Pear Writing Assignment-Econ 1100-Kashish Gupta PDF

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Pear writing assignment based on Dinner party economics
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Pear Writing Assignment-Econ 1100 Section 1: Pearson’s Comments Smarthinking Reviewer Response Form Hi Kashish! This is Michelle C! I look forward to working with you today. I have written comments about your submission in the form below and embedded comments directly into your work. Thank you for choosing us to help you improve your workplace writing. Let's begin! What’s Working: You do a good job of explaining why a barter system does not work in a modern society: "This is not possible today as it requires a lot of time to find someone who wants your good and has something you want in return." What Needs Work: I’ve chosen three priorities to focus on as you revise. Overall Focus/Cohesion: It is a little unclear how your example of Yugoslavia pertains to the macroeconomic concepts you are discussing. For example, a reader might wonder whether the decision to print more money was a monetary or fiscal policy. To fix that, you might consider using Yugoslavia as an illustrative example or case study, which would mean not only outlining what occurred in Yugoslavia but also deliberately and systematically applying the three concepts you have discussed to that case so that the reader has a clearer understanding of what occurred in Yugoslavia and how money, inflation, and policy worked together to cause the outcome you have described. So, consider adding more details to that paragraph to show how the concepts you have described apply to the case of Yugoslavia's hyperinflation. Content Development: I notice you indicate that after exploring the reasons for inflation, "the suitable demand-side and supply-side policies are used to bring the economy to its original level." A reader may wonder what you mean by "bring the economy to its original level" because the price of goods continues to increase rather than decrease to a previous years' level regardless of the economists do. For example, the price of a loaf of bread will never again be what it was ten years back. To fix that, consider adding more detail to explain what you mean by "previous years' level." For example, do you mean the level of inflation or do you mean the price of goods? What would also help is if you used an example to illustrate your point. For example, in South Africa, when the Reserve Bank notices that inflation is going beyond a certain level, it increases the interest rate so that disposable cash is less available to households, thus reining the inflation rate in to what

they consider an acceptable level, but that does not mean inflation goes away. The price of good still continues to increase each year but at what they consider to be an acceptable level. So, to help the reader better understand what you mean by the year's previous level, consider using an example to illustrate your point. You might even use Yugoslavia and what their economists did to curb hyperinflation. Organization/Formatting: I notice you inform the recipient of the letter that the text you are analyzing is a novel, but a novel means a fictional work rather than a non-fiction work. An editor of a newspaper is going to take an analysis of a fictional or make-believe account of macroeconomics seriously. In general, newspapers deal with facts not fiction. To fix that, consider using the correct word to refer to the work you are analyzing. For example, "The Story of an Hour" is short story and fictional account of a woman who choose to die rather than forgo the freedom she thought she had when she assumed her husband had died and then discovers he is very much alive. On the other hand, The Power of Now is a non-fiction, self-help volume that emphasizes the importance of living in the moment rather than ruminating about the past or escaping into the future. If you want James Bennett to take the work you are analyzing seriously, you need to use a word that accurately reflects the nature of the work. Revision Checklist: • • •

Consider adding more details to the paragraph about Yugoslavia to show how the concepts you have described apply. Consider using an example to illustrate what you mean by "the year's previous level." Name the nature of the work more accurately.

Thank you for your submission, Kashish! I enjoyed reviewing it and wish you the best of luck with your revision. Michelle C.~ You can find more information about writing, grammar, and usage in our Writer’s Handbook. Please look for comments [in bold and in brackets] in your submission below. We hope to work with you again soon!

Dear Mr. Bennett, I am student in the University of Guelph pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Management Economics and Finance. I would like to express my interest in your “Share your interests” program and make use of this opportunity by informing you about the workings of an economy as a whole. I am majoring in economics and want to pursue a career as an economist. In my current macroeconomic course, we have been asked to analyze the text in a novel named “Dinner Party Economics” authored by Eveline J. Adomait and Richard G. Maranta. [I notice you have contained the name of the work with quotation marks and italicized it. Is this a long work or an article? Consider

