Writing my first Econ commentary...

[KewlKidV]

Well, I got my article and all the concepts I want to cover. Content-wise, I'm pretty much covered.

I'm just really confused on how to [i]start[/i] the paper, and then how to [i]end[/i] it. Do you guys have any structure you would reccommend for writing the commentary? (It's for my internal assessment!)

Any help would be appreciated.

[Hedron123]

Hey. Well, at the beginning you have to introduce the article by saying: "The article to be analysed is titled [i]China tightens monetary policy to reduce inflation[/i] and was published in The Times. It deals with the macroeconomic issue of inflation, referring to the specific policies that the goverment may use to lessen the effect of the latter on the economy." You can also say something like you will be devoted to the analysis of it so as to be able to evaluate the effectiveness/consequences of the implementation of such policies, etc. Along the commentary you must define economic terms, use appropriate diagrams and quote parts of the article you find significant. Remember that the word limit is 650-750 (the examiners are very strict). In the conclusion, you must present an evaluation that could be something like this:
"To conclude, as it has been seen, the government might be able to cool down the economic activity by rising interest rates, thus lowering the level of consumption and investment. In the short-run, this policy would be effective as both consumption and investment are components of the AD and, by lowering the level of any of them, the AD curve shifts inwards (arriving at an APL lower than before). However, in the long-run, the cooling off of the economy may lead to an increase in the level of unemployment...".
This is just an invented example. I hope it is useful for you to start!.

[KewlKidV]

[quote name='Hedron123' post='29362' date='Nov 30 2008, 03:40 PM']Hey. Well, at the beginning you have to introduce the article by saying: "The article to be analysed is titled [i]China tightens monetary policy to reduce inflation[/i] and was published in The Times. It deals with the macroeconomic issue of inflation, referring to the specific policies that the goverment may use to lessen the effect of the latter on the economy." You can also say something like you will be devoted to the analysis of it so as to be able to evaluate the effectiveness/consequences of the implementation of such policies, etc. Along the commentary you must define economic terms, use appropriate diagrams and quote parts of the article you find significant. Remember that the word limit is 650-750 (the examiners are very strict). In the conclusion, you must present an evaluation that could be something like this:
"To conclude, as it has been seen, the government might be able to cool down the economic activity by rising interest rates, thus lowering the level of consumption and investment. In the short-run, this policy would be effective as both consumption and investment are components of the AD and, by lowering the level of any of them, the AD curve shifts inwards (arriving at an APL lower than before). However, in the long-run, the cooling off of the economy may lead to an increase in the level of unemployment...".
This is just an invented example. I hope it is useful for you to start!.[/quote]

Woah, that's super helpful! Thank you!

[Hedron123]

No problem! If you still have any doubt don't worry to ask.

[deissi]

You [i]don't[/i] have to state the name of the article and what it deals with in the beginning. If you look at the example portfolios provided with the Teacher Support Material, you'll notice that even the one that scored 20/20 points doesn't do that. Since you're short on words in the Econ IA, you don't want to waste your time by stating the obvious. Instead, you'll want to start by defining the key concepts in your article: "Inflation can be defined as the...", which will be your first paragraph (~100 words?).

Hedron explained the ending quite well, you want to end it with an evaluation where you talk about short-term vs. long-term and possibly about different stakeholders etc.

[KewlKidV]

[quote name='deissi' post='29372' date='Nov 30 2008, 05:53 PM']You [i]don't[/i] have to state the name of the article and what it deals with in the beginning. If you look at the example portfolios provided with the Teacher Support Material, you'll notice that even the one that scored 20/20 points doesn't do that. Since you're short on words in the Econ IA, you don't want to waste your time by stating the obvious. Instead, you'll want to start by defining the key concepts in your article: "Inflation can be defined as the...", which will be your first paragraph (~100 words?).

Hedron explained the ending quite well, you want to end it with an evaluation where you talk about short-term vs. long-term and possibly about different stakeholders etc.[/quote]

Alright cool, thanks deissi.


Also, I was wondering if exploring possible solutions to a shortage of a product in the short run versus the long run would be okay for an evaluation?

[deissi]

Yes, to me it would seem very pertinent to the grade descriptors for evaluation. It'll have to be article based, though.