Economist's Toolkit

Instructors

MARSZALEC Daniel Janusz

Term / Language / Credits

A1A2 / English / 2

Objectives

This course aims to teach skills that will help you along your career path to being a successful economist. We will cover a range of research skills, advice on writing, presentation and effective delivery of your work.

Keywords

Research skills, academic writing, presentation skills, effective delivery

Schedule

The writing and research-skills component will cover:

  • Refresher of essay-writing basics
  • Where, and how, to look for ideas for your first (or tenth!) paper
  • “Do”s and “Don’t”s of the early stages of research
  • Advice for writing your first draft, and structuring your paper
  • Revision, refinement and re-writing
  • Academic writing style in economics
  • Journal submissions, dealing with journal feedback and writing referee reports In the presentation component, we will cover:
  • Differences between academic and non-academic presentations (and advice on how to structure both)
  • How NOT to present your paper (i.e. why you rarely follow a whole seminar)
  • Designing your slide decks
  • Advice on presenting figures, stats, graphs and equations
  • How to deal with questions, and interruptions
  • Presentation technique (voice use, body language, and managing your audience)

Teaching Methods

Lectures, and student presentations

Grading

TBD (Likely: homework, end-of-term presentation, and possibly timed writing)

Required Textbook

A reading list will be provided at the first lecture

Reference Books

Some useful references are as follows.

For writing and research skills:

Booth, Wayne C., Colomb Gregory G. and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research, University of Chicago Press, 2008

Feibelman, Peter J., A PhD Is Not Enough!, Basic Books, 2011.

Strunk, W. Jr. and E. B. White, Elements of Style, Longman, 1999

McCloskey, Deirdre, Economical Writing, Waveland Pr., 1999

For presentations and delivery:

Reynolds, Garr, Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, New Riders, 2011

Pink, Daniel, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Marshall Cavendish, 2008

Williams, Robin, The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Peachpit Press, 2003

Notes on Taking the Course

Please bring a notepad and a pen - we will occasionally do some writing in class. Though the main topics in the syllabus are as outlined, there is scope for covering additional topics that are of student interest. If there is something you would like to cover, and it is not listed above, please contact me.

Course-Related Websites

daniel.marszalec.com

Related Resources