Paper/Article Review Assignment

Objective:
It helps students to explore problems related to International trade using logical
thinking & propose solutions, analysis & critical judgment to different International
Trade issues. In addition, it guides them on how to use research techniques and
demonstrate presentation skills.

Assessment weighting: 20% (50% for the Review, 25% on SWOT analysis & 25% for
the Presentation).

Requirements:
1. o Topic: Economics of International trade issue (preferably covered in the
course syllabus) with application on any country.
2. o New Scholarly Paper/Article (2014-2017): Title, Author (with a
position in a related affiliation), Periodical Name, Publication Date, &
Issue/Volume/Number.
3. o Paper/Article length: not less than 20 pages.
4. o Paper/Article review length: 8-10 pages.
5. o Submitters : Individual.
6. o Due date: week 7.
7. o Late submission: deduction of 3% per day.
8. o Presentation: 10 minutes aided with Power Point Slides.
9. o Presentation due date: week 9 ( After Midterm Exams).
10. O Others: - Check for grammar & spelling errors.
- The review should be written in your own wordings (paraphrasing).
- Be sure the text flows smoothly, so read it loudly after you finish it

How to write a good Paper/Article Review?

A properly written paper/article review, among other things, identifies and criticizes
the thesis of the paper/article.
Here follows an outline to be followed in writing your paper/article review
supplemented with the distribution of the total marks (100 marks).
I. Introduction (30 marks)
A. Introduce the paper/article & describe how it is organized. (5 marks)
B. Offer a very BRIEF summary of the paper/article. (10 marks)
C. Identify the paper/article’s thesis. (5 marks)
II. Critique of the Thesis (10 marks each)
A. Describe the sources the author used in the preparation of the paper/article.
B. Discuss whether the information actually supports the author’s thesis.

III. Analysis of the Paper/Article as a Whole (7,5 marks each)

A. Paper/Article’s organization—effective or not? Why?
B. Source materials—adequate or not? Why?
C. Extras—were the number and type of illustrations, maps, diagrams, charts, etc.
adequate, helpful, etc.? Why?
D. How does the paper/article fit in with the existing literature? (i.e. does the author
support or challenge common views on his or her topic?).
IV. Conclusion (20 marks)
A. Summarize the critique and the analysis.

Tips:
•  Be sure that you come up with a great title. By great, we mean, it should be
interesting to grab the attention of your readers.
•  You also need to include your keywords. You should prepare your
keywords throughout the paper/article where they fit in naturally.
•  Your first paragraph should tell the reader what you are going to tell them.
In other words, it is an introduction to the paper/article. Be sure that your content
flows from one sentence to the next and from one paragraph to the next.
•  Each paragraph should discuss one key point. Limit your paragraphs to
only a few sentences. It is advisable to avoid language that the typical person would
not understand.
•  Your last paragraph should be a summary of the paper/article review. Just
briefly recap what you have gone over in the review. Always keep in mind that your
goal is to keep the reader reading all the way through.

How to give a good Presentation?

The work you have done reflects huge time investment on your part. Writing a review,
as you know by now, requires a further time investment. The difficult part is over. The
additional time required to put together a good presentation is small in comparison to
what you have already done. If you give a poor presentation, you will have wasted a lot
of effort.
1. 1. Allocate time spent on each idea in direct proportion to its importance.
1. 2. Your audience’s interest level will be highest at the beginning and the end of
your presentation. Therefore, a good introduction and a good summary of conclusions
are of paramount importance.
1. 3. Use slides to visually, reinforce your spoken words. At any given point in time,
your audience will have two senses with which to absorb your presentation: sight and
sound. Do not overemphasize the importance of the spoken word; give equal importance
to visual aids. A good criterion for measuring the quality of your spoken words is to try
your talk with no slides. These are harsh tests, because neither the spoken word nor your
slides are adequate alone. If your spoken words & slides are both strong individually,
then all that remains is to be sure they are properly coordinated, and this is very easy to
do.
1. 4. Have a good reason for showing every slide you use. For each slide you use,
ask yourself “Why am I showing this slide?” Having done so, ask yourself whether the
slide achieves your objective in the best possible manner. For example, if your reason for
showing a table of results is to illustrate several key values, you may find that you have
to point out these values, in order to distinguish them from values of little or no interest
in the table. If so, you would be much better off if you designed a slide that shows only
the important values and reinforces the spoken words you would use to describe the
significance of the results.
1. 5. Use active titles on your slides.
1. 6. Space your slides evenly over time. The average time per slide should be 1–2
minutes. If you flip slides too frequently, there is not enough time for ideas to sink in.
This can be extremely frustrating for your audience. On the other hand, if you talk about
a single slide for more than several minutes, you strain the attention span of the
audience. Practice the timing of your presentation.
1. 7. Slides must be readable. Say only what is important.
1. 8. Practice your presentation, but do not read it or memorize it. Practice is
essential; however, if you practice too much, or read or memorize your presentation, all
spontaneity is lost, and your presentation will be boring. A presentation is not a speech,
but rather, a talk with your audience. Practice your presentation to the point at which you
can give it without notes.
1. 9. Being nervous is normal. Even very experienced speakers worry a little bit
about giving a presentation. Therefore, if you are new to this sort of thing, rest assured
that it is perfectly normal to be worried. There are two kinds of worry, however:
productive and counterproductive. Counterproductive worry makes a bad performance.
Productive worry gets the adrenaline flowing and assures a good performance.
The followings are examples of counterproductive worry:
•  My talk may run too long. (Solution: practice!).
 •  I may forget to say something important. (Solution: stick to the
same plan you have laid out in your collection of slides.).
The following are examples of productive worry:
•  I have to remember to evenly, space my slides, as I practiced.
•  I cannot let myself get bogged down in the details of my results
slides, at the expense of communicating ideas.

Tips:

•  You may have as little as 10 minutes to give your presentation. It probably

took you days or weeks to write the paper upon which your presentation is based.
There is nothing wrong with being proud of your work; in fact, if you are not,
something is wrong. However, do not let your pride lead you into thinking that your
audience must absorb each and every detail of your work.
•  If you try to present too many details in a short period, your audience will
get tired quickly. Try to stress concepts, methods, approaches, & conclusions, and
use details to illustrate these ideas.
•  A good summary should convince your audience of the merit of your ideas
and entice them to further, explore the details presented in your paper.