Extra Credit Opportunity

Receive up to five points added to your final grade point average* by reading one of the following and writing a brief paper using the guidelines that follow:

Option 1: The Law, Frederic Bastiat

Download and read it for free at www.fee.org.

Option 2: The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance, Russell Roberts

You might find it in the public library but more likely will have to purchase it. You should be able to purchase a used copy online for as little as $6 or $7. Try Amazon.com.

Option 3: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

You might find it in the public library but more likely will have to purchase it. You can purchase a used copy online for as little as $6 or $7. Try Amazon.com.

Option 4: Eat the Rich, A Treatise on Economics, P. J. O'Rourke

You might find it in the public library but more likely will have to purchase it. You can purchase a used copy online for as little as $6 or $7. Try Amazon.com.

Guidelines

Format:

1. The paper must be approximately 500 words in length (about 3 pages; no more than 1" margins, double spaced).
2. The paper must be produced and printed using a word processor or typewriter.
3. The paper must be properly formatted with citations and footnotes.
4. Grammar and spelling count!
5. Paper must be submitted no later than date of Final Exam.

Content:

1. Discuss the ideas presented in the essay or book and relate them to the economic and political circumstances prevailing today using concepts you have learned in this course and from your personal experience.
2. It does not matter whether you agree or disagree with the author, in general, or just on particular points. What matters is that you discuss what you gained from reading the book in terms of new knowledge or understanding and support your conclusions and opinions using the knowledge gained from this course in justifying your agreement or disagreement with the author.
3. For guidelines on writing a term paper go to: www.csupomona.edu/~ecgibson/writing/term_paper.html

Hints: There may be concepts you have been exposed to in this course that you do not agree with but the author of the book supports. That is fine. The reverse may also be true. Just be sure you present a legitimate argument and support it. For instance, I am not interested in reading "The author believes in free trade and I agree."; "The author claims or implies such and such and I think he/she is right (or wrong)." Rather, what I will be looking for is "The author states that we are better off with free trade than without and I agree (or disagree) because..."

* This means that if your overall average for the course is 88 ( a "B") and you receive the maximum 5 points for the report, your final grade will be 93 and you will receive an "A" for the course.