This assessment takes the form of an individual essay.
The essay project is the assessment for the ECO321 module with a weight of 20% of the final
mark for the module. Each student is marked individually along the guidelines found in the
marking grid. The main criteria for this component are not the formal rigour, but the ability to
discuss a relevant environmental problem, demonstrate critical thinking and reflect on possible
ways of dealing with the problem at hand. Students are assessed by the level of their
arguments and plausibility of alternative ways to deal with the problem at hand.
The objective of the essay is to demonstrate basic understanding of the essence of typical
environmental problem and reflect on ways of solving it (formally or informally) including
suggested policy measures, market regulations and other tools. The essay should contain
following parts:
1. The statement of the problem you address in environmental economics terms (20%),
2. The description of environmental and economic consequences of the problem (35%),
3. The reflection on possible ways of solving the problem (45%),
where the percentages in the parentheses indicate the proportion each part takes in the
grading.
The grading of the essay will depend on the following factors:
1. The clearness of the statement and the significance of the problem.
2. The clarity of description of consequences of the problem if unsolved.
3. The cleanliness of reflection on the problem in environmental/economic terms.
See the marking grid for further details.
Each student should submit a file in proper template, with no less than 2000 no more than
3000 words, through LMO by 17:00, 31 December, 2021.
Backup: If for some reason submission through LMO fails, students can send their coursework
to the module leader via e-mail: anton.bondarev@xjtlu.edu.cn
The typical essay should consist in taking a version of a well-known environmental problem of
those being discussed during module (or equivalent), describing it in details and discussing ways
of solving/mitigating it. The list of exemplary problems which can be used as a basis for the
essay can be found throughout the textbook examples and those discussed in lectures.
Students are also encouraged to independently search the literature for other examples