Instructions to Students:

Paper due date: Wed, Nov 9 by 3:30pm.  It must be turned in at the Help Room (180 Heady).

Late papers will not be accepted (except in case of emergency documented by your advisor or the Students' Dean). 

It may be turned in up to one week early.

Instructions for writing the paper:

For extra credit, students may turn in a short (two-page) paper carefully describing both sides of a contemporary public policy debate. 

A link to the list of debate topics is found here: economic policy debates (this link is also available at the bottom of the class webpage).

Choose one of the "hot debates" in the left-hand column OR any of the other debates on this webpage.  The written assignment consists of three parts plus a short bibliography:

• (1 page) The first part of your assignment is to write a one-page summary of the authors’ main arguments – using your own words – in a way that demonstrates your thorough understanding of both sides of the debate.  This first page is to be based entirely on the initial summary contained in the "Issues and Background" section of your selected debate. 
   

• (1/2 page) The second part of your assignment is to add half a page of additional details using information provided in the background articles (downloadable for your convenience) listed under "Primary Resources and Data."  You must refer to at least two of these articles and cite them accordingly. 
   

• (1/2 page) The third part of your assignment is to add half a page of your own views on the subject.  The best papers will try to incorporate knowledge learned in class or from the textbook, but that is not a requirement. 
   

• Your third page will be a short bibliography of the downloadable articles you cite (at least two references as indicated above). 

So that the grading is uniform across students, observe the following requirements:

• For credit, turn in at the Help Room (180 Heady) only. 

• Times New Roman font (or similar), 11 or 12 pt. 

• 1 inch margins all around

• double-spaced

• Include printouts of whatever documents you cite from the "Primary Resources and Data" section
   (To save paper, you only need to include the first few pages of long documents.)

• STAPLE everything together to avoid a big mess when the papers are collected.  

• Don't forget to include your name, section number, and student ID number.  

• SAVE a copy of your work in case it gets lost. 

To receive credit, written assignments must be turned in at the Help Room in the appropriate box, not my office.  The mere act of turning in a paper does not guarantee any credit.  There has to be thought and effort behind it.