CSUF - Mihaylo College of Business & Economics

ECON 333 - Economic Development Fall 2017

Writing Assignment #2

You have the option to submit a draft of your paper by 11/7 and receive written feedback (complete drafts
only) before the final paper is due on 12/7. You may also discuss your assignment with me during office
hours or scheduled appointments. See below for submission instructions.

Obtain the article “Ebola’s Legacy: Children With Cataracts”, published in The New York Times on October
19, 2017. This article is available online and on Titanium. The article gives an excellent opportunity to apply the
tools we have developed in class to the real world. Your assignment is to write a brief report in your own words
on the effects that Ebola and the eye diseases afflicting people who survived Ebola are expected to have on
average incomes and economic growth of the countries whose people were affected by Ebola, applying the
economic growth models and other relevant material discussed in class.

Assume that your audience is composed of fellow students from this class who have not read the article. You
may only use the article, your textbook, the videos we watched in class, your class notes (including lecture
slides), and the World Bank Development Indicators as references. In your writing, refer to specific issues raised
in the article and use them as examples to illustrate your points. Your report must incorporate all the points
below and be no more than three double-spaced pages long (12 point Times New Roman font with one-inch
margins, with page numbers, no cover page please). If you use references other than the article from The New
York Times, add another page with your references. No handwritten papers will be accepted.

Required components are as follows:

1. Introduce your essay with a couple of sentences identifying the article’s general topic and summarizing its
main points as they relate to the topic of this assignment.

2. Leaving aside the effects of Ebola on the eyes of survivors and the post-Ebola syndromes, briefly describe the
effects that Ebola had on the people who suffered from it and their families.

3. According to the Solow model, what are the effects that you described in 2. on affect average incomes and
economic growth in the affected countries? Explain in detail.

4. As described in the article, some survivors of Ebola are now suffering from severe eye diseases as well as
post-Ebola syndromes. Explain in detail how, according to the Solow model, this is likely to affect average
incomes and economic growth in the affected countries.

5. Now consider the AK model of endogenous growth. Reconsidering your answers for questions 3. and 4., how
is economic growth likely to be affected? Make sure to take into account in your answer that the afflicted
countries are poor developing countries. What are the differences to your previous answers, and why do your
answers differ?

6. Conclude your essay with a very brief summary.

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How is the writing assignment graded?

Please note the following rules in order to avoid point deductions:

1. Do not use any other than the permitted sources, including no online sources. You may not discuss this
assignment with another student or anybody else. Any violation of this policy is considered plagiarism.
Plagiarism in any form will result in a ZERO for the assignment and further disciplinary sanctions, and the
incident will be reported to University officials. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. For information on
how to avoid plagiarism, please see the student resources available at http://www.fullerton.edu/integrity. Talk to
me if you have any questions.

2. Quotations are not permitted and will receive ZERO credit. Use your own words instead.

3. Incorrect spelling and/ or grammar will result in significant point deductions. Remember that this is a writing
assignment. You may seek help with your writing from the University Learning Center located in the library.
You are also strongly encouraged to use “The Business Writer’s Handbook” by Alred et al. (2012), Bedford/ St.
Martin’s: Boston, New York, to help improve your writing. I especially recommend working through pages 526-
534.

4. Not following the guidelines will result in point deductions, which may be significant.

The grading rubric is shown on the next page.

Tips

Good writing takes time – start early, draft an outline, and make sure your arguments are sound, succinct,
and based on the models discussed in class. Allocate sufficient time to work on your writing.
Make sure to use the correct economic terms.
Seek feedback – submit a draft for written feedback and/ or meet with me to discuss your arguments.
You do not need to explain the Solow model or the endogenous growth model. Remember your audience.
Do not attempt to submit your assignment at the last minute. Remember Murphy’s Law.

Due Dates

To receive comments on your draft, submit the complete draft online before 11:55 pm on 11/7.
The final version is due online before 11:55pm on 12/7 (whether you submitted a draft or not).

How to submit the assignment

1. Login to the course on Titanium and go to “Assignments”.

2. Choose “Writing Assignment #2: Draft” or “Writing Assignment #2: Final Version” depending on which
one you submit, and click on it.
3. Click on the tab “My Submissions” or “Submit Paper”.
4. Fill in the submission paper title, browse to get to your file of the writing assignment, and check the box to
confirm that this is your own work Click “upload”.
5. This will direct you to “Submit Paper: Step 2 of 2” Click “Add submission”.

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Grading Rubric

Criteria Very Poor (0) Poor (1) Average (2) Good (3) Very Good (4)
C Misses two or Misses one Handles Handles all Handles all
Content: clarity more elements major element assignment elements of the elements of the
and logic, of the of the material assignment assignment
completeness, assignment; assignment; completely; with skill; professionally;
major factual leaves out includes develops and develops and
errors; essential essential supports ideas supports ideas
40% misinterprets information; information; in a better- using well-
assignment some minor factually than-average chosen
factual errors correct way examples and
creative details
E Incorrectly Incorrectly Correctly Applies Applies all
Economics: applies more applies one applies all skillfully all relevant
correct than one major relevant relevant economic
application of economic economic economic economic concepts with
relevant concept; leaves concept; leaves concepts concepts great skill and
economic out relevant out one creativity
concepts economic relevant
40% concepts economic
concept
L* Makes repeated Makes Writes Proofreads well Makes virtually
Literacy: grammatical or disruptive generally enough to no grammatical
grammar, syntactical grammatical/ correct prose; eliminate most or syntactical
spelling, errors; syntactical occasionally grammatical errors;
punctuation frequently errors such as fails to catch errors; may establishes
misspells run-ons, minor have minor credibility with
10% homonyms fragments, grammatical problems with the audience
unintelligible errors punctuation or
sentences usage
S Uses garbled Writes in a Writes Writes clearly, Demonstrates a
Style: style; notably serviceable concisely, and sophisticated
tone, word plagiarizes awkward prose; uses coherently; grasp of the
choice, manner: active voice, employs language;
document misuses words strong, action syntactical writes in a fluid
design and idioms; verbs; rarely variety with manner; varies
uses slang; uses jargon or general success syntax and
wordy; uses clichés vocabulary;
10% some borrowed uses original
language language

Adapted from the CLASS Rubric: Fraser, L., Harich, K., Norby, J., Brzovic, K., Rizkallah, T., & Loewy, D. (2005).
Diagnostic and value-added assessment of business writing. Business Communication Quarterly, 68(3), 290-305.

* Literacy is a threshold category, and your grade will be marked down significantly if your
assignment does not meet the minimum standard. Any type of plagiarism will result in a grade of F
on the assignment and further disciplinary actions.