Assignment Paper

Instructions
– Late proposals will be given a grade of ZERO. The late penalty is the full price
of the assignment. To avoid this penalty please make arrangements with the
instructor PRIOR to the due date.
– Assignments must be typed, double spaced, with 12pt font.
– Follow the guidelines provided below.
Term Paper:
The primary goal with this course is that students improve their academic writing
skills. As such a term paper is the primary evaluation opportunity in this course. This
is a great opportunity to learn how to do quality research, and to get feedback on your
writing abilities. The term paper is to be no more than 2000 words, double spaced,
typed, 12pt font. This limit includes a cover/title page and References page. The APA
Style guidelines must be followed. See https://guides.library.ubc.ca/apacitationstyle.
If you do not wish to use the APA style guide you may use the Chicago Style guide.
See https://guides.library.ubc.ca/c.php?g=683773&p=4981322. There is ample scope
for choice of term paper topics. However, students are strongly encouraged to choose
from the following themes:
THEME 1: Power Law Distributions in Economics
THEME 2: Important Figures in the History of Economic Thought
THEME 3: The Concept of Public Goods
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Assignment: Term Paper Proposal
All term papers require the approval of the instructor. You get approval by submitting
a 500 word proposal to the instructor. The deadline for applying for approval
is Wednesday, October 13th, but you can submit your proposal early if you like.
Note, you may gain approval for your proposal prior to the deadline so long as your
application is presented in writing and follows these guidelines.
Guidelines for writing a paper proposal:
1) Write which theme your term paper falls under on the top of the page. (indicate
“Other” and be specific if neither theme)
2) Write down the working title of your paper and why you find the topic interesting.
3) Write a brief abstract for the paper. An abstract is a paragraph summarizing the
contents of the paper.
4) State separately the question you will answer in your paper, and how you will do
so. A carefully crafted research question helps discipline our thinking about a subject.
5) Identify a few sources that will assist you in the pursuit of an answer. Do so by
listing them under the heading “Works Cited” or “References” (there must be at
least three entries).
Note: not all proposals will be approved. Do not be discouraged if you are denied
access to the topic of your choice. Should this happen you will have to resubmit paper
proposals until a suitable topic can be found.
Note: if you choose to answer the exact same question as someone else you will be
encouraged to refine your question such that there is no overlap. It will be the latest
proposal submitted that requires the refinement.
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