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ECN130 Writing Assignment 2, 2021/22
Instructions
Coursework must be submitted online through Turnitin on Blackboard, no later than 12:00
(noon) on Thursday, 28 April 2022 (week 9).
The price of oil, and other fuels, has fluctuated dramatically over the last three years. A barrel
of West Texas Intermediate (one of the benchmarks for international oil prices) dropped
below $20 USD a barrel in 2020, and is now approaching $100 USD a barrel. This has
consequences for many parts of our lives including home heating and electricity, travel, and
manufacturing.
Write an essay that describes how large changes in the price of oil affects one part of the UK’s
economy (or another country of your choosing). Your essay should use one of the concepts
covered in the ECN130 lectures (either micro or macro) to aid your argument. To help with
this, examples of topics include (but are not limited to):
1. Household budgets and heating costs.
2. The market for air travel.
3. Research and development into alternative forms of non-fossil fuel energy generation.
4. Our use of cars.
5. The macro economy: aggregate demand and aggregate supply.
Do not try to give the definitive work on a topic. Answer a very specific question (e.g. “Will
higher oil prices hurt the recovery of the airline industry in the UK?”; “Will some businesses
benefit from higher oil prices while others are hurt?”).
Your essay should demonstrate the use of a concept covered in ECN130 lectures. I
recommend that you focus your argument on one ECN130 concept, do not try to demonstrate
several concepts. The concept can come from Micro (elasticity, labour markets, productivity,
markets for other goods), or Macro (aggregate demand, aggregate supply, taxes and debt,
monetary policy, trade).
Your essay should be a maximum of 750 words in length, and include at least one supporting
reference with a bibliography (using the Harvard referencing style). The bibliography and
citations will not be included in the word count. Further, words from any tables, diagrams or
equations used to aid in your argument will not be included in the word count.
References should come from reputable publications and sources. At the end of this
document there are some suggestions to help you get started.
Students are encouraged to pair-up to assist in proofreading and editing each other’s work.
However, it is highly recommended that student pairs address different topics. This will
mitigate the possibility of unintentional plagiarism.
ECN130 Economic Analysis and
Policy


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Submission
Coursework must be submitted electronically through Blackboard using the Turnitin Feedback
Studio. You must use the coversheet available in the Turnitin Feedback Studio—entitled “ECN
Turnitin Submission Template.docx”. Failure to use this coversheet will incur a 5 percentage
point deduction of your coursework mark, which will be applied before any late penalties
have been imposed.
The coversheet includes a space to copy and paste your essay. After you copy and paste your
essay, please make sure that you are happy with the formatting (some changes may happen
automatically). You must use an Arial 12 point font, double-spacing, and have a minimum of
2cm margins all around.
Unauthorised late submissions after 12:00 (noon) on the day of the deadline will incur a
penalty of 5 percentage points. An additional 5 percentage point penalty will be added after
24 hours from 12:00 (noon) on the day of the deadline and then at 24 hour intervals, up to 5
working days late. After that, a mark of zero will be awarded.
Assessment
Writing Assignment 2 will make up 15% of your overall module mark.
Examples of assignments from previous years are provided on Blackboard. Students are
encouraged to look at the Face-to-face lecture slides for Week 4 (in Week 4, Semester 1
content folder on Blackboard) for tips regarding structure and clarity.
There are no correct or incorrect answers for this essay. You will be judged on the strength of
your written argument. Marks will be given according to the following criteria:
Structure
Ease at which key information can be found.
Correct use of citation (including the quality of citation).


10%
15%
Clarity
Grammar and spelling.
Demonstrate efficient communication (including word limit).


10%
10%
Demonstrate the use of an ECN130 concept

Novelty of topic and argument
25%

15%

Overall strength of argument (the X factor).

15%




ECN130 Economic Analysis and
Policy


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SUGGESTED RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH
Below are a few sources to help get you started in your research. I recommend looking at website
articles that offer summaries of this research. For example:
The Economics Observatory: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/
Vox: https://voxeu.org/
The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/uk
Any reputable news source including The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, New York
Times, etc.