critical thinking ESSAY (20 POINTS)
A critical thinking essay is
not difficult to write but it is a very structured piece of writing so it’s
important that you read and follow the steps below in order.
1. We cannot take the time to fully
explore what is meant by critical thinking. You do, however, need to
have some general idea what critical thinking means in order to write a good
critical thinking essay. Read
WHAT IS CRITICAL
THINKING?
before you do any work on your essay.
2. A critical thinking essay is
very similar to an exploratory essay - a type of writing with which you may
be familiar. It has a specific focus and a specific structure. Read
WHAT IS A CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY? before you go any farther … Don’t try
to wing this assignment!
3. Look at your topic carefully
and make sure you understand it. Try rewriting it using your own words but
keeping the meaning the same.
TOPIC
The Federal Reserve System is
the most important regulatory agency in our entire economy and is
considered the country’s monetary authority. The Fed's major role is to
regulate the supply of money in the economy. Many politicians would love to
have some say in monetary policy, especially just before elections. They
would at that time love interest rates to fall, enabling more workers to find
jobs. Happy workers vote for incumbents.
Congress created
the
Fed in an attempt to remove exactly that kind of political manipulation from monetary
policy. Because of that, the Fed has a large measure of political
independence.
The central banks of other
countries generally have less independence than the US Fed.
The Board of Governors, appointed by the US president and
confirmed by the US Senate, serve 14-year terms. In addition, the Federal
Open Market Committee includes representatives of private banks in the
Federal Reserve System. As a result, the Fed can take actions that cancel
out fiscal policy decisions made by Congress. The Chairman of the Federal
Reserve is described by some as the most influential individual no one knows
… he affects the economy through his influence on monetary policy but he is
not elected and does not have to answer to anyone.
QUESTION: Is that level of independence
truly a good thing or should the Fed be regulated by someone – taxpayers,
Congress, the President, etc?
|
As you look at the
links below you will most likely notice over and over how bleak the US job
market is. The current state of the US economy will affect your thinking
about this question whether you realize it or not. Keep in mind, though,
that the economy and the labor market won't always be bad. As you formulate
your opinion on this question, take a long-range view of the economy
... sometimes it will be bad and sometimes it will be good. Don't base your
opinion on any particular state of the economy. |
[NOTE: There is no right or wrong answer to the
question posed by your topic. I'm not interested in what your answer is but
in your rationale. Go back to an example I used earlier. You start out in favor
of the death penalty because you believe it has a deterrent effect but all
of the research shows there is no deterrent effect. If you end your
essay still in favor of the death penalty, that's okay. If you end your
essay still in favor of the death penalty because it has a deterrent effect,
that's not okay since your rationale is not consistent with factual
information.]
4. Look at the information and
research about your topic in the margin notes & power point
presentations from your course and in the links below. Use the
information from these sources to write your essay. However, do NOT use any
direct quotes, citations or references from these
sources. The essay is too short for direct quotes ... use your
own words. As for references, I've given you the sources so I'll know where
the information came from. (I've tried to give you a wide
range of sources and opinions in the reference list below. Inclusion on the
list does not constitute an endorsement of either the sources or the
opinions.)
US Monetary Policy: How is the Fed Structured?
Testimony--Kohn, Federal Reserve independence
Speech, Meyer--The politics of monetary policy
Federal Reserve Independence and Democracy
Fed’s Alvarez Defends Federal Reserve
Don't Fight The Fed. Please - Forbes
Central Bank
Independence and Disinflationary Credibility (full text
is PDF)
SSRN-Central Bank Independence and
Transparency
(full text is PDF)
The Bank for International Settlements
Central bank independence and monetary policymaking institutions
Keeping
Politics Out of the Fed
Federal Reserve's independence faces political challenge
The Fed in a Corner
Federal
Reserve Independence
Federal Reserve Independence Under Threat
Why the Federal Reserve Bank Must Maintain Its Independence
The Becker-Posner Blog: Is the Federal Reserve Losing
Central bank independence under threat | The Economist
Central-Bank Independence Challenged - WSJ
Central Bank
Independence and Macroeconomic Performance
Central bank independence:
failures, successes
Central Bank
Independence Promotes Budgetary Efficiency
(full text is PDF)
Choosing the
Federal Reserve Chair: Lessons from History
(PDF)
download
free Adobe PDF reader 9.3
download RESOURCE LIST - This is an Excel file of current articles from popular
magazines and anthologies that I update at least weekly. The articles
are sorted by course. If you would like to download the file but do not
have Excel, you can download
Excel Viewer 2003 free. It allows you to open, view and print Excel
workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed.
ONLINE DATABASES - Some of the links above may take you to an article's
abstract rather than the complete article. If you want to see the entire
article but the site requires registration and/or payment, try your
college library's online database. Almost all articles can be accessed
through a database ... that's why colleges purchase databases for
student use. I've checked and all of your colleges have databases that
you can access online. Call your college librarian and ask for your
username & password and for directions.
I do not expect you to
use additional sources of
information on your topic. If you do, you MUST cite and reference any
additional sources using the following format.
Last, First. year. Book
Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First, and First Last.
year. Book Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First. year. "Article
Title." Journal Name volume (issue): pages.
For additional details, see
HOW DO YOUR
FORMAT YOUR REFERENCES USING THE APSA FORMAT?
5. You may use
any font and line spacing you wish when
formatting your
essay
but the content of your essay must be a minimum of 750 words.
You must also adequately cover your topic, though, and you may find it
difficult to completely cover your topic in 750 words unless you are
extremely concise. If you feel you need more length to cover your topic, you
are welcome to write a longer essay. However, you are only required to write
an essay the content of which is 750 (not 749) words in length. If the
content (that does not include your name, type of assignment, citations, etc ... only
the content of the paper itself) is not at least 750 words in length I will
return your paper to you unread.
Your critical thinking essay should follow a specific outline. Before you
begin the writing phase of your essay, read
CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY FORMAT.
The outline given is the one you need to follow in your essay. Too, take
your time proofing your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes. If spelling
and grammar are not among your talents, ask a friend who is good with
spelling and grammar to proof your essay. “A” papers do not have spelling
and grammar mistakes!
Under the Optional Downloads section at
the top of this page, I have posted a copy of my grading rubric for the
critical thinking essay.
6. By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the
main page of the syllabus:
Send your Critical Thinking Essay in the body of a
new email to
dramyglenn@earthlink.net.
Put only your name and Essay at
the beginning of your email.
Use the correct subject line.
Late essays will lose one point per day
late, including weekends and holidays.
READ THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS FROM THE MARGIN NOTES.
