Download Writing a term essay

Writing an essay
Preparation
• Make sure you understand what the question is asking you
and you are focusing on the question. (1)
• Try and work out the main point of the question.
• Map out your answer before reading. Use the lecture notes
as a guide to this mapping. (2)
• Begin with the standard literature on the subject.
• Avoid committing yourself to build up your own arguments,
including undertaking empirical studies, in answer to the
question.
Introduction
• Indicate at the start of the introduction your understanding of
the question.
• Indicate the focus of your proposed answer. In this way you
will get depth in your answer.
• If the question is very broad try and narrow it, and justify how
you intend to narrow it. (1)
• Sometimes questions are ambiguous. Hence it is a good idea
to indicate the ambiguity in the question and how you intend
to interpret it. (2)
• Outlining your proposed approach indicating the sorts of
issues you intend to address and line of argumentation you
intend to develop in the substantive part of the paper. (3)
Changing the question
Question
Where has most investment finance come from in
successful developing countries? Answer with reference
to a country or countries of your choice.
Title of essay
Profit and government intervention as the fuel of
successful developing economies: Empirical evidences of
China, Japan and South Korea.
Broad question – example 1
Economic liberalisation has been detrimental to
the development of many developing countries.
Discuss.
Broad question – example 2
Can the spectacular growth performance of
China be attributed to economic liberalization
policies?
Broad and vague question – example 1
Assess competing explanations for the
continuing problems in the world economy.
The substantive part
• In essays of limited length make sure the bulk of the
substantive part is directly focused on the core of what is
required in answer to the question. (1-2)
• Avoid giving your own views on the subject matter of the
question without first referring to the literature.
• Try and use literature which is recognised as the core work on
the subject at hand and not simply random articles drawn
from the internet.(3)
• Do not simply present arguments without critically appraising
them (i.e., avoid saying X said this and Y said that).
• Presenting counter arguments is not an acceptable criticism
of an argument. Alternative evidence is not a criticism of the
evidence presented by proponents of an argument.
Concluding section
• Make sure you indicate your basic answer to the
question, and indicate the key points you have made
in the text pertaining to this answer.(1)
• Avoid introducing new analysis in the concluding
section.
• Do not present policy implications unless these are
required by the question.
Other
• Use short sentences (1)
• Avoid jargon
• Provide citations to materials you have
used
• Include a list of references
Examples of problems
Question 1
Q. To what extent can the recent world
economic crisis be attributed to the mercantilist
policies of Asian countries?
Introduction
In answer to the question the paper will ….c)
Look at the evolution of the recent world
economic crisis, explaining the nature of the
crisis and what it meant for the global economy,
and d) Provide an explanation the causes of the
crisis as advanced by three main theoretical
perspectives.
Substantive part
• Define key terms-‘ economic crisis’ and ‘mercantilism’ along with its
variants (financial and monetary mercantilism). Explain the evolution and
effects of the economic crisis using stylised facts.
• Explain briefly that mercantilism is not a new phenomena and see how
previously it was pursued vigorously by west.
• Explain the mercantilist policies pursued by East Asian countries.
• Explain how these policies have been argued to be one of the causes of
the crisis (an explanation mainly advanced by orthodox and neoclassical
economists). After this additional explanations of the same crisis by the
same school will be provided.
• Thereafter there will be brief outline of two other theoretical
perspectives explaining the causes of economic crisis (i.e the Neoclassical
and Heterodox perspectives) without explicitly mentioning the theoretical
perspective under discussion. The purpose of this is to give contradicting
views about what caused the crises.
Question 2
Q. Can the spectacular growth performance of
China be attributed to economic liberalization
policies?
Conclusions
• The last section will draw conclusions about the
primary causes of the spectacular growth of China.
By considering the historical background of China’s
economy, as well as tracking each of the policy
implementations related to growth, one can
conclude that China is following its own, unique,
State-driven development path, gradually applying
some liberal policies in the spheres where they
could be implemented in a most efficient way.
Question 3
Q. Where has most investment finance come
from in successful developing countries? Answer
with reference to a country or countries of your
choice.
Introduction
The first part will indicate what is meant by ‘investment
finance’ and how it could impact the economic
growth. The second part will look to develop the
argument that foreign financing has been the most
important source of investment financing and the main
cause of fast economic growth in successful developing
countries. The third part will present recent evidence
pertaining to the case of China to support the
argument.
Substantive part
• Will analyse international capital mobility and the relationship with
economic growth.
• There will also be a brief explanation of the argument that trade
liberalization and the liberalization of capital flows leads to economic
growth…
• There will be an analysis of deregulation of banks and markets and
financial innovation in developing countries…
• The essay will consider the characteristics of the group of countries
known as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the
impact of their fast economic growth both regionally and globally..
• There will be a study of the composition and evolution of investment
finance in China, and a further analyse of its new position as “the world's
largest recipient of FDI”