Once you have selected a topic, be sure to conduct a thorough Review of Literature on the subject. The minimum length of your course paper is 10 pages, double-spaced without the title page and the page on references. There is no upper page limit for your paper. Additional guidance will be provided during the first week of the course.
Organize your paper with five sections:
Introduction and objective. Make sure the objective is specific.
Literature Review. Conduct a search on the topic of your paper and summarize works of others similar to what you are writing on. Be sure to follow APA guidelines. The following link contains basics of APA style guidelines:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
Analysis: Analyze your topic with reference to the objective.
Summary and conclusion.
References. Provide at least five references, at least two of which must be scholarly books and /or journals.
You are welcome to send your topic and the objective of your paper to your instructor by the end of the first week so that she/he may provide additional guidance.
Notes
Refereed papers are academic papers that were criticized and reviewed by experts before being published. More information can be found in http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic/sources/journals/index.htmlhttp://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~agraham/guides/guidec.shtml.
To find the academic articles that you need for your paper (at least one), go to the following full text databases in our library: Business Source Premier (EBSCO), Emerald Management Xtra, LexisNexis Academic, ProQuest Databases and ProQuestDissertations and Thesis. These databases are in http://library.nu.edu/FindResources/ResourceFinder.cfm. Databases have different sources or information, and you always have to combine them. Economists would say that databases are complements rather than substitutes, in other words, try more than one database.
Short papers are nice pieces of art. Your paper will be evaluated not in terms of right/wrong but on rational coherence and quality of the argument.
Written Assignment Grading Standards
Points
Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling
10
APA style for citations and no sign of plagiarism*
10
Clarity of introduction, conclusion and strong connection between introduction and conclusion
30
Economic analysis using economic principles
20
Empirical evidence that supports economic analysis
10
Overall quality of conclusion
20
Total
100
If any plagiarism is found in the paper, the grade will be automatically zero. However, it may escalate to a more severe penalization. Consult NU Catalog regarding policies abput dishonesty and penalty.
In terms of time table, start working on your paper during the 1st week. Select your research questions/objective and start review of literature immediately. By the end of the 2nd week, you should have the basic framework of your paper including most of the articles you have reviewed. These articles and any reference to a scholarly book or books will form the last page of paper as the “Reference” page. Continue to write your paper during the 3rd week. Your instructor will specify the deadline which may be the end of the third week or sometime during the fourth week. Staff at local Writing Centers can help you organize your paper, and perhaps check it for grammatical errors. You may contact writing@nu.edu, or you can look for the closest Writing Center to you by calling 1-866-NU-ACCESS .
