How to Prepare in Survey of Economics

How to Prepare
in Survey of Economics

(Need to Know menu)

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For Exams #1, #2, and #3

For Projects #1, #2, and #3

For the Final Exam (Project #4)

How Class Points are Divided

For Exams #1, #2, and #3:

For Exam #1: Study these chapter titles in your text and complete all associated work in your study guide. (The first chapter is the only one in which you must also study an Appendix.)	Chapter Titles Getting Started and Appendix: Making and Using Graphs The U.S. and Global Economies The Economic Problem International Trade
For Exam #2: Study these chapter titles in your text and complete all associated work in your study guide.	Chapter Titles Demand and Supply Government Influences in Markets GDP and the Standard of Living Fiscal and Monetary Policy Effects
For Exam #3: Study these chapter titles in your text and complete all associated work in your study guide.	Chapter Titles Production and Cost Perfect Competition Monopoly Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly

For Projects #1, #2, and #3:

Project #1:
Dogs of the Dow


Project #1:

Step 1.
Near the beginning of the semester, create an Excel spreadsheet listing the current Wall Street Journal prices for each stock in the Dogs of the Dow on a specific day. Use any popular search engine (such as http://www.google.com ) to look up "Dogs of the Dow." Step 2.
Divide $10,000 equally among the ten stocks currently known as the Dogs of the Dow, noting the date and the price per share of each stock. Divide each $1,000 investment in each of the ten stocks by the current stock share price to determine how many shares $1,000 will buy. Save your spreadsheet, and its total value of $10,000. Turn in your work.

(For 25 additional bonus points)
Step 3:
Near the end of the semester, create an Excel spreadsheet listing the current price of each stock in the Dogs of the Dow on a specific day. Using your original quantities of stock and the stock prices in Step 1, note which investments have become profitable, and which, if any, declined in value. Report whether your $10,000 original investment rose or fell in value and by how much.

Step 4.
A. Report your findings about the increase or decrease in the value of your $10,000 investment. Ignore any commissions.
B. Include an explanation of how a stock comes to be known as a "Dog of the Dow."   Limit yourself to two typed pages.

Begin Project #1 as soon as you receive the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Turn Project #1 in when you take Exam #1, and, optionally, turn Project #1 in again along with Project #4 (your final exam) for 25 additional bonus point.

Project #2:
A "Careers in Economics"
Service Project

Project #2:

Step 1.
Examine Careers in Economics on the Instructor Homepage and select one of the eight fields of employment in which you could have an interest in working. Before beginning Step 2, decide how you think a knowledge of economics could be useful in that career field.
Step 2.
As a matter of public service, search out and interview a person working in that field, or, using Internet, write to an organization employing persons trained in economics.
Step 3.
Find out how that person or organization believes a knowledge of the use of limited resources (economics) contributes to their career, furthers the purposes of the organization they serve, promotes their personal well-being, or provides a social benefit to society.
Step 4.
Summarize your findings by answering "A" through "D" below. Limit your comments to precisely two typed pages, using single-spaced 12-point type.
A. What was the source of your interest in a particular career field?
B. What did you presume to find when you sought someone to interview?
C. What additional knowledge or insight did you gain by meeting someone trained in economics?
D. To complete your service project, decide whether this experience furthered your own interest in the career field you identified in Step 1 above.

Begin Project #2 as soon as you have visited Salaries in Economics. You may turn Project #2 in when you take Exam #1, or when you take Exam #2.

Project #3:
Data and Uses in Important Economics or Finance Websites

Project #3:
Report the kinds of data contained in, and uses to be made, of the ten most important Economics or Finance websites included on Mr. Meyer's website. Use Economics HotLinks or Finance HotLinks found on the Instructor homepage. Number each website.    Limit your comments to precisely three typed pages, single-space, using 12-point type. (Use three full pages.)

Begin Project #3 at any time. Turn in Project #3 when you take Exam #2 or Exam #3.

For the Final Exam:
The Final Exam (called Project #4)
is a Report on WSJ's centerfold section known as Marketplace.



                                                               Your Instructor is Watching
                                                            and Waiting for your Results.

Send the instructor an email when you have turned in your report on the "Rotating Column" of the Wall Street Journal known as Marketplace.   Throughout the weeks of the semester, the left margin column in the Wall Street Journal of the section known as Marketplace contained the following:

                              Monday:                   E-World
                              Tuesday:                  Managing Your Career
                              Wednesday:            Work & family (3 times per month)
                                                                  Business & Race (1 time per month)
                             Thursday:                 Personal Technology
                              Friday:                      Health Journal

* Despite what your booklet says about specific WSJ topics each weekday, the WSJ staff regularly changes the topic in this column on most days. So put down the topic, day, and date given by the WSJ staff. So just be sure to:
(1) choose articles that interest you,
(2) show that you are choosing articles from each day of the week, and
(3) comply with the guidelines in the
How-to-prepare link of the
red Need-to-know menu of your syllabus.

Turn in summary and impact statements on two articles from each day of the week that had the greatest effect on your livelihood, career, or family. (Include the date the article was published.) Follow instruction 1 through 5 below.

1. Said differently, you should select two articles from Monday's E-World, two articles from Tuesday's Managing your career, two articles from Wednesday's column, two articles on Personal Technology from Thursday's column, and two from Friday's column known as Health Journal.

2. You are to write one paragraph in which you summarize the article. You should then write a second paragraph in which you:
(a.) explain your interest in the article and
(b.) provide an explanation of the benefit you derived by reading the article, in relation to your own livelihood, your career, or your family.

3. Wordprocess your work using Microsoft Word. See that each of your paragraphs contains at least four, but not more than ten well written sentences. Your sentences must first condense the main points of each article and then show what additional impact the information in these articles had on you.

