Year 10

Economics & Business

Essay Booklet

STUDENT NAME: ___________________________________

TEACHER NAME: ______________________

Part Marks Available Marks Awarded

In-class validation (essay) 20

Booklet/planning 5

Total 25
 Baking/Making a Memorable Cake (Essay)

Making an memorable Economics essay takes time, planning and practice. A

rushed essay might leave a bitter taste – for your teacher and cost you marks!

Do you have all the right ingredients?

 Have you done your research?
 State your thesis at the start of your essay.
 Use body paragraphs to present your arguments that back up your thesis.
 Use lots of evidence (facts & figures) to back up your arguments.

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 ASSESSMENT - INCOME & WEALTH DISTRIBUTION IN AUST.
You have been examining living standards, what affects living standards and what the
government can do to help improve living standards.

For this assessment, you need to examine income and wealth distribution in Australia and
argue for or against the following statement “The Australia Government SHOULD increase
(this means improve) the amount of income and wealth redistribution”.

If you agree (you are affirmative)

The govt should do more to increase redistribution. ie make income and wealth distribution
more even in Australia. It isn’t even enough. There is too big a gap between the rich and
poor.

If you disagree (you are negative)

The govt should leave things as they are because inequality is quite low or acceptable. You
are comfortable with the current level in income and wealth equality in Australia today.

Or weigh up the arguments for and against, then state your opinion whether you agree or
disagree.

This assignment has 2 parts:

PART 1: RESEARCH

Some aspects of income and wealth that could be discussed are:

• Gini coefficient (Lorenz curve)

• Wealth and income (distribution) in Australia
• Poverty levels
• Unemployment
• Youth UE
• Minimum wages
• Cost of living (housing, child care…)
• Level of taxes (income tax brackets)
• Govt spending on welfare (UE benefits, pensions…)
• How we compare to other countries

PART 2: “IN-CLASS VALIDATION” (Essay)

You need to decide whether or not you agree with the statement about income and wealth
redistribution in Australia. Affirmative means you agree with the statement, negative your
disagree with the statement or you could weigh up both sides of the argument before
stating your point of view (a more difficult task).

You will need write your essay in class (an “In-class validation”) in week 4 of the rotation in
Economics & Business. (Note in 2024 – this is in week 4 of term 1).
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Useful links (to get you started). Try to find more recent sites/statistics to use in your essay!

You will find many sites with information about equality/inequality in Australia and overseas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[From: Richardson, D. & Denniss, R. (2014). Income and wealth inequality in Australia.
Policy brief no. 64. Canberra: Australia Institute, p. 2.
Retrieved November, 2015, from

www.tai.org.au/content/income‐and‐wealth‐inequality‐australia]

Australia’s net wealth

https://www.smh.com.au/money/abs-household-net-worth-statistics-show-the-difference-
between-the-haves-and-have-nots-20171024-gz6y7q.html
The Conversation – Income inequality in Australia
http://theconversation.com/income-inequality-exists-in-australia-but-the-true-picture-may-not-
be-as-bad-as-you-thought-75221
Household income and wealth in Australia – the Australian Bureau of Statistics
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/6523.0~2015-16~Media
%20Release~Inequality%20stable%20since%202013-14%20%20(Media%20Release)~103
The Guardian – IMF says Australia has one of the fastest rising income inequality
rates
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/12/imf-says-australia-has-one-of-the-fastest-
rising-income-inequality-rates
The ABS is wrong: Inequality is getting worse in Australia
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/inequality-is-getting-worse-in-australia-abs-figures-
opinion/8949102

The Guardian: Inequality index, where are the most unequal contries
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/datablog/2017/apr/26/inequality-index-where-are-
the-worlds-most-unequal-countries
Gini index (World Bank estimate) – country rankings
https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SI.POV.GINI/rankings

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 Why should I write an essay?
Like it or not, for the next 2 years (probably at least 4 more years if you plan on going
to university), you are going to have to write essays.
We would not only like to train you to write good essays for the rest of your time as
ASC and university, but we want to help you to organize your thoughts in a logical
structure, and to develop the vocabulary to develop a good argument. These are
great skills in any career!

How do I write an essay?

An essay is not a mystery. With practice and feedback, you can definitely get better
at writing essays.
The secret ingredients to writing an essay are:
1. A strong thesis (idea) at the beginning of your essay
2. Body paragraphs which present arguments that back up your main idea
3. Lots of concrete evidence and examples to support your arguments.

