EC303: Guidelines for Term Papers
You will choose a two-year time period from the last 20 years. For this period, you should analyze Fed policymaking
through key macroeconomic indicators of the business cycle.
For your time period, use actual data and write at least one paragraph on each of the following indicators :
● economic growth as measured by real GDP
● the price level, i.e., if inflation was problematic
● interest rates and how they were influenced by the Fed
● the targets and goals of monetary policy and the Fed Chairman’s leadership in attaining them
Required Organization
Your paper consists of the items below which should be in the following order:
1) Cover sheet (title page) containing the following: two year time period, your name, course name, date
2) Introductory paragraph states the thesis, i.e., the general conclusion that is supported by the body of the paper.
3) Second paragraph is a general description of data presented in tables or graphs. There should be at least one
table/graph per indicator. Tables/graphs should be labeled, the data source must be identified, and they should be
on a separate page or pages as an attachment between the body of the paper and the Works Cited page. Data
may be found in Federal Reserve Bulletin and other sources (see below).
4) Remaining paragraphs address the four indicators listed above, including more detailed analysis of data.
5) The conclusion summarizes and restates the thesis.
6) Works Cited page containing your research sources is the final page.
Post your two-year time period and resources selected for the term paper under Assignments (counts for 100 of
the 300 points)
Paper Format
● 1,000 – 1,200 words, not including the Works Cited page. Verify this with word-count in your software and include
the actual word count typed at the bottom of the last page of text , before the attachments and Works Cited page.
Points will be deducted for no word count, word count in the wrong place, and for counts under 1,000 or those
over 1,200.
● Typed, single-spaced, with page numbers centered at the bottom of the page
● Research sources that you have cited must be included with your paper
●
Format for Citations
● MLA Handbook
● OR APA style
Any of the above styles are acceptable, but you must be consistent in your use. If you have another manual, you may
show it to me to make sure it is acceptable. References must be cited in the proper format both within the body of the
paper and on the Works Cited page.
This link will help you properly cite websites: http://www.virtualsalt.com/mla.htm
Research Sources
Required and Recommended Sources:
● Federal Reserve Bulletin (required; available in EBSCO or on the FED website)
● the relevant chapter of your textbook (required)
● the St. Louis Fed’s online database, FRED
● other regional Fed publications
● The Wall Street Journal
● New York Times online (email notices of this are available for free)
● CNN Financial News online
● The Economist (magazine)
● any academic or nonacademic journal available through Park University library
● library books
● government publications (e.g., those of the Fed or the U.S. Treasury)
The Federal Reserve Bulletin is required for one of your research sources. This Fed publication contains articles as well
as data and is available in Academic OneFile, an online database available from Park University library. Full-text articles
are available from 1979-2005 in Academic OneFile. More recent articles can be found on the Fed’s website
(federalreserve.gov). In addition, you must use one citation from your textbook plus at least three additional
research source that discusses the time period. Thus you should have at least five citations in the body of the text
and at least five different references on your Works Cited page.
Use of the Internet: Conducting scholarly research by simply Googling will yield very little useful information. You
should find at least one article through Park Library’s online database or a government source; that reference will contain
more references that you can pursue. NOTE: If your Works Cited page has only Internet sites, you will receive zero
points for research.
Unacceptable Sources: In general, citations from Internet websites will NOT count as a required source unless the
citation is from a U.S. government website. The Internet can be used to find online versions of publications, but such
citations should be made only for articles that are published in paper form (i.e., can be found in a library). For instance,
you could use a New York Times article that is downloaded from the Internet. Cutting and pasting information from the
Internet is plagiarism. Encyclopedias (e.g., Wikipedia), textbooks other than the course textbook, and abstracts of articles
are not valid sources.
Term Paper Grading Criteria
Application of Economic Theory* 50 points
Presentation and Analysis of Data* 50 points
Research Sources (as listed above) 50 points
Organization (as listed above) 25 points
Format (as listed above) 25 points
Time period selection and resources 100 points
– submitted in Unit 3 300 TOTAL
*Questions to think about defined below
Application of Economic Theory:
● Are concepts based in economic theory from course lectures and applied to the real-world data?
● Are all economic terms defined?
● Are economic concepts explained and interpreted accurately?
● Are facts presented and cited accurately?
● Is a thorough understanding of concepts demonstrated?
Presentation and Analysis of Data (graphs and/or tables):
● Are the data presented professionally in a table or graph, with the data source included?
● Are the data used to support the thesis?
● Are the data interpreted properly?
● Are the data well organized and presented effectively?