4. Send the completed assignment to the instructor as an attachment to email.

5. Include a cover sheet with your name, date, Survey of Economics, and the titles of the ten articles and dates the ten articles were published in the Wall Street Journal like the sample below.

Your ten summary paragraphs and ten impact paragraphs will collectively be awarded up to 100 points remaining in the course, and they constitute your final exam in Survey of Economics.

Your Name

Date

Survey of Economics

Article Titles and Dates Published

Monday E-World 1.
2.

Tuesday Managing Your Career 1.
2.

Wednesday Work & Family (or)
Business & Race 1.
2.

Thursday Personal Technology 1.
2.

Friday Health Journal 1.
2.

How Class Points are Divided:

There are 1000 class points divided as follows:

First Block of Study

Exam #1

200 points

Project #1.
Do a "Dogs of the Dow" Spreadsheet.

100 points

Second Block of Study

Exam #2

200 points

Project #2.
Ten Major Economic News Story Summaries from the WSJ

100 points

Third Block of Study

Exam #3 200 points

Project #3
Report the kinds of data contained in, and uses to be made, of the ten most important Economics or Finance websites included on Mr. Meyer's website.
100 points

            Final Exam Essay

Final Exam (Known as Project #4)
For 100 bonus points:
From the Wall Street Journal, use the section called "MarketPlace" and turn in summary and impact statements on two articles from each day of the week that had the greatest effect on your livelihood, career, or family.

For 25 bonus points:
turn in an updated Project #1 that includes:
(1) the most recent values in the prices of the stocks in the Dogs of the Dow, along with
(2) the change in the portfolio value from its original $10,000 value.
(3) Along with the re-computation, include your explanation of the reasons for and reasons against adopting a strategy like Dogs of the Dow.
For 75 bonus points:
Take the Pre-study and Post-study quizzes for each course objective on My EconLab and report your scores on this Diagnostic Quizzes for Survey of Economics link.
To do this, click the Course Documents Tab in MyEconLab. Click each chapter. Within each chapter take the Level1 diagnostic quiz before you study; take the Level 2 diagnostic quiz after your study each objective and keep an accurate record of your scores.

100 points

plus up to 25 bonus

plus up to 75 more bonus points

To fail the course you have to:

(1) Withdraw improperly, plagiarize, or
(2) Achieve a cumulative percentage of less than 60%.

To earn a grade of D you have to:

Achieve a cumulative grade percentage of 60% but less than 70%.

To earn a grade of C you have to:

Achieve a cumulative grade percentage of 70% but less than 80%.

To earn a grade of B you have to:

Achieve a cumulative grade percentage of 80% but less than 90%.

To earn a grade of A you have to:

Achieve a cumulative grade percentage of 90% or greater.

Project #1: Dogs of the Dow	Project #1: Step 1. Near the beginning of the semester, create an Excel spreadsheet listing the current Wall Street Journal prices for each stock in the Dogs of the Dow on a specific day. Use any popular search engine (such as http://www.google.com ) to look up "Dogs of the Dow." Step 2. Divide $10,000 equally among the ten stocks currently known as the Dogs of the Dow, noting the date and the price per share of each stock. Divide each $1,000 investment in each of the ten stocks by the current stock share price to determine how many shares $1,000 will buy. Save your spreadsheet, and its total value of $10,000. Turn in your work. (For 25 additional bonus points) Step 3: Near the end of the semester, create an Excel spreadsheet listing the current price of each stock in the Dogs of the Dow on a specific day. Using your original quantities of stock and the stock prices in Step 1, note which investments have become profitable, and which, if any, declined in value. Report whether your $10,000 original investment rose or fell in value and by how much. Step 4. A. Report your findings about the increase or decrease in the value of your $10,000 investment. Ignore any commissions. B. Include an explanation of how a stock comes to be known as a "Dog of the Dow." Limit yourself to two typed pages. Begin Project #1 as soon as you receive the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Turn Project #1 in when you take Exam #1, and, optionally, turn Project #1 in again along with Project #4 (your final exam) for 25 additional bonus point.
Project #2: A "Careers in Economics" Service Project	Project #2: Step 1. Examine Careers in Economics on the Instructor Homepage and select one of the eight fields of employment in which you could have an interest in working. Before beginning Step 2, decide how you think a knowledge of economics could be useful in that career field. Step 2. As a matter of public service, search out and interview a person working in that field, or, using Internet, write to an organization employing persons trained in economics. Step 3. Find out how that person or organization believes a knowledge of the use of limited resources (economics) contributes to their career, furthers the purposes of the organization they serve, promotes their personal well-being, or provides a social benefit to society. Step 4. Summarize your findings by answering "A" through "D" below. Limit your comments to precisely two typed pages, using single-spaced 12-point type. A. What was the source of your interest in a particular career field? B. What did you presume to find when you sought someone to interview? C. What additional knowledge or insight did you gain by meeting someone trained in economics? D. To complete your service project, decide whether this experience furthered your own interest in the career field you identified in Step 1 above. Begin Project #2 as soon as you have visited Salaries in Economics. You may turn Project #2 in when you take Exam #1, or when you take Exam #2.
Project #3: Data and Uses in Important Economics or Finance Websites	Project #3: Report the kinds of data contained in, and uses to be made, of the ten most important Economics or Finance websites included on Mr. Meyer's website. Use Economics HotLinks or Finance HotLinks found on the Instructor homepage. Number each website. Limit your comments to precisely three typed pages, single-space, using 12-point type. (Use three full pages.) Begin Project #3 at any time. Turn in Project #3 when you take Exam #2 or Exam #3.