Body Paragraphs 1 & 2

Explain one aspect of income and wealth:
First, pick one aspect of income and wealth eg the Gini coefficient
___________________________________________________________________

Now, write a few TOPIC SENTENCES to start your paragraph about this aspect.
Show them to a partner and pick the best one!
___________________________________________________________________
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Once you’ve picked your best Topic Sentence, write a sentence or two to
elaborate/explain a little further the issue you’ve just introduced:
___________________________________________________________________
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Now give some evidence/examples of this aspect in Australia:

___________________________________________________________________
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Analyse (explain how this makes Aust equal/unequal in terms of income and wealth):
___________________________________________________________________
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Sometimes when we work on our own, it’s difficult to get an idea of the standard of
other people’s work. It’s an important skill to critique other people’s work, and to get
someone else to critique yours. This will help you to explain your ideas to other
people, and to accept constructive criticism from your peers.
Hand your first paragraph over to a partner, read through each other’s work, and
write down some feedback along the following lines:

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Peer review/comments:
1. Does their topic sentence make it clear what the paragraph is about?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. Is the explanation consistent with the topic sentence?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Are there enough concrete examples to support the argument?

___________________________________________________________________
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4. Does the paragraph analyse WHY this makes Aust equal/unequal?

___________________________________________________________________
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Now try another paragraph about another aspect income/wealth in Aust:

Topic Sentence:
___________________________________________________________________
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Elaboration/explanation:
___________________________________________________________________
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Evidence/examples:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Analysis (explain how this makes Aust equal/unequal in terms of income and wealth):
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Peer review/comments:
1. Does their topic sentence make it clear what the paragraph is about?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. Is the explanation consistent with the topic sentence?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Are there enough concrete examples to support the argument?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

4. Does the paragraph analyse WHY this makes Australia equal/unequal?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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 Body Paragraphs 3 & 4
Compare with other countries:
Using your research, write two more paragraphs below about aspects of income and
wealth in Australia.
Topic Sentence:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Elaboration/explanation:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Evidence/examples:
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Analysis (explain how this makes Aust equal/unequal in terms of income and wealth):
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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Topic Sentence:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Elaboration/explanation:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Evidence/examples:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Analysis (explain how this makes Aust equal/unequal in terms of income and wealth):
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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Peer review/comments:
1. Does their topic sentence make it clear what the paragraph is about?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. Is the explanation consistent with the topic sentence?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Are there enough concrete examples to support the argument?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

4. Does the paragraph analyse WHY this makes Aust equal/unequal or not?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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 Introduction & Conclusion
Now that you have a good idea of the main arguments and themes in your essay,
you can write an Introduction to (funnily enough) introduce what your essay is going
to argue.
Start by defining the key terms in the question (income and wealth). For this
question, what are the key elements that make a country equal or unequal in terms of
income and wealth distribution?
___________________________________________________________________
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Briefly compare (similarities & differences) Australia to other countries (how do we

rank):
___________________________________________________________________
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Finally, write your thesis. This is your answer to the question/your argument, and
everything in your essay must support this statement:
___________________________________________________________________
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A good Conclusion should:
1. Re-phrase your thesis statement (not re-write!):
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2. Summarise your main arguments from your body paragraphs (but don’t repeat
with the same words):
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3. The ‘So What?’ sentence. Leave the reader with something that explains why
your argument matters, and provide a sense of closure:
___________________________________________________________________
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DO NOT:

 Use phrases like ‘In conclusion’, ‘In closing’ etc.

 State the thesis for the very first time.
 Introduce a new idea in your conclusion.
 Make sentimental, emotional statements that are out of character with the rest of
the paper.
 Include evidence that should be in the body of the paper.
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 Marking key – Year 10 HASS (Economics & Business)
Written response (In-class validation/research)
Description Marks
Aspects of income and wealth distribution/redistribution discussed
Comprehensively describes 3 or more aspects of income and wealth distribution/redistribut. 8-9
Adequately describes 3 or more aspects of income and wealth distribution/redistribution 6-7
Briefly describes 2 or 3 aspects of income and wealth distribution/redistribution 4-5
Provides a limited description of income and wealth distribution/redistribution 1-3
Subtotal 9
Arguments presented
Comprehensively describes the relevant arguments (convincing argument) 3
Briefly describes the relevant arguments (less convincing argument) 2
Provides a limited description of the relevant arguments (not a convincing argument) 1
Subtotal 3
Supporting evidence
Provides detailed, relevant supporting evidence (statistics, facts, figures) 4-5
Provides some relevant supporting evidence 2-3
Provides limited supporting evidence 0-1
Subtotal 5
Written communication
Presents a response which is cohesive and well-structured (intro, paragraphs…) 3
Presents a response which is mostly cohesive and consistently structured 2
Presents a response which has limited cohesion and structure 1
Subtotal 3
Written Total 20
Total 20
“The Australian Government should increase/improve the amount of income and wealth
redistribution.”

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