Writing Project:
The goal of this project is to have students analyze a recent issue of poverty or discrimination found the popular press using economic concepts. The following are some guidelines that you need to follow as you do the project.
1. The article must come from a recognizable source. It can come from a newspaper, news magazine, or from the website of a news source (e.g. CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, etc.) Remember, however, that it needs to be a relatively substantial piece of reporting for you to be able to analyze it. If you are not sure if it is appropriate, please see me sooner rather than later.2. The goal of this exercise is for you to apply the concepts and analytical issues that you learn in this class to a 'real world' application as reported in the media. The topic of the article must cover either poverty or discrimination (or both).
3. The paper should be 4-5 pages in length, double spaced in 12 point font and 1 inch margins. The first section of the paper should summarize the article, while the second section (the main section of the paper) will contain the analysis as outlined above. A final section briefly summarizes what you have said in the paper. If you wish, you can put any opinions about the article that you are reviewing in this concluding section. However, these opinions should not appear anywhere else in the paper.
- If the article is about poverty, analyze it in the context that we discussed poverty in the first several weeks of class. Therefore, first identify which of the 'Three Explanations of Poverty' form the basis for the article and explain why you think it comes from this point-of-view. Then, criticize this assumption with one of the other theories. (For example, if the article's assumption is that 'Flawed Character' is the cause of poverty, criticize the article from the 'Restricted Opportunity' or 'Big Brother' point-of-view.)
- If the article is about discrimination, analyze it in the context of the economic theories (the neoclassical or political economy theories) examined in the class. Explain how it fits in one of these theories and then criticize it from the alternative theory. (That is, if it is based on a neoclassical interpretation of discrimination, explain why you think this and then offer a criticism from the political economy theory point-of-view.)
4. Be sure to attach a copy of the article to the back of your paper. Make sure that it has the name of the newspaper or magazine and the date of publication written somewhere on it if you copy it from a newspaper or magazine. If you take the article from the web, make sure that the name of the website and the web address are listed as well as the date that you accessed the page.
5. Spelling, grammar and overall appearance do count towards the final grade.
6. HINT: Make your life easier by choosing an article that clearly identifies one of the theories discussed in class. This will make the writing much easier. This may mean that you need to search a bit to find the right article, but it is generally worth it to invest a bit of time finding an article than wrestle with an article that may not easily fit into one of the theories.
Extra credit paper:
This essay will be no more than 3 pages long - using double spaced 12 point type and 1 inch margins. It should contain a short section summarizing the main issues in the video. The main part of the essay should evaluate the video along the following dimensions: