
do not count as part of the 2-3 page limit.
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Consider your audience to be your classmates.
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Make your paper hang together well as a free-standing piece of writing.
A reader should be able to read and understand your analysis without referring
back to the article itself.
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Incorporate specific information from the article in your paper, but be
careful to avoid simply summarizing the article. I am particularly interested
in seeing that you can apply the tools of the course to what you read in
the news, so analysis of the article you choose is crucial.
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Turn in a copy of your article along with your paper.
Your paper will be graded on the quality of your analysis and the effectiveness
with which you communicate your ideas. This paper is the most heavily weighted
writing assignment of the term and the caliber of your writing definitely
counts, so if writing problems have been a concern in the earlier assignments
of the course, consider seeking assistance from the writing tutors at the
Center for Teaching and Learning.
Sample papers online:
Microeconomic
topic
Macroeconomic
topic