533573753
Foundations of Economic Analysis
Stratton
Essay #1
Objective: to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to apply learned
material to increase understanding of a specific, current situation they identify.
Introduction: during the semester we have been learning about economic tools that can help us
understand the world around us. So far, these topics have focused on microeconomic topics
(supply, demand, equilibrium price, elasticity, production, costs, and market structure). We have
endeavored to demonstrate how these tools can be applied in a variety of situations.
Instructions: Select a recent (no more than 12 months old) newspaper story, magazine article, or
other source on a topic of interest to you. Write a short essay that demonstrates your ability to
apply one or more microeconomic tools learned in this course to increase understanding of the
topic chosen.
Minimum Requirements (any papers that do not conform to these physical requirements will
not be graded and the student will receive no credit for this homework):
1.
The story, article, etc. that forms the basis of the essay is not more than 12 months old as
of the date the essay is due. A copy (electronic preferred, hard copy acceptable)
accompanies the submitted essay, with full citation.
2.
The paper is neat and professional, demonstrating a “good faith” effort by the student.
3.
The paper is reader ready. You have checked the spelling, grammar, syntax. You have
asked a classmate or someone else to read it. You have corrected all errors. If you have
not edited the paper, it is not reader ready.
4.
The paper uses standard edited English, including complete citations of quoted,
paraphrased, and consulted material.
5.
All sources and data must be cited according to professional standards. Could the reader
find the specific data you use with ease? If not, it is not properly cited. Be especially
careful of web citations! Since the Web is dynamic, you need to include the date you
accessed the site and any other identifying characteristics needed to find the source.
6.
Margins are set at 1” on all sides, the font is set no smaller than 12 point and the paper is
double-spaced.
7.
Top left of each page contains course name (Foundations of Economic Analysis);
number, and section (3250:600-xxx); essay identification. See example below.
8.
Top right of each page contains Student’s full name, preferred e-mail address, and date.
See example below.
9.
The essay is submitted as an electronic file. The file format must be MSWORD (.doc),
text (.txt), or rich text format (.rft).
10. The essay should be of an appropriate length. While I do not mandate a specific word
count, the essay must be long enough to demonstrate your abilities (cover the essentials)
but short enough to maintain the reader’s interest. Most students can do this in 300 to 400
words.
Foundations of Economic Analysis
Richard Stratton
3250:600-080
rws@uakron.edu
Essay #1 Microeconomics
September 4, 2005
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Grading Rubric:
The following identify the criteria I use to grade the essays and supply an indication of
characteristics of work grouped into different categories. I strongly suggest you use this rubric
when assessing the quality of your work before you submit it for grading.
Essays are graded on four criteria: Structure (10%), Knowledge (40%), Argumentation (40%) and
Striving for excellence (10%).
Structure: The essay should clearly and precisely define the topic, question or theme to be
addressed; develop the framework to analyze the topic, answer the question or address the
theme in the main section of the essay; and include a summary or conclusion at the end that
brings the essay to a satisfactory closure and clearly demonstrates how the analysis has
increased understanding. Below are characteristics of different levels of essays and the
points they will earn.
Distinguished (10) - Paper distinguishes itself from the ordinary, with a structure that is
uniquely effective.
Good (9 - 8) - Paper is well structured. It contains a clear and precise statement of
purpose, an introduction which contains a short summary and context of the topic, a main
section in which the ideas are fully developed, and a clear conclusion that demonstrates
how the analysis has increased understanding.
Acceptable (7) - Paper is adequately structured. It contains a statement of purpose, an
introduction which contains a short summary (but may lack context) of the topic, a main
section in which the ideas are developed, and a conclusion at least states how the analysis
has increased understanding.
Unsatisfactory (6) - Paper is not adequately structured. At least one section (purpose,
introduction, main section, and conclusion) fails to fulfill its purpose (and is inadequate)
or the section is missing.
Unacceptable or Missing (5 or less) - Paper is poorly structured. Multiple sections are
inadequate or missing. The structure renders the essay ineffective.
Knowledge:
Distinguished (40) - Paper distinguishes itself from the ordinary. The essay demonstrates
a level of economic knowledge seldom found at this level. The topic (article) selected and
the economic tools applied are especially well matched. Application of the tools is
detailed, accurate, and informative. The increased understanding of the topic
demonstrated is substantive. The essay clearly and accurately identifies key economic
concepts and uses economic terminology correctly.
Good (39 – 32) - The essay demonstrates command of economic knowledge. The topic
(article) selected and the economic tools applied are appropriate. Application of the tools
is accurate, and informative. Increased understanding of the topic is demonstrated. The
essay accurately identifies key economic concepts and uses economic terminology
correctly.
Acceptable (31 – 28) - The essay demonstrates an adequate knowledge of economics.
