• U15: Introduction

In the United States today, the economy is very complex. It is constantly being measured to find economic growth, and the business cycle is also fluctuating at the same time to either increase or decrease this growth. Financial markets are greatly affected by the fluctuations of this cycle. The government uses fiscal policy to control the economy while taxing citizens to help pay for government expenditures. With this being said, there are also some issues in the US economy that many have tried to fix over the years through the use of government fiscal policy.

During this research project, it is your job to look at the US economy. Specifically, you must observe the characteristics, issues, and solutions to those issues in the economy. Finally, you will examine the United States economy works in terms of economic growth, the business cycle, financial markets, and government fiscal policies.

Your research paper will focus on answers to the following questions:

Why is the business cycle so important to follow in the US today?

How do the characteristics of the US economy function together to make the economy flourish?

How does US fiscal policy affect the country and the economy?

How do financial markets play a role in investment in the US today?

What are some issues that the US economy has in terms of money and economic stabilization and what are somepossible solutions that have been taken?

Let's begin.

• U15: Sources

Now that you know what you will be researching, your next step is to begin gathering sources that will help you find related information to this topic. At first, this may sound simplesearch on the Internet, find some websites, and write your paper. The reality, however, is that in order to sound credible, you must be able to back up your claims with accurate and reliable information. So let's ask ourselves... ...what makes a good source? Is there an author listed? If the answer is no, it is probably not a good source. If the answer is yes, is the author someone who is an expert in his or her field? For example, if you were doing a research project on the composition of the Moon, a source from a scientist at NASA would be appropriate. On the other hand, a forum post by a high school student fromMassachusetts who is in the school Science Club would not show expertise. Does the information come from a reputable organization? Some examples of reputable organizations include the government, colleges, universities, etc. When a source comes from organizations such as these, it is likely that they will be written by individuals who are credible and have high levels of expertise in an area. Does the author seem biased? When someone has a bias, he or she is giving a personal opinion about a topic. Think about "Letters to the Editor" in newspapers. When individuals write these letters, they are providing their own opinions and beliefs about a topic. There may be times when the author does not state his or her bias and may try to come across as having factual evidence. These sources should be avoided. On the other hand, if the author comes out and say that this is his or her beliefs on the matter, he or she is stating a bias. Sources such as these may be helpful when showing both sides of an issue. How old is the source? It is important to take note of the age of a source. In some cases, the age of a source does not matter. For example, you may use a primary source of a speech given by a historical figure; the age of this primary source does not influence what it is saying. Age can come into play, however, when new information or evidence proves a source to be invalid or incorrect. For example, physicists were unable to prove the existence of a basic particle called the Higgs boson. In 2012, the existence of the Higgs boson was proven. This means that there are many sources prior to 2012 that are no longer relevant or up-to-date based on this discovery. Does the author list references? Just like you want to show credibility by finding good sources, you should look for authors of sources who do the same. In most cases, good sources will have a list of sources that the author used to create his or her article, paper, etc. Note, when you are looking at internet resources, there are some additional things to consider: Domain names can give you clues. Educational = .edu Organizations = .org Commercial = .com Government = .gov Personal webpages should be avoided. Encyclopedias that can be edited by anyone shouldnot be used. Question/answer sites should not be used.

• U15: Chosen Sources

In order to complete this project, you will need to choose at leastfive credible sources. These sources can come from books, websites, journals, magazines, or newspapers. Out of these 5 sources, you must have at leastone primary source. Remember a primary sourceis a first-hand account from an individual who has experienced an event or situation. In the space below, list your sources and provide the following information: Title Author Where the source came from (name of encyclopedia, website, newspaper, etc.) Copyright/date published

• U15: Notes

Attached Files:

• ResearchProjectNotes.doc(29 KB)

Now that you have located all of your sources, the next step in your research project is to take notes based on each source. First, download theNotes Template. Next, fill out the template with the notes you took for each source. After each note, indicate the page number from which the information came (if applicable). Finally, upload your completed Notes Template into the space provided.

• U15: Thesis Statement

Your research has finished, so now it is time to think about what your thesis statement will be. Remember, a thesis statementis a statement in which you clearly state the specific goal for your paper. For example, if you were writing a research paper about whether or not school uniforms should be allowed in schools, your thesis statement might look like the following: Thesis Statement: School uniforms should not be instituted in schools throughout the United States. After a thesis statement has been developed, it is important that you are able to defend it, such as the following example: Defense: Research shows that school uniforms do notimprove student achievement, behavior, or gang-related activities. With this in mind, we cannot continue to claim that they do good for our students when information has proven otherwise. In the space below, write your thesis statement. In addition, write a defense that proves why you have developed this thesis statement.

• U15: Outline

At this point, you have completed your research and developed/defended your thesis statement. You are now ready to begin sketching out the flow of your research project. This can be done by completing an outline. Let's take a look at a portion of a very basic sample outline. Title of Research Project (e.g. Influential American Presidents) I. Introduction A. Thesis Statement 1.List thesis statement here A. Key Points 1. List key points here II. Body A.Key Point 1 1.List supporting ideas here III. Summary paragraph A. Summarize each key point/main idea IV. Conclusion A. Provide your final thoughts on the topic V.Sources A. List of sources in alphabetical order As you can see, outlines help you to organize your ideas andresearch in a coherent and logical manner. In fact, they make writing your final draft even easier since you simply need to connect your ideas in narrative form. In the space below, sketch out an outline of your research project. You may use a similar format to the example above.

• U15: Final Draft

The final step in completing the written portion of your research project is to write your paper. For most of us, we may need to write a paper a few times in order to develop a flow that makes sense and is to our satisfaction. These multiple attempts are known asdrafts. At this point, you may begin writing a draft of your paper. Your paper must include the following: Title Page (title, your name, date) Introduction (thesis statement included as well) Body paragraphs (support your thesis statement) Conclusion Bibliography (list of sources used) As you write, be sure to cite the sources that you use. For the purposes of this assignment, you may number your sources on your bibliography and simply put the number in parentheses when you use information from that source. Look at the example below. World War II saw more destruction of life and property than any other battle the world has ever seen. (1) The reason why we cite sources is to give credit to others for their work. When this is not done and people take the work of others and claim them as their own, they can be accused ofplagiarism. Plagiarism is not tolerated and will result in a grade of 0 for this entire project. You may download the scoring rubric from the dropdown menu to see how you will be scored on this research paper. Once you are satisfied with your paper, you may upload the final draft of your paper into the space below. You should complete your paper in a Word document. Be sure to check your paper for spelling and grammar.