AP Macro Economics Summer Assignment

Advanced Placement Macroeconomics

Summer Assignment Form

This form certifies that you have been given the assignment for summer work. This course work is required for every student entering the Advanced Placement curriculum for Macroeconomics in the 2019-2020 school year. Successful completion of this form certifies that you have been made aware of the following information:

• Every student must email the teacher when you received the assignment:

• Bryn.makarius@longwoodcsd.org
• Your subject line should be: Last Name, First Name AP Macroeconomics
• Point value on project: 5% of grade.

• This summer assignment must be emailed by August 25, 2019 at the following email address:

• Bryan.makarius@longwoodcsd.org
• Your subject line should be: Last Name, First Name AP Macroeconomics
• This email will include your assignment as an attachment in Microsoft Word format.
• Point value on project 5% of grade.

Failure to complete this assignment before the due date will result in removal from the course.

A printed version of your work must also be submitted to your teacher on the first day of school.

By signing below, you certify that you are aware of the assignment and understand the requirements.

_____________________________ ______________________________

Students Name (Print) Signature

_____________________________ ______________________________

Parent Name (Print) Signature

Summer Assignment

An Analysis of Economic Theory

Advanced Placement Macroeconomics

Due Date: August 25, 2019

Dear Advanced Placement Student:

A distinguished curriculum, Advanced Placement Macroeconomics will give you a rich and rigorous course aimed at a learning experience equivalent to a typical college introductory macroeconomics course. This course would culminate with a College Board Examination in Macroeconomics, which students have a chance to obtain college credit for a semester long course at many colleges and universities. By offering the students of Longwood High School this program, we can ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve higher academic standards.

Coursework for this class will begin over this summer, when each student is required to complete the summer assignment. This assignment will require that you read, examine, evaluate, and critique a work of literature that is connected to the curriculum. Your efforts this summer will provide a strong foundation for the rigorous course work you will experience in AP Macroeconomics.

Summer Assignment: There are four possible books, and each book has a limit of fifteen students per book. The distribution of books will be on a first come, first serve basis. If you do not get your first choice, you will have a chance to do a similar project later in the year with some of the other selections. The books are available to you, but you are welcome to purchase your own book if you would like. Furthermore, this assignment should not consume your entire summer break, but it must be handed in on or before August 25^th.

This summer assignment must be emailed at the following email address:

• Bryan.makarius@longwoodcsd.org
• Your subject line should be: Last Name, First Name AP Macroeconomics
• This email will include your assignment as an attachment in Microsoft Word format.

It is imperative that you start the summer assignment as soon as possible so that you can complete the assignment before the due date. I am willing to offer any assistance necessary. You can contact me via email at: bryan.makarius@longwoodcsd.org. Good luck and I look forward to working with you at the start of the school year.

Take care,

Mr. Makarius

AP Macroeconomics Teacher

Longwood Social Studies Department

Analysis of Economic Theory

When writing it is important to incorporate four important objectives:

1. Effective writing.
2. Building substantive knowledge about economic concepts.
3. Develop and analyze economic theories.
4. Establishing an ability to think critically about the work of others.

• Required Elements of the Analysis:
  • Your book review should be
    1. 3-4 pages long
    2. Typed
    3. Double-spaced
    4. 1” margins all-around
    5. Font size=12 pt.
  • Please spend a lot of time examining the following requirements. This paper is not a book report, but rather an in-depth examination of what the writer was trying to prove. Additionally, it is your job to understand their point of view, evaluate their position with thought, demonstrate acquisition of knowledge, and then examine how these ideas impact society. It is important to include:
    1. A discussion of the author’s thesis or point of view.
       1. Why did he write the book?
       2. What point is the author(s) attempting to make?
    2. A discussion of the author’s supporting evidence, that is, his/her proof of the argument (its validity, appropriate use of..., meaning to…).
    3. A critical analysis of the author’s thesis.
       1. To what extent did the author(s) generalize without specific evidence?
       2. Were there faulty conclusions?
       3. How did the author(s) prove his thesis?
       4. Was the evidence interwoven throughout the body of the text in a manner that is consistent with proving the author’s thesis?
    4. A discussion of the significance of the book.
       1. What connection does the book have to the study of macroeconomics?
       2. What intellectual questions has the author raised in your mind?
       3. How does a book like this affect the way people perceive the topic of economics?

DO NOT use the preceding questions as your sole guide for writing your review. You are encouraged to be original, creative, and out-of-the –box thinker.

This is not a book report. This review requires you to go beyond a mere summary, and inquire into the overall meaning and worth of a work.

Economic Readings

• Each student will have to choose one book and write an analytical paper according to the guidelines that have been previously explained.
• At the start of the year every student will present a formal discussion of an evaluation of the author, their theories, and an analysis of the literary work. A formal introduction of this project will be given at the start of the school year.

Option 1:

Title: Freakonomics

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Freakonomics was one of the best selling books in 2005 that gives an alternative view of Economics. You will have to write a paper and present their findings in a formal presentation at the start of the school year.

Option 2:

Title: The Fatal Equilibrium

Publisher: MIT Press

This book examines many of the major concepts in the Advanced Placement Economics curriculum and allows you to experience economics within a captivating mystery. Each student will have to write a paper and present their findings in a formal presentation at the start of the school year.

Option 3:

Title: The Economic Consequences of the Peace

Publisher: Penguin Books

This book is written by one of the most influential individuals in the world of Macroeconomics. You will implement many of the ideas of John Keynes throughout the year in Macroeconomics class. Each student will have to write a paper and present their findings in a formal presentation at the start of the school year.

Option 4:

Title: Capitalism and Freedom

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Since this book was published in 1962 it has been increasingly influential as many government moved from planned economies to free market economies. The students will be able to experience the theories and how the world economies changed over the past fifty years in this book. Each student will have to write a paper and present their findings in a formal presentation at the start of the school year. The age of this will show how economic theories and government roles have also change over time