The essay assignment will assess your ability to analyse a real world problem based on microeconomic theory in an original way. You should not use equations, but diagrams may be useful in some cases. The marking criteria will be as follows:
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Identification of an issue (15%). You will have to identify an economic phenomenon documented in some reliable source (examples: a news article, a report or website information from an international organisation, government agency or industry organisation, etc.). Possible sources of information are discussed in section 5.
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Relevant information (15%). You will have to provide relevant data or evidence supporting the main discussion in your essay.
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Application of discipline knowledge and critical thinking (55%). You will have to demonstrate ability to apply microeconomic concepts to the analysis of real world situations. Originality and own critical thinking will be highly rewarded.
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Conclusions and/or recommendations (5%). Your analysis has to lead a concrete conclusion, policy recommendation or interesting open questions.
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Professional writing skills and discipline conventions (10%). This criterion assesses your ability to convey information and express ideas in a clear, concise way. Grammar errors and misspellings will not affect your mark, but the general presentation of your ideas will. Hand-written scanned graphs are acceptable and will not lead to deduction of points.