<p> Econ 2500W Writing in Economics Spring 2016</p><p>Instructor: Thomas J. Miceli, 306 Oak Building, 860-486-5810, [email protected]</p><p>Office hours: TuTh 11-12:30</p><p>Overview: This class is designed to teach students how to become better writers in general, and better writers about economic issues in particular. Good writing is important because it is a form of communication, and no matter how good your ideas are, they are of little use unless you can communicate them effectively. The course is divided into lectures, which will take place once every other week, and discussion section meetings. The lectures will present material on different topics related to writing, some specifically aimed at writing papers on economic topics, and some applicable to any kind of writing. The discussion sections, which will be run by TAs, will be devoted to helping you through the actual process of writing a paper, which is the main form of evaluation for this course. </p><p>To qualify as a W-course, students are required to complete a minimum of fifteen pages of writing, including writing instruction, editing, feedback, and revision. Students will thus be asked to write a fifteen page paper on a topic of their own choosing (though the TAs will assist you in this process). As part of the revision process, students will first be required to turn in a draft on which they will receive feedback, and then a final draft that incorporates suggested changes. </p><p>Grading: 90% of the course grade will be based on the paper, though not all of it will depend on the final draft. Students will receive grades along the way as they choose their topics and begin drafting their papers. The TAs will give you details about this in your section meetings. The remaining 10% will be based on a quiz on the lecture material to be given in class during the final meeting (see the outline below).</p><p>Suggested reading: There is no required reading for this class, but there are some very good books on how to become a better writer. I list three here—the first two are for the general writer, and the third is specifically about writing for economics. All are cheap and worthwhile. I especially recommend the Strunk and White book, which is a classic.</p><p>Strunk, W. and E.B. White. 2000. The Elements of Style, 4th Edition. New York: Allyn and Bacon. </p><p>O’Connor, P. 2009. Woe is I: The Grammarphone’s Guide to Better English in Plain English, 3rd Edition. New York: Riverhead Books.</p><p>McCloskey, D. 2000. Economical Writing, 2nd Edition.Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. The Writing Center: The UConn Writing Center is available as a resource for all UConn students. For information on the resources and services they provide, visit http://writingcenter.uconn.edu/</p><p>A Note about Plagiarism: All students are expected to turn in their own work, with proper citations for information and ideas taken from other sources. I will devote time to this issue in the lecture on proper citations (see the outline). In the meantime, it is the student’s responsibility to know the university’s policy on plagiarism, which can be found at: http://web.uconn.edu/irc/PlagiarismModule/intro_m.htm Course Outline</p><p>Date Topic</p><p>Jan 19 Introduction/overview of the course</p><p>Jan 26 No lecture</p><p>Feb 2 Types of writing</p><p>Feb 9 No lecture</p><p>Feb 16 Making economic arguments</p><p>Feb 23 No lecture</p><p>Mar 1 Citations and plagiarism</p><p>Mar 8 No lecture</p><p>Mar 15 Break</p><p>Mar 22 Writing tips</p><p>Mar 29 No lecture</p><p>Apr 5 Revising and editing</p><p>Apr 12 No lecture</p><p>Apr 19 Grammar and usage</p><p>Apr 26 In-class quiz</p>