Term Paper Directions
Econ 203
Term Paper Guidelines
The course paper is an essential part of this course. The complete paper is due on the last day of the course (Last Saturday) Dec. 18, 2021; however, you may submit it a day or two before the due date. The course paper should be at least 8 pages in length and must have a good title which is self-explanatory. Ideally, your paper should have five sections: Introduction and Objective, Literature Review, Analysis, Conclusion and References. First, select any firm from the list below:
Amazon, Boeing, Costco, Facebook, Gillette, Hachette, J.C. Penney, McDonalds, Priceline, Schick, Virgin Atlantic, and Wal-Mart. These firms are mentioned in your textbook as business cases, so you can read those sections to get some motivation for your paper. Additionally, explore other resources including help from NU Library in “building” your paper.
Next, specify your objective clearly. The objective of your paper is related to the research question you will be investigating and may include:
The main characteristics of Demand and Supply of the firm
The main characteristics of the market structure of the firm
The strategy the firm adopted to maximize profit
Note: You are analyzing some microeconomic aspects of a particular firm. There may be other aspects of this firm you are interested in investigation. If so, state that in your objective.
This is a four-week course, and you must get started on your paper from day one. With that in mind, the following Table is provided as a Guideline to organize your Course Paper.
Week
Activities
Suggested Activity Milestones
Week 1
Write the introduction and objective of your paper
Saturday, week 1
Week 2
Review articles, research papers or book chapters which are relevant for your paper. Make sure to compile the alphabetized list of references as you proceed. for the grading rubric of
Saturday, week 2 (Optional)
Week 3
Complete the Analysis Section.
Saturday, week 3
Week 4
Write the final paper and submit it to tab under Week Four
Saturday 12/18/2021
Detailed Instructions about the Course Paper and its Grading:
Your paper should be at least 8 pages long double-spaced. It should emphasize quality rather than quantity, and its structure should contain five sections: Introduction and objective, Review of Literature, Economic Analysis; and Summary and Conclusion and References.
a). The introduction should be 1-2 paragraphs long. In this section, specify the objective as clearly as possible. It should set the relevance of the topic and finish with the main question or questions you want to answer in this paper. The introduction must also state your main argument, idea or hypothesis of your paper.
b). Review of Literature. In this section, review several studies similar to what you are writing on. Make sure to give proper credit to each author(s) whose work you are quoting. Use the APA guidelines in referencing each article, book, journal or the Internet source. In the final paragraph or paragraphs of this section, explain how your paper will contribute to the body of knowledge. This section should be 3-4 pages long.
c). The Economic Analysis section should be 2-3 pages long. In this section you should present the empirical evidence and with the help of some microeconomic tools, you should explain rationally what happens in reality. Include terms like demand, supply, variable and fixed costs, marginal or incremental changes, marginal and average costs, price elasticity, income elasticity, maximization, minimization, normal profit, competitive markets, product differentiation, market structure, oligopoly, and other relevant terms.
