Topic: Journal opinion article

Order Description

The assignment should be presented as a Journal opinion article. The article should be timely and address an economic issue of current interest to Wall Street Journal readers. Read several articles in the Op Ed section of the Wall Street Journal for reference but do not focus on a single article in your paper. Formal footnotes are not required but the article should clearly refer to other contributions in the Journal or elsewhere. Minimum length is 400 words and maximum length is 600 words. Footnotes, titles and other extraneous material are not counted when determining the length of the paper.

A Critical Analysis Primer:
All writing in this course involves critical analysis. Your paper will be marked down if you submit an expository essay similar to a typical term paper.

Submission Requirements:
Paper should be submitted as a Word file. Do not submit in odt or other formats because the papers are checked by turnitin.com and this program will not read these formats. Use 12 pt. type (Times New Roman font) with 1.25 inch right and left margins and 1 inch top and bottom margins. Double space the paper, left justify and do not leave lines between paragraphs (10 pt. spaces after a sentence adds a line to the paragraph).

Evaluation Criteria:
Papers are evaluated using four criteria. Each criterion is worth 25 points.
1) Organizational structure – 25 points. Is the paper logically organized? Are ideas cogently presented and explained? Is the writing convincing? Does the writing sustain interest?
2) Writing style – 25 points. Is the writing original and provocative? Does the paper have a professional tone? Does the paper satisfy the requirements in the syllabus?
3) Analysis – 25 points. Does the paper take and support a position? Is the analysis reasonable?
4) Grammar, punctuation, spelling and syntax – 25 points. Is the writing grammatically correct? Are words spelled correctly? Is word choice correct for the context of the sentence?

Writing a Critical Analysis Essay
Critical analysis is used in economics to evaluate an argument or position in order to increase the reader’s understanding of it. Critical analysis is subjective writing because it expresses the writer’s opinion or evaluation of an issue.  The goal of your essay is to provide information, interpretation, and evaluation which will help clarify the issue for your readers. The interpretation will explain the issue and requires that you have a correct understanding of it. The evaluation will discuss your opinions concerning the issue and present valid justification for them.

A critical analysis essay is prepared in two steps.
The first step is to identify and understand the issue.
1.    Identify the issue you want to discuss.
2.    Consult reference materials (textbooks, online sources, other books, etc.) to understand material that is unfamiliar to you.
The second step is to write the essay.
3.    Make an outline that includes the issue you will discuss, your premise, arguments favoring your position and arguments opposing it.
4.    Gather evidence in support of your position.  Evidence can include theoretical propositions, empirical results and/or the opinions of recognized authorities.

Sample Outline of a Critical Analysis Essay
I. State your premise and provide background information to help your readers understand the nature of the issue you want to discuss.
A. If you are discussing a particular work, provide information about it.
1. Formal footnotes and bibliography are not necessary.
2. Give the Title of the article.
3. Give the Author.
4. Provide information about where the article can be found.
B. State the issue.  If you are discussing a particular work, summarize the author’s position on the issue.
C. State your premise.
II. Provide evidence supporting your position.
A. Any or all of the following are acceptable
1. Theoretical propositions.
2. Empirical results.
3. Opinions of recognized authorities.
B. Anecdotal evidence can be used to illustrate a point but cannot be the sole evidence supporting your position.
III. Offer opposing evidence or alternative interpretations of the evidence.
IV. Summarize and conclude your argument.