offsetting the name of the work correctly for the nature of the work, for example, "The Story of an Hour" is a short story and The Power of Now is a book.] Our assignment includes demonstrating our learning from the novel. The concepts illustrated cover key macroeconomic topics that influence our daily lives without our attention. I will be exhibiting money, inflation and macroeconomic policies in this letter. Macroeconomics is defined as “the study of the economy as a whole, including topics such as inflation, unemployment and economic growth.” Compared to microeconomics, it focuses on the entire country instead of individual industry. The introduction of macroeconomics in every book begins with the circular flow of income model. This model illustrates the exchange of money between various economic agents. Money can be defined as anything people use to purchase goods and services. The different forms of money include cash, cheques, coins and bank deposits. To identify money, the book uses the simple rhyme “Money is a matter of functions four; a medium, a measure, a standard, a store” (page 28). This helps us identify whether a good is a suitable to be used as money. “The economy with buyers and sellers needs money to facilitate all its trades” (pages 37). [The prompt is very specific about how the page numbers in the text should be presented. In order to maximize your grade, make sure you present the page numbers as indicated in the prompt.] In the olden times, money did not exist, and individuals had to make use of the barter system to get what they want. The barter system involved exchanging goods and services when there was a double coincidence of wants. This is not possible today as it requires a lot of time to find someone who wants your good and has something you want in return. It is an inefficient method. This is why it is mandatory to have money as a medium of exchange. Money in the macroeconomy is important in terms of how much there is circulating in the circular flow of income model. This brings us to the concept on inflation. Inflation is described as “general increase in the prices of services and goods in a particular country”. [On what page would a reader locate that definition? When quoting from a text, the convention is to provide the page number so that a reader can locate the quote without reading the entire book.] The book explains the concept of inflation in metaphors: “Think of the money supply as the grease that lubricates the gears of a very big machine, we call the economy. Without grease, the gears wouldn’t turn the machine so that the things can be produced and consumed. Even if the gears could still turn without grease it could be very painful to watch. On the other hand, too much grease means that the gears are so sloppy that the teeth may not catch each other either correctly or efficiently” (page 36). The instance when there is too much grease on the wheels is known as inflation. The two causes of inflation include demand-pull and cost-push inflation. Demand-pull inflation is caused by an excessive increase in the aggregate demand which is not parallel by aggregate supply. On the other hand, cost-push inflation is when there are increases in the cost of production. This results in an increase in production prices which is passed on to the consumers. [I notice you introduce the subordinate statement “is passed on to the consumers” with “which.” The word “which” generally signals a statement that is not essential to the grammatical structure of the sentence; it introduces nonessential information, so it would be offset with a comma, for example, “She saved her unspent disposable cash, which was a wise move.”]Inflation levies costs to the consumers and producers in an economy.

As prices start to rise, the purchasing power of money falls. This results in people on fixed incomes loosing out as they can no longer purchase the same amount of goods and services in a fixed basket. Furthermore, firms incur a type of cost known menu costs which are “costs to reprint menus” (page 66). The constant change in the prices of production results in firms having to reproduce their price lists which increases their overall cost of production further. Inflation, like every problem, has a solution. After an evaluation of the cause of the inflation is performed, the suitable demand-side and supply-side policies are used to bring the economy to its original level. Demand side policies include monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary policy is the increase of interest rates to discourage borrowing and reduce the amount of money circulating in the economy. On the other hand, fiscal policy is the increase in taxation to reduce the amount of disposable income available to spend on good and services. These policies allow the government to regulate the amount of money available to households. On the contrary, cost-push inflation is fixed by making use of supply-side policies. Supply side policies utilise deregulation and privatisation to increase competitiveness and efficiency. Consequently, their production costs fall which decreases inflation. Most macroeconomic concepts are exhibited in the real world on a daily basis. Yugoslavia faced hyperinflation in 1992 due to uncontrolled printing of money. This massively inflated the money circulating in the economy. Furthermore, the depreciation of tax revenues led to people causing demand-pull inflation. The currency however was tremendously incompetent as it no longer held any monetary value. It diminished the property of money being scarce. To conclude, Dinner party Economics is a book that allows us to grasp the macroeconomic concepts in a manner that is relevant to the workings of the economy presented. It gives real life instances making the process of learning more interesting. [I notice you have not emphasized that it also uses metaphors to make difficult concepts easier to understand. Bear in mind that you spend quite a few sentences discussing that rhetorical technique, so you might mention it in the conclusion to your letter.] The concepts defined in this letter focus on one of the major macroeconomic issues. I hope you find this letter relevant and that it meets your interests. Looking forward to your response and critique on this letter.

Best Regards, XYZ

Section 2: Reflection The editing process allowed me to realise that there is a lot of unnecessary sentences that could be made more concise and have a better flow in my overall letter. Furthermore, I made a couple of other people read my letter to get a better idea of where I could improve in their opinion. I used the Pearson review to adjust the concepts in a manner that would make the reader understand the economic concepts I am trying to explain in an easier manner.

