Microeconomics short essay
WRITING ASSIGNMENT The article: “No Traction: Europe’s Car Makers Spin their Wheels” by Vanessa Fuhrmans. The article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on October 1, 2013. Instructions for obtaining the article from the CSUF online library database are provided below.
Your assignment consists of writing a short essay discussing how changes in economic factors are driving the decrease in European demand for automobiles. You may use as references the article, your textbook, and your class notes. Note that any collaboration among students on writing this paper will be considered a violation of the honor code.
Step 1: Print out and read carefully the short article assigned. Print out and read carefully this instruction sheet.
Step 2: Follow the instructions below carefully.
Obtaining the Article
Go to the CSUF library web site using your student portal. Click on the tab Find Databases. Use database Factiva. Log onto Factiva using your CSUF ID and password. Once you are on Factiva, go to the search tab and type the full title of the article in the search box. Do not forget to select the proper date range for the article’s search before in fact hitting Search. Select the article and select to download in pdf format. Please let me know in class if you are having any trouble obtaining the article.
Assignment Details/Rules (not following these requirements will FOR SURE negatively impact your grade)
Your essay must incorporate the points listed below.
1. Please provide two paragraphs summarizing the main points raised by the authors, in YOUR
OWN WORDS. These paragraphs will serve as an introduction to your essay. 2. In your own words, focus now on the economic content of the article. More specifically, refer to
particular sentences or phrases in the article to identify at least three of the key determinants of demand discussed in class as they pertain to the demand for automobiles in Europe. Be sure to explain how each sentence or phrase illustrates the particular determinant of demand.
3. Use a supply/demand diagram to illustrate ONE of the three cases you have selected. Indicate
which case your diagram is illustrating. 4. Conclude your essay with a short paragraph comparing the automobile market in Europe with the
automobile market in the United States. Identify two key differences between these markets.
5. Your submission should be no longer than TWO PAGES, STAPLED. Please DO NOT use folders, cover sheets, or binders. Do not include Reference section either.
6. All work you submit MUST BE done ENTIRELY using the computer, including graphs.
Use Times New Roman Font, 12 point, one-inch margins on all sides, and single space. Leave one blank line between paragraphs in your write-up. Do not indent paragraphs. On both pages, create a header where you will include your name and the class section/time in the top right corner.
Deadlines (not respecting these deadlines will FOR SURE negatively impact your grade)
1) If you would like to get some feedback and a chance to revise your work before final submission, you may choose to turn in a draft, submitting a copy of your paper to me in class by Monday, November 27. I will return the draft to you with a tentative grade and, if needed, recommendations on how you may improve your grade. If you decide to revise, it is expected that you will use the feedback received on the first draft to improve your writing and analysis in the final graft. If you are satisfied with the grade assigned to the draft, then you will simply submit the original paper (the one with my feedback/comments) back to me on the last week of class, but no later than Wednesday, December 6. If you are not satisfied with your grade, you will submit the original paper AND the revised version in class by the same deadline, Wednesday December 6.
2) If you choose not to submit a draft, you must turn in your paper in class no later than
Wednesday, December 6.
No late submissions of either draft paper or final paper will be accepted. Grading
Your grade on this assignment will be determined by:
a) the accuracy of your economic analysis b) the quality of your writing (which includes correct use of language and grammar) c) adherence to all the above specified requirements.
