1. Find an article related to the topics discussed in class. This is not difficult because almost any article in the news relates at some level to the basic questions that we explore in this course (e.g. opportunity cost, supply and demand, marginal analysis, etc…) The article should be no older than the first day of class, i.e. 01/13/12 , and should come from a plausible source. Here are a few good sources: www.economist.com, www.wsj.com,  www.nytimes.com, www.bbc.com, but you are welcome to use others as well.

2. Write a short response paper of at least 700 words. Your paper should be typed (Times New Roman, 12 pts, 1 and 1/2 spacing, standard margins, no cover page) and  have two sections:  (a) summary of the article, and (b) relation to course material. The first section should be a concise and clear summary of the article — what is the main point/argument that the author of the article is trying to make. The second should be a discussion of how the article relates to course material. I am more interested in this latter part of your paper, which should be the lion’s share of it. Using graphs is a good way to show that you understand basic ideas. If you decide to do this you can draw them with a pencil and attach them to your paper as an Appendix.

3. Bring your summary to class. Starting on the sixth week of classes (Feb 24th), I will start calling students randomly (two to four students per lecture) to quickly tell us what their article is about and how it relates to the ideas discussed in class. The presentations will be informal and will be no longer than 3-5 minutes with a follow-up discussion. The most interesting and well-written articles will be added to the course webpage and will receive bonus points.

GRADING

Your in-class presentation will not be graded. However, if you are not in class when your name is called to present (or you don’t have your paper ready), you will miss the opportunity to turn in your paper, and therefore you will receive no points for this assignment (which is worth 10% of your final grade). No make-up will be accepted.

Since my experience shows that students rarely read the comments made on their papers, I will use the following grading rubric to give you feedback about your work. You are welcome, of course, to bring your paper to my office and further discuss it with me.