Writing Guides

I. THE HEADING

• At the top of the page give the article's full citation.

EXAMPLE: Rousseas, Stephen. "Can the U.S. Financial System Survive the Revolution?" Challenge, Vol 32, no. 2 (March-April, 1989), pp. 39-43.

• Don't forget to put your name at the top.

II. THE FIRST PARAGRAPH.

• First sentence. Statement of theme or argument. One or two sentences that convey a sense of the overall argument. This might be a conclusion, an important theoretical implication, or a policy suggestion.

EXAMPLE: Highly leveraged debt combined with bank deregulation and financial innovation has rendered the U.S. financial system increasingly unstable and vulnerable to recession.

• The remainder of the first paragraph is an overview of the argument itself.

EXAMPLE: Deregulation weakened both commercial banks and S&Ls by allowing them to enter more risky markets at a time when two major sources of high-risk borrowing, LDC debt and leveraged buy-outs, were booming. Financial innovation loosened much of the remaining regulatory system, and frustrated monetary policy. A recession, whether of exogenous or domestic origin, would leave in shambles a financial system that is heavily exposed to bad LDC debt and unsecured "junk-bond" lending.

• Summarize the argument; do not attempt to summarize each paragraph.

III.THE SECOND AND THIRD PARAGRAPHS.

"Flesh-out" the argument presented in the first paragraph. In the example, points that might be mentioned are: Deregulation resulted in fewer banks; ill-conceived monetary policy; financial deregulation and innovation tend to trigger and reinforce each other; leveraged buy-outs. DO NOT LIST these points. Write them in prose.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS WRITING TIPS.

1. Economy of style is in order. Try to express an idea in as few words as possible, without doing it violence.

2. Avoid using the first person ("I" and "We"), second person ("you"), and phrases like "the author believes..."

3. Avoid the passive voice. The phrase "the monetary base was increased by open market actions" (passive voice) can be shortened to "open market actions increased the monetary base" (active voice).

4. Use gender-neutral pronouns. Do not use "he" or "man" when referring to people in general or to unspecified individuals. Instead use, for example, "people," "him or her," or "S/he."

In a book review, you must describe, analyze, and react to the arguments put forward by the author.   You must accurately report the argument(s) of the book, as in an abstract or synopsis, but unlike in an abstract, you must also place the arguments in context and critically assess them.  In general, you should answer all or most of the following questions:

• Why is this book important?

• What are its main points?

• How do the author's arguments relate to one or more economic theories? 

• How does the book relate to the current or past economic environment, conditions or policy?

• What evidence, if any, is cited in support of the arguments? 

• Is the evidence appropriate evidence?  Is it convincing?

• What, if anything, is missing from the book?

The Structure and Format of a Book Review

I. THE HEADING

Title. Author. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. Number of pages.
Reviewed by (your name)

II. THE INTRODUCTION

The introduction starts with a statement of the theme of the book, and lets your readers know what the review will say. It must therefore include a very brief overview of the contents of the book, the purpose of, or audience for the book, and a brief summary of your reaction and evaluation.

III. THE CONTEXT

Place the book in theoretical, policy and/or historical context.  You might also discuss what are reasonable criteria for judging the book.

IV. SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE

This is very much like the summary you might write in an abstract or synopsis.  Attempt to put the author's argument in its best light.  Summarize it fairly, without inserting your own views.  You might want to quote or paraphrase key passages from the book.  Avoid plagiarism by placing quotation marks around quotes and placing the page number from which the quote or paraphrase comes in parentheses immediately afterwards.

V. EVALUATION OF THE ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE

This is the heart of the book review and where your views come into play.  Remember that you may not be able to express fully your own views.  The point of the book review is to present a critical reading of someone else's work, not to give a full exposition of your own work. Carefully distinguish your views from the author's.

VI. CONCLUSION

Finish with a conclusion which ties together issues raised in the review and provides a concise comment on the book.

VII. WORKS CITED

Should you cite a work other than that under review, give full bibliographic information on it.

This guide to essay writing outlines just one way to structure an essay. It is by no means the only way, and your professor may or may not require you to structure your essays this way. It follows the general pattern "tell what you're about to say, say it, and then tell what you've just said." Sound a bit repetitive? It is, a little, but it helps make your ideas clear.

I. THE INTRODUCTION

First Paragraph.

• The first few sentences should introduce the general topic of the paper.

Example: "John Maynard Keynes revolutionized economics with the publication of his General Theory in 1936. Among the most controversial of his ideas is the view that full-employment is impossible without extensive government intervention in the economy."

