Term Paper: Econ 201
Purpose: This assignment has multiple purposes. It will help you develop important business skills, such
as research and independent work, and it will help strengthen your understanding of an economic subject
you find particularly interesting.
Subject: Chosen from a list created by you, with input from the instructor. You should come up with
several possible subjects in case your favorite is not suitable (usually due to being too broad for a short
paper or too little-known for research material to be available).
Length: ~1500-2000 words (3-4 typed pages).
Sources: At least five reputable sources must be cited, including at least one from a peer-reviewed source.
Reputable sources means respected media or journal reports, and generally from sources without a
material interest in the subject. Not acceptable sources include general websites, blogs, aggregators, or
information clearing-houses; encyclopedias; and Wikipedia, Investopedia, About.com, or Yahoo will not
suffice as reputable sources. Also, dont site a search engines, like EBSCO. Instead, cite articles or book
titles. Any professional citation style is acceptable, but it must be used correctly and consistently. Just a
web address, or N.P., N.D. are insufficient. Copying from any source without credit will result in an
automatic zero on the paper.
Mechanics: The papers will not be graded on mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc) unless mechanical
problems are so persistent as to reduce the papers readability. You may wish to show a rough draft of
your paper to the excellent Writing Tutoring Center in building 7 before submission.
Credit: The paper is worth 100 points total; papers will be graded on research, use of citations, and
clearness of writing.
Plan: Develop a list of 3-5 potential subjects to research; you will communicate with the instructor
through email to confirm the suitability of your subject. Papers will be due in week nine!
Subject criteria: Good subjects for research papers are not too general, like Outsourcing, but are also
not too specific, like Corporate Marginal Tax Rates 1990-1992. Try to come up with several topics
youd be interested in enough to write a simple paper about. You should have at least two potential
subjects, in case your first choice isnt quite right.