ECON1001 S2 2013, Term Paper

Term paper / report
Introduction

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The assessment task for this component of ECON1001 requires you to write a short term paper/ report. You must answer the question set out below. In answering the question, you should: use appropriate economic concepts and techniques to address the issues that you are asked about. you need to provide a clear, logical and succinct argument. you are expected to do some independent research. you are required to fully reference the piece of writing that you submit. This requires that where an idea has been drawn from a scholarly source, you identify that source. Referencing should be complete, comprehensive and consistent. That is, any reference that you list should allow the reader to go to that source and confirm that the arguments espoused in the writing are in fact derived from that source. Harvard referencing is recommended. A Harvard Referencing Guide is provided on Blackboard. you need to use appropriate language and submit a professional piece of work. Avoid slang or colloquial terms; check spelling and grammar; use appropriate language given who you are being asked to write for. IS TO BE NO MORE THAN 750 WORDS IN LENGTH. Any essay exceeding the word limit will be penalised. Markers will have the right to stop marking after 750 words. The word count must be stated at the beginning of the essay. You need to use a font size of 11 or 12, 1.5 line spacing and normal margins (1 inch at top, bottom, left and right). Keep in mind that a marker/reader faced with a nice-looking and well-presented text has a positive attitude towards marking/reading the essay (and vice versa!). Structure The structure should be: Executive Summary (not exceeding 150 words) on a separate front page; Introduction; Body (Analysis); Conclusion; Reference list and a clear listing of data or other sources and definitions at the end. (N.B. Reference list and executive summary are not included in the 750 word limit; but everything else is.) Footnotes should be avoided. If any figures and/or tables are used, they should be placed in the body of the essay, and be numbered sequentially. Any illustrations used must be very clear and easy to understand.

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ECON1001 S2 2013, Term Paper

Due date: Friday October 18, 11.59 am
Aim of the essay
The essay aims to help you develop your research, analytical, and professional writing skills. Good writing skills are one of the most important graduate attributes sought after by leading employers. You will need to become adept at finding relevant resources. You are expected to apply or make use of economic concepts/theories/models that you have learned in class to the problem you are writing the essay on, and write an essay in a succinct and professional manner as would professional economists, columnists, or advisors.

Submission process: Submission is done twice.
1. Students will be required to submit an electronic version onto Blackboard (see Assignment folder). Full details about this will be announced on Blackboard. 2. Students will need to submit a hard copy of their assessment to the Essay collection boxes at the entrance to the Merewether Building by the due time and date. Submitted work needs to have the usual “Individual Assessment Cover Sheet” stapled to it (available on BB). This includes a signed statement of compliance with the University Policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.

PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION WILL APPLY

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ECON1001 S2 2013, Term Paper

TOPIC: The Steel Industry
Read the article “Steel industry starts to buckle”. A copy of the article can be found in the eReadings for the course:

http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search~S4?/recon1001/recon1001/1,1,1,B/frameset~45 83349&FF=recon1001&1,1
Identify and explain the economic factors behind the patterns described in the article. In particular, you need to address the following questions: (1) Describe the evolution of the global (crude) steel market in economic terms using the tools learned in the course. (2) Why are local Australian steel companies facing “such tough trading conditions”? (3) The article indicates that Australian firms have reacted to the state and evolution of the market. Describe the reaction of Australian steel firms, and more importantly explain the economic factors behind their decisions. For all parts, clearly state all your assumptions and use well-labelled diagrams to illustrate your discussion. Discussions not using economic model/theory will earn low marks. Background perspective You are required to analyse the behaviour of firms (and the industry overall) discussed in the article indicated above. This article represents a starting point from which your analysis begins. You should undertake some research and apply appropriate economic concepts to explain the behaviour and patterns described in the article. N.B. The article mentions the strong Australian dollar as one of the explanations for steel firms in Australia being in trouble. It basically implies that Australian-produced steel becomes more expensive if sold abroad (exports) and it makes foreign produced steel cheaper for Australian buyers (imports). If you are comfortable incorporating this item into your discussion, please do so. If you are not, you can use all other elements in the article to construct your discussion.

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