1. For the final paper, pick a particular development issue/topic of your choice. You can work
individually or you can work in groups of 2.
2. Students are expected to use some relevant data for the paper. Your syllabus has some useful
to access data. The links can also be used for background readings. You may also consult some
government data sources or other sources (if needed).
3. While working on your paper, please remember that the most important thing is novelty (your
value added) to the discussion of the topic. That is, have you tried to look at the issue from a
unique perspective? Have you identified a gap in the literature? Have you discussed the ideas
using your own words? Also very important is, how you try to bring the theories/models that
were discussed in the course to support your arguments.
4.Your paper should include:
a. Title page with an abstract
b. Introduction ( include a discussion of the purpose of the research here and an over
view of the topic)
c. Statement of major contribution (s) (value added)
d. A descriptive statistics of the data you use and put each chart and graph
e. Discussion/Analysis
f. Conclusion
g. Appendices
h. References
5. The paper should be approximately 15 pages excluding charts, tables and graphs.
6. Prepare a short oral presentation (15 minutes plus 3 minutes for Q &A).
Important Dates
October 28, 2015 Submission of topics for approval
November 18, 2015 Annotated Bibliography
Presentations
You need to submit a hard copy as well as an electronic copy on blackboard (Safe Assignment).
Please note the following points:
1. Overall – Interest and creativity. Did you come up with something interesting and
creative?
2. Overall – Deadlines and criteria. Did you meet all the paper deadlines? Does the paper
meet the format requirements?
3. Talk/presentation – Was the talk clear and a good summary of what was done in the
paper? Were the results communicated effectively? Was there effective use of media?
Were you able to answer questions from the audience? (An oral presentation rubric will be
given as a guideline)
4. Paper — Exposition Is the writing clear and is it easy for the reader to understand what
you did and the arguments you made? Is the paper well-written, proofread, using own
words with appropriate citation and references?
