Guidelines for Critical Essay (XCR opportunity)

Once you find your topic of interest, raise a ‘critical thinking question’ about your topic (ex: Should the government decrease the national debt?) and start working on your research paper of about 5 pages (word count: 1200-1500 words).

Your paper should include an introduction with your thesis. The main body and paragraphs should include arguments and supportive evidence in favor of your topic (ex: pros for a decrease in the national debt) and arguments and supportive evidence against that topic (ex: cons for decrease in the national debt). It should become a well-rounded argumentative essay.

For the conclusion I would like YOUR critical analysis and your viewpoint on the topic, i.e. your opinion – based on and supported by evidence. You should try and support your arguments with some positive economics: find facts and data (i.e. charts, tables, graphs) and include those as well. Your paper should include scholarly sources (provide references to sources throughout your essay and the bibliography at the end of the paper).

Be sure to avoid plagiarism, i.e. copy and paste from other authors. You need to re-write the information in your own words and cite the sources throughout the paper, so I can see where you found your information