How To Write A Good Economics Paragraph... A Basic Introduction!
(Edited and improved from the 2010 version)
In this introductory and basic post on Economics, I reiterate and show how to write a good economics essay paragraph - one that gets good marks rather than bad marks in an economics essay test or examination.
Often, students ask, and rightly so: "How do we write a good Economics essay?"
However, before you can answer that, you might need to know how to write a good Economics paragraph first, because paragraphs are the building blocks to create a well-crafted, well-written essay.
Let's begin with a simple exercise. Ready?
Have a look at the following sample Economics paragraphs, and think to yourself whether the paragraph is well written or not.
Often, students ask, and rightly so: "How do we write a good Economics essay?"
However, before you can answer that, you might need to know how to write a good Economics paragraph first, because paragraphs are the building blocks to create a well-crafted, well-written essay.
Let's begin with a simple exercise. Ready?
Have a look at the following sample Economics paragraphs, and think to yourself whether the paragraph is well written or not.
"A" grade by Adam
Insert tariff diagram - small country case (international trade)
Tariffs, taxes imposed on imported goods and services, hurt the local, domestic economy. The above diagram shows that, for a small country, putting a tariff on an imported good increases the price of the good, making quantity demanded fall by B2 and quantity supplied by local sellers to rise by A1, thus causing deadweight loss A and B. Not only is there deadweight loss of A and B, there is also an increase in the overall price and less quantity of that good is consumed. For example, a tariff on cars will make the price of imported cars rise and thus consumers will buy more locally produced cars, perhaps just like the Proton Saga cars in Malaysia if Malaysia were to impose a tariff. Consumers lose out because they pay more and consume less numbers of cars overall, but local producers and the government gain from the loss in consumer surplus. The deadweight loss is not efficient as the losses from consumer surplus do not accrue to the government, the producers or the consumers, but are in effect lost. Thus, tariffs hurt the local economy via deadweight loss, which is not Pareto (or allocative) efficient.
"B" grade by Ben
Insert tariff diagram - small country case (international trade)
Tariffs, taxes on imports, are bad. The above diagram shows that, for a small country, putting a tariff on an imported good increases the price of the good, making quantity demanded fall by B2 and quantity supplied by local sellers to rise by A1, thus causing deadweight loss A and B. Not only is there deadweight loss of A and B, there is also an increase in the overall price and less quantity of that good is consumed. For example, a tariff on cars will make the price of imported cars rise and thus consumers will buy more locally produced cars. Consumers lose out because they pay more and consume less numbers of cars overall, but local producers and the government win. The deadweight loss is not efficient as the losses from consumer surplus do not accrue to the government, the producers or the consumers, but are in effect lost. Thus, tariffs hurt the local economy via deadweight loss, which is not Pareto efficient.
"C" grade by Cadence
NO ECONOMICS DIAGRAM
Tariffs are bad because they hurt the local economy. Not only is there deadweight loss, there is also an increase in the overall price and less quantity of that good (which are cars) is consumed. Thus, tariffs hurt the local economy via deadweight loss, which is not Pareto efficient.
"D" grade for Denise
NO ECONOMICS DIAGRAM
Tariffs hurt the economy. A tariff on cars will make the price of imported cars rise and thus consumers will buy more produced cars. People locally lose out because he pays more and consume less of cars overall, but homebody producers and my government win. The deedweight loss is not efficient as losses fro consumer surplus do not goes to the garvenment, the producers or the consumers, but are in effect gained. Like disappeared. Thus, tariffs hurt foreign economys because deadweight loss, which is Not good.
So, what have we learnt about writing a good Economics paragraph?
WHAT ARE THE GOOD POINTS?
STATE Tariffs, taxes imposed on imported goods and services, hurt the local economy.
EXPLAIN The above diagram shows that, for a small country, putting a tariff on an imported good increases the price of the good, making quantity demanded fall by B2 and quantity supplied by local sellers to rise by A1, thus causing deadweight loss A and B. Not only is there deadweight loss of A and B, there is also an increase in the overall price and less quantity of that good is consumed.
EXAMPLE For example, a tariff on cars will make the price of imported cars rise and thus consumers will buy more locally produced cars, just like the Proton Saga in Malaysia.
EXPLAIN Consumers lose out because they pay more and consume less numbers of cars overall, but local producers and the government win. The deadweight loss is not efficient as the losses from consumer surplus do not accrue to the government, the producers or the consumers, but are in effect lost.
CONCLUDE Thus, tariffs hurt the local economy via deadweight loss, which is not Pareto (allocative) efficient.
I would strongly recommend crafting good essay paragraphs by stating clearly what the argument is, first and foremost. After stating your argument, explain what it means by defining the terms, explaining what the process is, and explaining why you think that argument makes sense. Perhaps even draw a diagram to explain the situation, and explain the diagram itself as well to show your economics knowledge. Giving an example, you will now want to explain the example to show how it links to the theoretical content, and then you conclude by wrapping up your paragraph. If each paragraph is written consistently like this, your paper will be more detailed, well-explained, and full of rich real world examples that highlight your points.
Good luck and all the best writing your economics essay paragraph!
The editor.
JC ECONOMICS ESSAYS - For H1, H2, H3, "O" levels, "A" and "AS" levels, GCE, GCSE, AS, and introductory undergraduate Economics.
