Information on Structured Essay for ECON1002, Semester 2, 2011

Aim
The essay aims to help you develop your research, analytical, and writing skills. These
skills are the most important graduate attributes sought by leading employers. You will
need to become adept at finding relevant resources and then organising your thoughts
and presenting them in a coherent and convincing way. Since this is an economics
essay, you should make use of economic concepts/theories/models to the problem you
are writing an essay on, and write an essay in a succinct and legible manner.

Date, Time and Structure
Each student will write an essay under exam conditions on Friday 7
th
October.
You will be given 80 minutes starting from 6:30pm, made up of:
o 20 minutes reading time during which time you are expected to: (i)
read the provided stimulus material and (ii) plan the structure of your
response. You will be permitted to make written notes on the question
paper during reading time, but you will not be allowed to start writing your
essay during this time.
o 60 minutes essay writing time.
You are encouraged to use relevant theories, diagrams, equations and other aids
from lectures to help you clarify your arguments.

At the very least, your essay should consist of an introduction, followed by main
arguments, and a conclusion.

Topic/ I ssue
While the specific essay question will only be made available to you at the start of the
exam it will be based on the following broad topic:
Policy Responses to the Global Financial Crisis in the US, Europe and Australia

Basic References for Preparation

Bernanke, Ben; Olekalns, Nilss; Frank, Robert, Principles of Macroeconomics, 2011, 3
rd

Edition.

Treasury and RBA Discussion Papers, Speeches, Outlook etc.

Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, The Economist, Financial Times
etc.


Marking Criteria:

Was your argument logically developed and coherent?
Is your argument well grounded in economic theories/models?
Have you answered the question in a thorough manner?
Is your writing legible, readable and persuasive?