Download current-economy

Mid semester evaluation: These will come back directly to me.
How is the course going overall?
Poorly
1
2
OK
3
4
What is working well? What do you like?
Suggestions for improving the second half of the course:
Really well
5
INTERMEDITATE MACRO PAPER: CURRENT STATE OF US ECONOMY
This template roughly indicates how I will grade your papers.
Points
5
Begin your paper with a mainstream assessment of how the economy is currently performing,
e.g., “well” or “poorly” or “mixed” or “experts disagree.” “Mainstream” views are that
unemployment and inflation are undesirable, and that growth is desirable.
70
Body of the paper: Support the assessment that you made.
5
10
5
5
Macroeconomic theory emphasizes unemployment, inflation, the business cycle, and growth. Go
to the following websites to obtain the unemployment rate and number employed, the inflation
rate, the current phase of the business cycle, and the growth rate of GDP. Report the latest
information available and indicate the date for which your data apply.
www.bea.doc.gov Click on “Economic Overview”
stats.bls.gov
Click on “CPI” and “Unemployment rate”
In addition to those websites your paper should cite at least three other sources. These are to be
newspapers and/or magazines published since December 25, 2002. To meet my “A”
expectations, your paper may report only on the four principal macro indicators. However, you
may include other information if you choose, e.g., consumer confidence, the President’s
economic proposal, holiday sales levels, Fed policy, economic outlook for 2003.
Write a careful, explicit conclusion or summary at the end of the paper.
Writing mechanics of grammar, sentence structure, spelling, paragraphing, etc.
For notes and bibliography, carefully follow a style manual, and indicate which one it is.
Paper length should be at least two full pages of text and at most three full pages. Use standard
sized fonts and margins; double-space; staple your pages together.
Your paper is due at the beginning of class on Monday, January 27, and counts 10 percent of your
semester grade.
Honor code for the paper: You may share ideas but not references. You may talk with one another about
how to interpret the information at the assigned websites. However, write your paper independently of
others. You are welcome to use the resources of the Writing Center.
Key to comments:
(1)
“Comma or period generally belongs inside of quotation marks.”
(2)
If within a paragraph, you have more than one consecutive reference to the same source,
you need only one citation after the last reference.
(3)
Is this a sentence?
(4)
Awkward sentence
(5)
Citation needed