• After one to three introductory sentences, introduce the second most important point to be made in the essay. This will be the second issue discussed at length in the body of the essay. The last point mentioned in the introductory paragraph should be the most important point, and the first point discussed in the body of the essay. Thus, the last sentence of the introductory paragraph introduces the topic of the next paragraph in a general way. In the introductory paragraph, one, or, at most, two sentences are needed to introduce an issue. Furthermore, no more than three or four important points can be discussed adequately in an essay -- even in a very long essay.

• On occasion it is useful to include two introductory paragraphs. The first should discuss why the essay topic is important; the second should introduce the three important issues to be discussed at length in the body of the essay.

II. THE BODY OF THE ESSAY

A few paragraphs for each important issue.

• The first several paragraphs after the introduction should discuss the most important point of the essay. In an argumentative essay, it should be the strongest argument supporting the writer's viewpoint. In a more narrative type of essay, this might be the most important factor influencing a particular event, or the key issue over which economists (for example) differ. Please keep in mind that there is no such thing as a "neutral" or "objective" report.

• The next several paragraphs after those making the most important point, should take up the second most important point. After that, the third most important point should be discussed. One of these might be a refutation of a viewpoint at odds with that of the writer; or an explanation of why some apparently important factors are of only secondary importance.

• Each and every paragraph in the body (and conclusion) of the essay must begin with a "topic" sentence. It should state the topic of the paragraph -- one topic per paragraph please!

III. THE CONCLUSION

The last several paragraphs.

• The conclusion should summarize what has been said in the body of the essay. It should tie together the three (or four) important points made.

• It is often a good idea to mention one or two important implications or unanswered questions that follow from the essay.

• Above all, there should be no surprises for the reader in the conclusion. Introduce no new points. If there is something that hasn't been mentioned already, it should follow logically and clearly from something in the body of the essay.

IV. THE OUTLINE

Always make an outline of an essay before writing it. An essay can be written by making successively more detailed outlines. Identify the three important points, and break each of them down into several parts (A.,B., and C.). These will become topic sentences for paragraphs. Then "flesh-out" each paragraph. The reader should be able to reconstruct your initial outline easily.

I. Introduction -- first paragraph.

II. Most important point -- next several paragraphs.

A. Paragraph Topic Sentence (first sentence)

1. Second sentence.

2. Third sentence.

3. Etc.

III. Next most important point.

IV. Third most important point.

V. Conclusion

Some general writing tips for academic papers.

1. Always reread what you have written several times.

2. Can the same thing be said in fewer words?

3. Does anything need more explanation?

4. Is the body of your essay overly repetitious?

5. Do you give too much detail in the introduction?

6. Would the outline of the essay be clear to the reader?

7. Is the grammar correct? Is the spelling correct?

8. Does each of your paragraphs have a topic sentence? Are any paragraphs too long, or too short (less than two sentences)?

9. Is the argument logical and clear? Does it say what you want it to say?

10. Always write in the third person (he, she, it). Never write in the first (I, we) or second (you) person. The subject of a sentence should never be "I" or "you."

11. Use gender-neutral pronouns when referring to people in general, or "the human race". "He" must have a masculine antecedent, and "she" must have a feminine antecedent. Otherwise, use "he or she", "s/he", "they", or "people" or "a person".

The senior thesis is the major component of the Senior Seminar, and is required of all majors in the Economics and Finance Department. It gives students the chance to produce and extended, fully wrought work of which they can be proud. A well-written and research senior thesis can be given to potential employers and graduate schools as part of the application process. Some students give bound copies to their parents or grandparents.

Most professors will accept any foot/endnote and bibliographic style as long as it is consistently applied throughout your paper.

E. H. Butler Library's list of online style guides includes the foot/endnote and bibliographic style guides listed below as well as the Chicago/Turabian bibliographic style.

American Psychological Association bibliographic style

Chicago Manual of Style

Modern Language Association bibliographic style

Plagiarism is the unattributed use of other's creative effort, writing or ideas. It is a form of anti-social, dysfunctional behavior that impedes the acquisition and dispersion of knowledge. It is not acceptable to:

• use someone else's exact words (oral or written) without citing the sources and giving them credit;

• paraphrase someone else's work without citing the source and giving them credit;

• use someone else's statistics, tables, images, etc. without citing the source and giving them credit;

• use someone else's ideas without without citing the source and giving them credit.

PENALTIES FOR PLAGIARISM

Fortunately, the key to avoiding plagiarism is contained within the phrase "citing the source and giving them credit." Proper citation gives credit where credit is due, and provides readers of your work with a valuable research tool. 

The penalty for plagiarism is at the discretion of the course instructor, and depends on the severity of the offense. Penalties for plagiarism in the Economics & Finance Department at Buffalo State may include:

• de novo rewriting and resubmission

• a failing grade on the plagiarized assignment

• a grade reduction for the course

• a failing grade for the course

  It may be appealed through the department and university academic appeals process.