Pub Prof Essay Instruction PDF

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ECON5004: Communication in Economics Semester 1, 2021 Instructor: Denny Lie

Assignment: Public/Professional Writing Project Assignment Outline Students are required to write a short essay (600-750 words) on an economic topic of their choice with the general public or a professional audience in mind.1 The essay will be developed in two phases, with an initial draft submitted to the tutor (for review and feedback), and a final version submitted in the last week of the course. Students are encouraged to select an essay topic and format that best fits their personal and professional interests. The potential subject matter is broad, and can coincide with earlier topics in the course (e.g., from one of the earlier assessments). The potential format is also flexible – students could pretend they are writing an intelligent blog post, an op-ed for the newspaper, or a briefing or memo in a business setting. The core requirement is that the essay use economic reasoning and argumentation to make its main points (especially, that there be a central argument to the essay), and that it be written in a style accessible to a non-specialist audience. Hence there is more room for creativity in style and content than for the academic essay. In particular, students are encouraged to use techniques to catch and maintain a reader’s attention and convey ideas in an accessible way, as discussed in particular in the week 9 lecture. The final submission will be capped at 750 words, exclusive of literature references. Students are again expected to follow the Chicago style for citations. Phases The assignment will be completed in two phases. Phase 1 (600-750 words; 10/20 percent): due Thursday 13 May, 6pm (Week 10) Students will write a full first draft of the essay and submit it electronically. The course tutor will provide written feedback through Canvas (8%). Students will also be required to submit a written review of a fellow’s student essay (2%). Phase 2 (600-750 words; 10/20 percent): due Thursday 3 June, 6pm (Week 13) Students will revise the essay based on the feedback from the tutor, for a final submission. Grading Weight The public/professional essay carries 20% of the grading weight for the course.

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The only exception is that the professional audience you have in mind should not be primarily made up of academic economists.

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