Economics for the Citizen, 2007

Assignments

There are no quizzes or exams in this course. Instead, there are assignments. You may think of the two book review assignments as being in place of a final exam.

All assignments (except the oral presentation) must be turned in hard copy, either in person or in my mailbox on the third floor of Enterprise (ask the secretary to help find my mailbox--the labels on the boxes are confusing). Email does not work, because my GMU inbox jams and then your mail does not get through.

The total value of all assignments is 1000 points. Assignments must be handed in on the date they are due, prior to the end of class. I don't like dealing with excuses. Each student has one "free pass" that entitles you to turn in an assignment late, without having to provide any excuse. If you have a major illness that forces you to be late with multiple assignments, have someone in the school administration contact me.

  1. Develop an idea for a small business. This assignment is to be done in groups of two or three students (I strongly prefer three students per group). More details about the assignment can be found here. Class will not meet on September 11--instead, groups will be expected to meet to plan their presentations. The presentations will be due the week of September 18. The presentation is worth 100 points.

  2. As we are studying entrepreneurship, we will also go over some basic economic concepts, such as opportunity cost. You will be given a short assignment on these concepts, which will be due September 25. The assignment is worth 100 points.

  3. There will be six unit highlight assignments, each worth 50 points. The unit highlight is explained here. The tentative due dates for these are:

  4. An analytical paper, 5-7 pages, based on a book. There will be two such papers, worth 250 points each. More details can be found here. The first paper is due November 9, and the second paper is due December 4.

For the unit highlights and the book papers, at least one-third of your grade will be based on quality of writing. Writing should be formal and use proper grammer, not chat-room style. Sentences and paragraphs should be brief and to the point, not run-on. For the book papers, use your own words, rather than quotations from the book.

For the unit highlights and the book papers, do not just sit down to write. Instead, start by using an outline and then doing a rough draft. I strongly encourage you to then take the first draft to the writing center for help.

Policy on Late Assignments

Last year, everyone who turned in all of the assignments on time passed the course. I am not promising that you will pass the course simply by turning in every assignment on time, regardless of quality. I am simply reporting the fact that last year no one failed who was timely with assignments.

All assignments, except for the oral presentation, must be turned in hard copy. Due to restrictions on the size of my electronic inbox, email does not work. For an assignment to be turned in on time, it must either be: (a) in my physical mailbox on the 3rd floor of Enterprise before the time that class meets on the day that it is due or (b) handed in to me by the end of class on the day that it is due.