This in-class genre investigation activity was submitted by Professor Alyson Ma from the Economics department. You can find more detailed information about this exercise and download the assignment handouts here.

Professor Ma uses this exercise on the first day of class to help students do the following:

1. Determine the parts of a research paper
2. Critically analyze sections of the paper given the assignment prompts
3. Discuss and learn from classmates

This assignment also helps students familiarize themselves with the conventions of economics papers.

For this exercise, students work in groups and are provided with previous works from other students. First, they will read and discuss the examples of introductions, literature reviews, methodology sections, and results. Next, they will rank and score them, providing explanations for their decisions. After all groups have finished their evaluations, the class will discuss and select the best examples, once again justifying their selections.