Section 2: Final letter

Pear writing Assignment-Final To: James Bennett NY Times Senior Editor 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10036, United States

Dear Mr. Bennett, I am a student at the University of Guelph pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Commerce: Management Economics and Finance. I would like to express my interest in the program named “Share your interests” and make use of this opportunity by providing a careful analysis of the workings of an economy as a whole. In my current macroeconomic course, we have been asked to analyze the text in a book named Dinner Party Economics authored by Eveline J. Adomait and Richard G. Maranta. Our assignment includes demonstrating our learning from the book. The concepts illustrated cover key macroeconomic topics that influence our daily lives without our attention. I will be exhibiting money, inflation, and macroeconomic policies in this letter. Macroeconomics is defined as “the study of the economy as a whole, including topics such as inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.” Compared to microeconomics, it focuses on the entire country instead of individual industry. The introduction of macroeconomics in every book begins with the circular flow of income model. This model illustrates the exchange of money between various economic agents. Money can be defined as anything people use to purchase goods and services. The different forms of money include cash, cheques, coins, and bank deposits. To identify money, the book uses the simple rhyme “Money is a matter of

functions four; a medium, a measure, a standard, a store” (p.28). This helps us identify whether a good is suitable to be used as money. “The economy with buyers and sellers needs money to facilitate all its trades” (p.37). In the olden times, money did not exist, and individuals had to make use of the barter system to get what they want. The barter system involved exchanging goods and services when there was a double coincidence of wants. This is not possible today as it requires a lot of time to find someone who wants your good and has something you want in return. It is an inefficient method. This is why it is mandatory to have money as a medium of exchange. Money in the macroeconomy is important in terms of how much of it there is circulating in the circular flow of income model. The changes in the amount lead to the rise in the concept of inflation. Inflation, according to the oxford dictionary, is described as a “general increase in the prices of services and goods in a particular country”. The book explains the concept of inflation in metaphors: “Think of the money supply as the grease that lubricates the gears of a very big machine, we call the economy. Without grease, the gears wouldn’t turn the machine so that the things can be produced and consumed. Even if the gears could still turn without grease it could be very painful to watch. On the other hand, too much grease means that the gears are so sloppy that the teeth may not catch each other either correctly or efficiently” (p.36). When there is too much grease on the said gears, our economy can be described as being in a state of inflation. Inflation can be caused due to various factors. However, economists have broken them down into the most common ones and given them the terms demand-pull and cost-push inflation. As the name suggests, demand-pull inflation is caused by an excessive increase in the aggregate demand which is not paralleled by aggregate supply. On the other hand, cost-push inflation arises when there is a surge in the costs of production. The rise in production costs causes rises in the price of the final good produced which is levied on consumers. Most economies aim for a stable inflation rate of approximately 2-3%. However, when it rises above this, economies have to face certain negative consequences. Bad inflation taxes stakeholders in an economy in the form of a reduction in purchasing power. As prices start to rise, the purchasing power of money falls. Purchasing power can be defined as the “value of a currency expressed in terms of the number of goods or services that one unit of money can buy”. The population on non-indexed incomes loses out as their incomes remain the same but the price of every good or service has risen. Moreover, firms incur a type of cost known menu costs described as “costs to reprint menus” (p.66). The constant change in the prices of production results in firms having to reproduce their price lists which increases their overall cost of production further. The job of an economist is to ensure that the economy is functioning smoothly. To curb inflation, they make use of demand-side and supply-side policies. Demand-side policies include monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary policy is the escalation of interest rates to discourage borrowing and reduce the amount of money circulating in the economy. On the other hand, fiscal policy is the rise in taxation to reduce the amount of disposable income available to spend on goods and services. These policies allow the government to regulate the amount of money available to households. On the contrary, cost-push inflation is fixed by making use of supplyside policies. Supply-side policies utilize deregulation and privatization to increase competitiveness and efficiency. Privatization is the transformation of public enterprises into

private companies. This is usually done because private companies have motive for profit and aim for better efficiency which can help cut the costs of production and lessen inflation. An example that could help explain these concepts better would be the supply shock that was caused after an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Saudi Arabia produces approximately 10% of world supplies. Since oil is an important factor of production, the rise in the price due to shortage caused cost-push inflation in many countries. For instance, the US faced a 20% spike in oil prices which made it impossible for firms to keep the prices the same. To overcome this inflation, they made use of a supply-side policy known as state intervention. The government decided to release oil reserves in an attempt to keep the oil markets calm and prevent further inflation due to the speculation of rises in prices. To conclude, Dinner party Economics is a book that allows us to grasp the macroeconomic concepts in a manner that is relevant to the workings of the economy presented. It gives real-life instances and makes use of metaphors making the process of learning more interesting. The concepts defined in this letter focus on one of the major macroeconomic issues. I hope you find this letter relevant and that it meets your interests. Looking forward to your response and critique of this letter. Best Regards, XYZ

References: Segal, J. C. and T. (2020, February 5). Everything You Need to Know About Macroeconomics. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/macroeconomics.asp Hubbard, G. (2018). Macroeconomics. New Jersey: Pearson. Inflation noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes: Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/inflation Johnston, M. (2020, February 5). Worst Cases of Hyperinflation in History. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/122915/worst-hyperinflationshistory.asp

Hayes, A. (2020, January 29). Purchasing Power Definition. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/purchasingpower.asp Krauss, C., & Reed, S. (2019, September 15). Oil Prices Spike After Attack on Saudi Facilities but Lasting Disruption Seen Unlikely. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/15/business/saudi-arabia-oil-energy-prices.html...