LUBS

School5101M
of something
Macroeconomics
FACULTY OF OTHER

2023/2024

Guidelines for Assessed Course

Work (ACW)

Karsten Kohler
k.kohler@leeds.ac.uk
Structure of the ACW

• 100% Assessed Course Work (ACW), i.e. a home assignment

• answer two questions: one from Section A and one from Section B
• Total word limit: 3000 words
– you should write circa 1500 words for each question.
– you should submit one document of 3000 words containing the two
answers.
• both questions carry equal marks.
• Submission of the Assessed Course Work (ACW):
− By Wednesday 3 January 2024
− Online via Minerva
Objectives

• answer the chosen questions

• engage with the relevant literature on the topic
• demonstrate a good understanding of the relevant theoretical approaches
we covered on the module (section A) and their relevance for real-world
issues (e.g. economic policy, macroeconomic country experiences)
(section B)
• demonstrate critical thinking in the advantages and limitations of different
theoretical approaches
 Marking criteria

• Your answers will be evaluated along the following dimensions (see here):
1. Knowledge and understanding
2. Research and evidence
3. Analysis and evaluation
4. Presentation

• An excellent ACW will:

1. Demonstrate an excellent understanding of the relevant theories, their key implications, and how
they are linked to current debates and problems in macroeconomic theory and/or policy.
2. Demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research and to address research questions in an
original way.
3. Demonstrate ability to critically evaluate theories, methodologies, and empirical evidence in a
systematic and creative manner that sheds light on issues within existing theoretical frameworks.
4. Present its arguments in a coherent and clear manner, with arguments consistently supported by
evidence, leading to clear conclusions; with accurate and consistent citation and referencing.
 Broad structure of your answers

• No need to follow a full-blown essay or thesis structure

(remember that you only have 1.5k words per answer)
• Suggested structure:
1. One or two introductory paragraphs
2. A main part
3. One or two concluding paragraphs
4. Bibliography (this is required)
 How to structure your main part (1/2)

• First, you want to explain what the relevant theories have to say about
the topic
• requires a concise statement of the gist of theoretical approaches, e.g.
through the use of equations, diagrams and/or numerical simulations
• while this involves to some extent a reproduction of existing
knowledge, it allows you to demonstrate your understanding of the
theories.
• thus important that you explain them in your own words

• word limit might not allow you to derive key equations and diagrams
from scratch → acceptable to present key equation(s) or main
diagram(s) directly without derivations (but do reference the source)
• all symbols used in equations need to be defined in the text
• diagrams can be drawn by hand (but need to be inserted into the file you submit)
How to structure your main part (2/2)

• Second, having explained what the theory says about the topic, your
answer should then offer some critical discussion
• this is where you can become creative and bring in additional
resources
• This could involve:
• a critical discussion of the relevant assumptions that are necessary to generate certain
results and their plausibility
• a discussion of criticisms of the theory made by other theoretical approaches
• your own scenarios from numerical simulations
• a confrontation of the theory and its predictions with empirical data, e.g. by focussing
on a country-specific example; this is a requirement for section B (can draw on skills
from seminar #3 on data retrieval)

• To accomplish this, it will be necessary to do some additional reading

(see next slide)
Readings

• draw on the relevant readings related to your topic

• you do not need to reference all thosereadings, but you are expected to go beyond
the introductory readings
• go for quality instead of quantity: the word limit is tight, so there is no expectation
to engage with a large number of sources. Instead, focus on a few references and
use them effectively for your critical discussion.
• you are welcome to engage further literature if it supports your critical
discussion: journal articles, book sections, high-quality journalism (e.g. FT,
Economist), policy documents (e.g. BoE, ECB, BIS)
Lessons from previous cohorts

• experience from past cohorts was that many assessments lacked depth in the
critical discussion
• important to appreciate that the ACW is NOT an exam!
• instead, it is an individual piece of written work
• you need to do more than just reproducing what’s in the lecture slides and core
textbook(s)
• Advice:
• critical discussion means evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical
approaches
• this will require the use of additional readings and/or empirical evidence
• bring in critical discussion by comparing different theoretical views or by discussing real-world
examples (Global Financial Crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, energy crisis, ...)
• real-world examples can be linked to your personal background (e.g. your home country)
• be creative!
 Referencing

• should use the official University of Leeds version of the Harvard referencing
style (see here)
• guidelines for how to reference correctly can be found here
• every direct quote or chart taken from a source needs to be referenced (but it’s
generally better to say things in your own words and create your own graphs)
• if you refer to a specific argument or figure, or if you directly quote from a source, do
indicate the relevant page number
• rather than directly copying from the lecture slides (which cannot be
referenced), explain things in your own words
• Bibliography:
• state the outlet in which an article was published (name of journal, working paper series, or
institution)
• there is no need to paste the URLs into the bibliography (unless there is no other way of
referencing the source), state the outlet instead!
Example: how to reference a chart
you created yourself
Figure 1: Share price index, Greece, 1991Q1-2019Q3

Note: Author’s representation.

Source: OECD Statistics, https://stats.oecd.org/, retrieved 16/01/2020

Example: how to reference a chart
from a secondary source
Figure 2: Contributions to GDP growth, USA,
2007Q4-2009Q2

Source: Mian and Sufi (2015, p. 35).

Word limit

• includes everything that is included in the main body of

the assignment including summaries, subtitles, contents
pages, tables, footnotes and in-text references
• does not include the main title, the reference list and/or
bibliography and any appendices.
• you are required to adhere to the word limit specified and
state an accurate word count on the cover page of your
assignment
 Formatting

• No strict guidelines, but we suggest:

• Times New Roman, 12pt, justified, 1.15 - 1.5 line spacing
• place footnotes at the end of the sentence after the punctuation mark, e.g.
“...blablabla.1”
• place references at the end of the sentence before the punctuation mark, e.g.: “...
(Snowdon and Vane 2005, chap. 2).”
• structure your argument in paragraphs with reasonable length (e.g. 2-4 per page)
 Plagiarism

• every assessment submitted via Turnitin will automatically be

checked for similarity with past submissions and with
published documents
• match between the text in your submission and previous work
will be reflected in a “similarity score” (see here)
• a high similarity score is not per se a problem if you reference
correctly (e.g. using direct quotes from existing literature will
raise your similarity score but if you referenced them, that’s
OK)
• Every submission will be scrutinised individually for signs of
plagiarism
• If there are signs of plagiarism, this will be reported to a
separate body who will investigate the case
• If you are deemed to have plagiarised, you may be punished
(see here)
• Bottom line: make you sure you reference correctly!
On the use of AI

• You are free to ask AI (e.g. ChatGPT) questions while you are working
on your ACW
• Sometimes this can be helpful for getting a quick and concise answer
(e.g. definitions of widely used technical concepts)
• ChatGPT is also often helpful for explaining/translating/providing code
(R and Python)
• BUT:
• you cannot directly copy & past text produced by AI
• this is considered plagiarism and will be penalised!
• besides that, there is a high chance that the quality of any AI output will be
low (little substance, repetitive, outright wrong)
• recommend against using AI to polish your text – it often reads very odd
Mitigating Circumstances

• “Mitigating circumstances are normally exceptional, short term,

unforeseen and unpreventable events that may have a significantly
disruptive effect on your ability to take assessments.”
• If you believe you are affected by mitigating circumstances, e.g., illness, you
can apply for an extension of the submission deadline
• You can apply by submitting an online firm (see here)
• Please don’t email me regarding extensions – we are not allowed to take
decision on mitigating circumstances
• For generic questions related to student support, please email
lubsstudentsupport@leeds.ac.uk