Sources for Articles
Your assignment begins with your selection of an article related to individual or social choices. References to a number of articles can be found on the course website from sources including the New York Times, the Seattle Times, Gary Becker's economics blog, Science Daily and the Wall Street Journal. You may use one of these articles; however, you are encouraged to find an appropriate article on your own. You may not select the same article as someone else that you know in the class (including ECO 103 students from previous semesters). You may work together with classmates as long as a separate article is chosen and separate report is submitted for each individual in your group.
Required Elements
Your written report must include the following three elements:
Article Summary – Provide a clear summary version of the story presented in the article. Use separate paragraphs (or complete sentences in bullet point form) to summarize the relevant arguments, facts or examples.
Economic Analysis – Discuss one or more issues from the article in the context of economic models referenced in ECO 103. What economic concepts are most relevant for thinking about the news story? Provide a clear and concise explanation of the relevant economic concepts. Use economic analysis to help your reader understand the individual or social choices in the story. In some cases it may be helpful to provide related examples that illustrate the same economic concepts.
Diagram (or Equation) – Create at least one original diagram (or equation) to complement your written economic analysis. Your diagram should be based on one of the theoretical models explored this semester with specific application to your article. The diagram should be clearly labeled and you should refer to the diagram in the text of your economic analysis.
Additional Information
Your report will be handed in as a hard copy (no electronic submissions). The paper should be typed, one and a half to two pages in length, and use reasonable margins, spacing and fonts. Be sure to use your own words (even when restating information from the article) as lifting text without quotes or appropriate notation is a form of plagiarism. Grading criteria include the quality of your work on each of the three elements described above as well as overall presentation. Reports may be submitted at any date between March 17 and April 23. Please turn them in at the beginning of class or during office hours.
