A Guideline for Term Paper Writing in Economics

Sisay Debebe (PhD)

At the end of the course, students are expected to write a term paper on a topic of their
own interest. Writing the term-paper requires paying attention to the following points.

1. Clear and concise topic and well thought out objective

2. Selection of relevant, recent and reputable empirical literatures for the given topic
3. Reviewing relevant theoretical concept to address the topic
4. Link the concept and the case you that you have given.
5. A brief conclusion emphasizing the lessons you can draw through applying concepts
6. General structure: Introduction, Objective, Theory, Case Analysis and Discussion,
Conclusion (giving a balanced amount of text in each section).
7. Important is creativity in dealing with the topic, clarity of thought, language and
ability to draw lessons learnt
8. Give a full list of references in alphabetical order
9. The term-paper should be typewritten ranging between 15 to 20 pages, Times New
Roman, 12 pt and 1.5 Spacing.
10. Submission date: (date negotiable but before one week end of academic calendar )
11. Certain rules should be followed consistently throughout these documents- the
following detail for your consideration should be made:
 Times New Roman font is required throughout the documents.
 Write the table of content using Microsoft word automatic table of content
writing format.
 All of the headings & entries in the Table of Contents should correspond exactly
in wording, font & case with the headings or entries as they appear in the text
 Write the list of tables &/or list of figures (if any) using Microsoft word
automatic insert caption option format.
 The first level headings in the research proposal & thesis will be in 14 point font
size. Aside from this variation in font size, all of the narrative in the research
proposals & theses are in 12 point font size.
 The same margins should be applied to all pages including those of the figures &
tables.
 Each of the titles of the preliminary sections and the chapters of the narrative
should be written in bold upper case letters and be centered.
 Note that the titles of the preliminary sections are not numbered.

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  The chapter headings of the narrative must be numbered with Arabic numerals
starting from 1 for the Introduction and ending with 7 or 8 for the Appendix (if
any)
 The second level headings, i.e. subheadings, are numbered consecutively with
Arabic numerals in an outline numbering system.
 Second level headings are written in bold title case letters, i.e. the first letter of
each major word of the headings is written in upper case letters.
 All remaining lower level headings are written in sentence case, i.e. only the first
letter of the heading will be in upper case.
 The line spacing for all of the narrative is 1.5 although single line spacing is to
be applied to captions of tables and figures.
 Tables and figures should be single line spaced.
 The Abbreviations & Acronyms section (if any)follows in alphabetical order, it
lists the items first written in the abbreviation or acronym followed by the full
name.
 Do not use “title” and “page” at the top of the page in the Table of Contents.

APPROVED TOPICS

1. Review empirical studies on rural development & its determinants in Ethiopia

Abdurahman Hassen & Abel Abera
2. Review empirical studies on rural poverty, income inequality & their determinants in
Ethiopia
Abraham Bitew and Adugna Alemayehu
3. Review empirical studies on the efficiency of production of crops & their determinants in
Ethiopia
Asamerew Dejenie and Berhanu Berihun
4. Review empirical studies on production, productivity of crops & their determinants in
Ethiopia.
Berhanu Tolcha and Birhanu Regasa
5. Review empirical studies on challenges and constrains of agricultural technological
adoption and their determinants in Ethiopia
Dessalegn Tsegaye & Feven Ayalew
6. Review empirical studies on the impact of risk & uncertainty on agricultural production
in Ethiopia
Hikma Sultan and Hailemicheal Kebede

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7. Review empirical studies on the role of institution for rural and agriculture development
in Ethiopia.
Lencha Asfaw and Iranfechisa Lechisa
8. Review effectiveness of agriculture and rural development police and strategies in
Ethiopia.
Sinafik Asegid, Tilahun Binalf & Yalew Mengistie