The topic (article) selected and the economic tools applied are appropriate. While the
explanation of the economic tools is accurate, the ability to apply them to the topic is not
clearly demonstrated. Some increased understanding of the topic is demonstrated. The
essay identifies key economic concepts and uses professional vocabulary.
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Unsatisfactory (27 – 24) - Paper fails to demonstrate an adequate command of
economics. The topic (article) selected and the economic tools applied may not be
appropriate. The explanation of the economic tools may not be accurate or the ability to
apply them to the topic is not clearly demonstrated. Increased understanding of the topic
may not be clearly demonstrated. However, the essay identifies at least some key
economic concepts and uses professional vocabulary.
Unacceptable or Missing (23 of less) - Paper fails to demonstrate an adequate knowledge
of economics in multiple areas. The topic (article) selected and the economic tools
applied may not be appropriate. The explanation of the economic tools may not be
accurate. The ability to apply economic tools is not demonstrated. Increased
understanding of the topic is not demonstrated. The essay may fail to identify key
economic concepts or fail to use professional vocabulary.
Argumentation:
Distinguished (40) - Paper distinguishes itself from the ordinary by the clarity, logical
flow, persuasiveness, and completeness of the argument.
Good (39 – 32) - Argument flows logically. It clearly and accurately summarizes the
important points of the article, uses appropriate supporting information from other
sources, and clearly states the student's conclusions which are based on the evidence
provided.
Acceptable (31 – 28) - Argument flows logically. It clearly and accurately summarizes
the important points of the article and clearly states the student's conclusions. It fails to
use appropriate supporting information from other sources.
Unsatisfactory (27 – 24) - Argument lacks logical flow. The summary of important points
of the article or the statement or support of the student's conclusions is inadequate.
Unacceptable or Missing (23 or less) - Paper fails to provide an adequate argument. The
summary of important points of the article and the statement and support of the student's
conclusions is inadequate.
Striving for Excellence and Creativity:
Distinguished (10) - The student's imprint is unmistakable and enhances the value of the
paper to the reader. Paper distinguishes itself from the ordinary by its professional
presentation, creative use of visuals, and/or clarity.
Good (9 – 8) - The paper clearly holds the imprint of the author. Original thought is
demonstrated by the organization, the integration of concepts and ideas, the approach, the
use of visuals, or other tangible traits. Presentation is neat and professional. The text
contains no errors, is easy to read and understand; all visuals used are well labeled, clear,
and effective, conveying information better than words; shows attention to details.
Acceptable (7) - The paper holds the imprint of the author. Some original thought is
demonstrated by the organization, the integration of concepts and ideas, the approach, the
use of visuals, or other tangible traits. Presentation is neat but not to professional
standards. Most visuals used are well labeled, clear, and effective; text contains no errors
and is easy to read & understand.
Unsatisfactory (6) - The paper may lack the imprint of the author. Little if any evidence
of original thought; primarily paraphrasing of others' ideas or work. Presentation is neat;
visuals used are labeled, but not effectively; text contains numerous errors, is difficult to
read or to understand. Little evidence of attention to details.
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Stratton
Unacceptable or Missing (5 or less) - Paper fails to provide evidence of pursuit of
excellence or creativity. Paper lacks any imprint from the student, little if any original
thought, and may use the work of others without giving full credit. Presentation is sloppy,
visuals are unlabeled, text contains numerous errors, and/or there is no evidence of
attention to detail.
Food for thought – self-evaluation:
1. Have I chosen an interesting topic and an appropriate article?
2. Does the article come from a reputable source?
3. Can I find an interesting and useful analysis which will reveal some aspect of the topic
that is not discussed in the article?
4. Have I identified the article and clearly summarize what it says?
5. Does the essay conform to the minimum standards for essays?
6. Is the essay well structured? Can you identify specific sections or examples to support
your evaluation?
7. Does the essay demonstrate economic knowledge? Can you point to specific examples to
support your assertion?
8. Are all economic concepts which are important to the analysis identified and explained?
9. Is the economic tool applied appropriate for the issue? Is the application accurate?
Detail?
10. Does the essay use profession language (terminology) throughout? Does it avoid slang
terms? Are the terms used accurately? Are there missed opportunities to further
demonstrate your knowledge?
11. Does the essay flow logically? Are statements later in the essay supported by earlier
statements? Are there any deviations from the main theme? Are these productive or do
they cause the reader confusion? How might you improve the argument or flow of the
essay?
12. Are assertions supported with data, citations, or other information? Are conclusions
based on the analysis?
13. Does the essay truly contributed to your understanding of the issue or merely paraphrased
the article? If the former, provide examples.
14. Is the essay free of grammatical and spelling errors? Are the graphs neat? Do they
contribute to the argument? Is the essay professional looking? Can you provide evidence
or examples of creativity?
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