If you cannot write well, the contribution of your research may be lost to everyone except yourself. Several of the books listed at the end of this guide will help you improve your writing. In addition, the writing workshop is a good source of advice and constructive evaluation. Once you have the substantive information for your paper, the four critical elements of writing are organization, style, documentation, and revision. A research paper includes the following components: first, an introduction which states the purpose of the research last, a conclusion describing what has been determined in between, several different types of material such as background facts, literature review, analysis, policy recommendations, projections, and other relevant material. In a thesis, the components are separated into chapters in a term paper, they are divided into sections. The use of headings and subheadings within chapters or sections makes it easier for the reader to follow the presentation.

Strive for a clear well organized presentation of your facts, theories, and analysis. Avoid complex constructions, hard to follow run on sentences, and the royal we unless you are royalty or plural. Documentation is essential in research papers since you want to distinguish for the reader other peoples contributions from your own.

Direct quotes must be enclosed within quotation marks and properly attributed to the author. Longer quotes may be set off in an indented paragraph instead of in quotation marks. All paraphrasing must be identified and properly attributed to the original author, e.g. 101 argues that or, the following paragraph draws heavily on the analysis of madden 1977, pp. Failure to do so is plagiarism and must be taken to the student conduct committee. Specify data sources as precisely as possible so that the reader can probe further into your topic if she/he desires. In particular, if you include a table or graph from another source in your paper, state the source including page number.

Implicit in this discussion of documentation is the principle that you should always state the source of any prior writing you are using for your research paper. For example, if your thesis expands on research done for a term paper, you should reference your earlier work appropriately so that the specific contribution of the thesis is clear. Before beginning, you must consult with both instructors, so that the concept of the paper is clear to all, and the separate contribution for each instructor is clearly defined. Most economics faculty strongly prefer the author date page method of documenting sources. This method is described in detail on page 16 of the bates college statement on plagiarism and a guide to source acknowledgments. the following are examples of appropriate citation of references within your text: several writers have measured the costs of market power scherer, 1970, pp. When you use this citation method, the full bibliographic information on each source must appear in your bibliography. If scherer published more than one reference in the same year, list them as scherer 1970a and scherer 1970b , both in your text and in the bibliography.

They may be typed either at the bottom of each page or as endnotes on a separate page following the entire text. With the author date page method of citation, the bibliography should list the year of publication immediately after the authors name for each item. The bibliography should include only materials that you have have read, with one exception.

32 shows that the evidence of smith 1978 cannot be believed because of flawed data collection methods, you need to include the full reference to smiths article in your bibliography as follows: smith, j. Here are some examples of the bibliography format you should use with the author date page citation method. Examples for books appear at the end of this guide journal article: baumol, william j. Subsidies to new energy sources: do they add to energy stocks? journal of political economy, 89 5 , pp.

studies in the quantity theory of money. chicago, university of chicago press, pp. All papers and theses should be typed double spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 paper with 1 margins on all sides. The first page of a research paper or thesis is the title page, and presents the title, date, your name, the course for which the paper is written, and the instructors name. A thesis also includes a table of contents showing chapter numbers, titles and the page on which each begins it also lists appendices, bibliography, etc.

The preface may summarize the contribution of the thesis and contain any necessary acknowledgements. Tables, graphs and charts unless very short should be put on separate pages, and inserted in the paper at the appropriate place. In the absence of a binder, a staple and not a paper clip can be used to keep the paper together. Once you have completed a first draft, set it aside for a while then reread it with a critical eye, and rewrite to improve it. Economics research paper should be written in such a way that the facts and figures are presented in the proper way. It should not only show the depth of study but also the ability to analyse facts and draw conclusions from them.

As the subject demands hard facts along with proper presentation the paper should be made more colourful according to the needs. The requirement for graphical details and statistical data forms a major portion of research paper writing as the theory needs to be supported with them. When a research paper on economics is being written it is the organisation of these factual details that matter a lot. Yes, theory does constitute a major portion of the thesis as writing skills should also be displayed along with the presentation. Every theoretical portion needs to be supplemented with proper illustrations and these illustrations should go in the perfect place along with the supplemented facts. It is the subject of the paper that determines the format and only a proper presentation of the paper impresses the reader and is capable of fetching better marks.

They should pertain to the topic and should have enough complementary materials to justify their presence in that particular place of the paper. Then this collected data needs to be arranged in the proper order at first and then jotted down as per requirement. This arrangement of facts can make the research paper presentation different in its look and show a sense of individuality of the writer. This creates the impression on the reader and adds an impetus to the hard work that has been employed for it. This is cursory content on how to write in economics, please make use of the additional resources. The information i've collected below is one of many possible ways to approach an undergraduate or graduate research project in economics. The writing style of the abstract is very condensed it should be no more than 350 words or 5 6 sentences.

The abstract is designed to identify the following to a potential reader: what is the question that is the focus of your research? a good research question is one that i doesn't have an obvious answer otherwise, why bother researching it? and ii is testable using data. Your contribution to the research on the subject what has the previous literature found and what is your contribution to general understanding of the economic problem/question. How you answer the research question how you use theoretical and/or empirical analysis to answer the research question. Your findings based on the aforementioned analysis the abstract is written when the paper is completed.

The introduction is designed to both identify and motivate your research question. Like an essay you would write in other subjects, the introduction begins with a broad statement, and then narrows down to your specific research question. In the end, make sure that you've done the following in your introduction: state your research question motivate why the subject of your research is important to economists and other stakeholders explain to the reader where your research fits into the subject. Identify your contribution to general understanding on the subject/research question summarize how you intend to answer the research question state your general results and answer to your research question. The first paragraph of the introduction is used to motivate why this research is important and of interest to economists and other stakeholders e.g.

Parents and teachers in education economics, central bankers in monetary policy, and residents and businesses affected by pollution. It may conclude with a statement of your research question, followed by a discussion of who is affected by the economic issue under study. Remember, you are motivating why the research should be of interest to the reader. The second paragraph typically has more detail about how you plan to answer the research question, possibly citing other work closely related to your own research. In fact, many authors combine the literature review with the introduction in order to streamline this discussion. The second paragraph can be written as you are concluding your research, as it draws on information from subsequent sections of your paper.