In the first part of the course we focus on how markets operate. We explore a number of different conceptions of markets, prices and the system of commodity exchange. In this assignment you will need to pick one of the readings from weeks 2 to 4 and discuss how the author views the market. You may wish to compare this to one of the other readings from these weeks, but this is not essential.

Some of the readings can be a little difficult. We encourage you to engage with these even if you find them challenging – we do understand and take this into account in marking. You might want to refer to the additional readings, and to the textbook, to help you interpret and analyse the readings.

This is not a research task. You are not required to read more broadly or to cite other references. However, you do need to cite any references you draw upon, including the reading you discuss. Even if you only refer to this one reading, you still need to include a reference list.

The aim of this assignment is to show your familiarity with key concepts in the course, to demonstrate you can critically analyse and assess social scientific concepts, and to demonstrate academic writing skills. You do not need to use complex sentences or overly academic language. The more direct and concise your writing, the better. But you do need to explain the concepts in the reading, and to assess how useful they are for understanding the modern economy.

This goes beyond simply summarizing the reading. You need to inject your views. This can be a difficult skill to master. It is not the same as just expressing your opinion. Academic writing requires reasoned argument and reference to evidence. You need to explain why you have come to the view that you have, and justify your position.

Remember, this is an early assessment. It is an opportunity for you to gain feedback on your writing and your progress in the course. It does not have a particularly high weight in your overall mark – so if there are areas where you are weak, you will have time to work on them and to lift your overall grade in the later assessments. If you have questions after you receive your mark and comments, you should talk to your tutor, or to the mentors who are helping with the course.

This assignment brings together empiricial analysis and broader research skills. Students choose one of a number of tasks. In each they examine a key document or data source and analyse its implications for an important social or policy question. Students may also gather their own data as part of the assignment. The structure is similar to a research essay. Students are expected to go beyond the required readings and engage in their own library based research. However, for each task there is guidance provided on where to look for information and how to structure your analysis. The different questions focus on topics from inequality to climate change, and involve a combination of analysis of numerical (quantitative) data, qualitative data like interviews, as well as policy analysis and broader social and economic arguments.

This is a research assignment. You are expected to draw on reading and material beyond those supplied in the course. This can include some of the material listed as ‘additional readings’ and may also include other material you identify yourself. All material should be properly referenced.

For this assignment you have a choice of topics. In each case you will need to examine some empirical data. Part of the assignment is explaining what this data means and analysing it in terms of the categories and concepts we use in the course - such as gender norms, inequality, environmental sustainability or macro economic management. The second part of the assignment is to critically evaluate the information drawing on the broader literature.

In each case, we provide you with the initial data (or a framework for collecting it). There is a link to a report or reading that you should use as the starting point. A large part of the assignment is demonstrating that you are familiar with reading this type of information and making sense of it. This is an important skill that will help you generally in analysing social scientific information and making sense of claims other people make about the economy. Options will be available through iLearn.

You may also wish to develop your own topic. This is fine - but if you do this you need to speak with your tutor about it no later than week 8.

The final assignment is an exam during the formal exam period. The exam is 90 minutes, with 10 minutes reading time. It will have two sections, the first comprising 10 multiple choice questions; the second a choice of 4 out of 5 short answer questions.

The exam will be based on material from the lectures, supported by the textbook readings that accompany each lecture. In the final lecture we will go through the exam content in some detail. The aim of this exercise is to ensure you are familiar with the key concepts from the course. We will let you know the topics you need to focus on in advance to help focus your study.

As part of your involvement in the course you are expected to actively participate in tutorials. For external students this involves discussion through iLearn, for internal students it requires tutorial attendance. Participation involves reading and thinking about the required readings each week. It also involves making some contribution to discussion. You will be assessed on the basis of your contributions in terms of both your understanding of the issues and your effort to engage with the subject matter. This is not a measure of how much you contribute, but of the quality of your contributions.

For external students, your mark will be based on three parts. The first is an original contributions to at least one week discussing the readings and the questions. The second is a response to post from another student, engaging in debate and discussion. The third is your general engagement in the discussion forums.

It is also important that everyone contributes in a way that promotes reasoned discussion and includes all. For both external and internal students, if you find it easy to contribute, be careful not to dominate debate. If you find it difficult, make an effort to get involved, or discuss the issue with your tutor so they can help you participate fully. Debating and discussing ideas is an important part of academic life and sociological inquiry.

Some of the tutorials in this course are designed to assist you with the assignments. Your participation mark will not be based on these weeks, but rather on the weeks where there are set readings in addition to the textbook.