Recent Question/Assignment

Assignment (Microeconomics): Hardcopy and Electronic copy via Blackboard
OBJECTIVE of Assignment: You are to apply microeconomic theory to explain and analyse an article.
School of Economics and Finance
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1. You are to select a newspaper/magazine/web article for your microeconomic analysis.
a. The main article must relate to ANY two or more of the topics (L1 to L5, i.e. chapters 1 – 5)
covered in the lecture program.
b. The main article must have been written after 1st May, 2016.
c. Article can be internationally focused, so long as it’s in English.
d. You should back up some of your key points or use for data purposes by having several
relevant supplementary articles—either from peer-reviewed journals or other relevant topicrelated news sources. You should cite your use of other sources via appropriate in-text referencing.
e. Your microeconomics diagrams can either be hand-drawn and then scanned and inserted as a 'picture' into your working document, or be drawn by using appropriate computer/web software such as using the textbook's MyEconLab.
2. You need to submit both a hardcopy AND electronic copy via Bb:
a. Hardcopy of your assignment INCLUDING a printed copy of your main article + official COVER SHEET is due by 5pm on Monday 2nd May, in Week 8. Hand in your hardcopy to the front office of the School of Economics and Finance, Building 402, Level 5. The official School of Economics and Finance Cover Sheet is available for download on Bb. Cover sheet - student’s name, student ID, unit name, tutorial day and time, tutor’s name, and student’s signature. Complete the check list before submitting! For the hardcopy, the Cover sheet must be ‘date stamped’.
b. Electronic copy via Blackboard (Bb) EXCLUDING the copy of your main article and excluding the official cover sheet is due by 5pm. Yet make sure the front page of your electronic copy includes: student's name, student ID, unit name, tutorial day/time, and tutor’s name.
3. 1500-1800 words (excluding reference list).
4. The essay must be word processed in an editable Microsoft Word document or PDF (sorry, no PAGES files). Keep in mind the following essential formatting requirements:
a. single-spaced
b. line spacing between each paragraph
c. body of text justified
d. font size 12 in Calibri or Verdana
e. 2.5cm margins on the Left & Right
f. 2.0cm margins on the Top & Bottom
g. pages to be consecutively numbered and identified
• Students should allow a 2 to 3 week marking turnaround for written assignments. It is the student’s responsibility to keep electronic copies of their assignment. The assignment must be submitted to ‘Turnitin’—instructions are on Bb.
• The main article must have been written after 1st May, 2016. Please check the date/month/year of the main article before you show the article to the tutor, as tutor is not responsible if you choose the incorrect date/month/year. Assignment will not be marked if date of article is before the time specified.
• Strictly no time extensions are available under normal circumstances, as there is plenty of time in advance to plan and work on the assignment.
In summary, you are to select a newspaper/magazine/web article for economic analysis. The article must relate to two or more
of the microeconomics topics (chapters 1 - 5) covered in the lecture program. The article must also have been written after 1st
May, 2016. You are to apply relevant economic theory to explain and analyse your chosen article. Refer to the ‘An Inside
Look’ section at the end of each chapter in the textbook for examples. The assignment should be approximately 1500-1600
words in length and include (where relevant) well-labelled diagrams. When submitting the hardcopy, include a signed copy
of the official ECON1000 assignment COVER SHEET, and a printed copy of the main article showing date and source is to be
included with the analysis.
It is also very important to discuss the choice of topic/article with your tutor well before the submission date (sorry, but no
detailed discussion about the assignment will take place via email, unless you talk to your tutor in person about it first). You
will have the opportunity to discuss the assignment with your tutor in your tutorial in Week 6. You should be presenting
your assignment in essay style, where the body of the essay is divided into the following four (4) sections:
introduction; analysis; conclusions; and references.
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Layout of Student's Assignment:
1. Cover Sheet (with appropriate identifying details)
2. Introduction (including economic concepts/theories to be applied)
3. Analysis (application of theory to article, including well-labelled diagrams)
4. Conclusions (refer to marking rubric)
5. References (use Chicago style)
6. Main Article Copy {for hardcopy only} - showing date and source
Visit the Bb site for some notes on preparing the assignment. But you can always check with your local tutor about planning and preparing your
assignment. The essay-assignment is worth a value of 20. As a rough guide, the score is out of 60 divided by 3, and is allocated as follows:
Introduction (summary of key issues in article) = 5
Outline of theory from course relevant to article = 10
Application of theory to article (i.e. range and depth of your analysis) = 20
Drawing of diagrams and use of data = 5
Evidence and quality of research = 10
*Conclusions (i.e. recommendations/implications) = 10
TOTAL = 60
* = Conclusions are not simply a summary of what has already been said for which there are NO marks. For instance, you must show who has gained, who has lost
(or who is worse off), changes likely to occur in short run and in long run, deal with issues such as should the government intervene and if so how? (or if not, why not?),
will there be any permanent changes? or will market return to the previous equilibrium? … or any other relevant (policy?) aspects.
ECON1000 2016 Essay Marking Rubric
ISSUES & THEORY
• Introduction of key issues
(sets the scene: main article title, author(s), when? where? what?) out of 5
• Outline of relevant theory
(concise definitions of microeconomic concepts, gives reasons for the theories and issues to be analysed) out of 10
ANALYSIS
• Application of theory to article
(sufficient depth of coverage, concepts clearly understood and applied, logically developed argument) out of 20
• Drawing of diagrams and/or use of data out of 5
• Evidence and quality of research
(good use of available information in the main article, effective use of supplementary sources) out of 10
CONCLUSIONS
• Implications and/or policy recommendations
(follows logically from the information in the analysis)
out of 10
Score out of 60 / 3 Final Mark Out of 20
Penalties will apply for late assignments. An important part of assignment writing is to correctly reference the sources of information that you have
used. Correctly referencing your work will help to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism means presenting the work or property of another person as one’s
own, without appropriate acknowledgement or referencing (the copying of other people’s work and/or ideas). Plagiarism is a form of cheating. The
penalty for plagiarism is a mark of zero and possible expulsion from the unit and/or course of study.
On referencing, do not plagiarise (see below). Referencing is a (standardised) method of acknowledging any sources of information and ideas
which are not your own. Referencing enables you, and the reader, to clearly identify the source of information in your assignment. References
should be properly cited in the body of the assignment, using Chicago. Note the following:
i. If you are using a direct quote, put the quote in inverted commas.
ii. Quotes from books should show the author, date and page number.
iii. A paraphrase means that you have condensed a whole paragraph into one or two sentences of your own. In such cases, you must
acknowledge the reference source but do not put it in inverted commas. However, changing one or two words from a quote is NOT a
paraphrase, nor is it a quote, so do not do this. Just use the quote.
iv. Internet sources should identify the writer (if available) and the title and the date, plus the date accessed.

Lectures:
1. What is Economics? (chp 1)
2. Demand and Supply (chp 2)
3. Elasticity (chp 3)
4. Economic Efficiency (chp 4)
5. Behavioural Economics and Asymmetric Information (chp 5)

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