Q Assignment Directions Below you will find study guide questions from chapters 3 and 4 of Freakonomics. Your assignment is to answer 2 questions from each chapter (for a total of 4 questions) in a detailed paragraph for each question. Please include quotes and/or specific paraphrased materials for each of your answers. Your response should be a typed, MLA formatted document of at least 2 full pages. You can break this total down around the questions however you like. Study Guide Questions Chapter 3 Questions (choose 2 from this list) 1. Summarize the history of the term "Conventional Wisdom" according to the text. Why is it important to challenge conventional wisdom? 2. Analyze the conventional wisdom that was being put forward by the police or by the Listerine company in this chapter. what was the conventional wisdom, and what was the truth? 3. What's the conventional wisdom about Drug Dealers? What does society think of them? What group(s) benefit from us thinking this way or have an incentive to keep up this conventional wisdom? 4. Answer the question this chapter poses: Why do Drug Dealers live with their moms? Chapter 4 Questions (choose 2 from this list) 1. The authors contrast what happened in Romania with what happened in the United States. How did outlawing abortion and creating strong incentives for women to get pregnant lead to higher crime in Romania (and the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu's government)? 2. What were some of the factors that were thought to have an impact on crime, but found to have no impact? choose 2 factors, and explain what they were and why they had no impact. 3. Read the Supreme Court majority opinion (page 137 in my book). According to the opinion and the following paragraphs, why should women be allowed to have abortions? Discuss some of the reasons given by the opinion and the authors. 4. What incentives exist today for a young woman to have a baby, and what incentives exist for her to have an abortion? Explain in terms of moral, social, and economic incentives. 5. It's one thing to say that legalized abortion lowers crime--it's another thing to prove it. How did Levitt and Dubner prove a causal link between legalized abortion and crime, rather than just arguing that they are correlated? (Don't focus on the other factors like gun control and prison sentencing they examine for this question--focus on how they prove abortion leads to lower crime rates) Assignment Guidelines In order to receive full credit, the assignment will accomplish all of the following: • Answer 4 questions total, 2 from each chapter • Use quotes and/or paraphrased information from the book to support your answer to each question • Submit answers in a typed MLA formatted document of at least 2 full pages Notes and things to keep in mind: • Typically, half a page of writing is plenty to answer each question, but some questions may need more detailed responses. you can answer each question with as little/much detail as needed, as long as you're answering it fully and hitting the 2-page mark. • It's common to be on the third page somewhere when you finish writing. Some students write 4 and 5(!) page study guides. This is definitely above-and-beyond work, and I welcome that level of work, but again, somewhere on the third page is usually plenty. • You do not need to include the questions with your response (and they will not count towards the overall 2-page minimum). • Numbering the questions is fine, but you should not indent the paragraphs. please keep the margins at 1" Sample Full-Credit Answer: Q: Why shouldn't you (always) trust a real estate agent who tells you to take an offer on a house you're selling? A: You shouldn't trust a real estate agent because they might be telling you what's best for them instead of what's best for you. While we think that real estate agents are supposedly there to help us sell our house and get the most money for it, Levitt and Dubner state in the text that they are only there to sell as many houses as possible, no matter the price. The agent makes a percentage commission on each sale. When discussing a house selling for $10,000 more than the original offer, the agent only makes $150 extra. Levitt and Dubner state that "if you earn $9,400 while she only earns $150, maybe your incentives aren't aligned at all" (Levitt and Dubner 7). The agent may not want to work longer for the extra $150 while you would be willing to wait for the extra $9,400. Rubric Assignment Rubric Assignment Rubric Criteria Ratings Pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeComplete The student meets all of the guidelines for the assignment as outlined on the assignment. 2 pts Complete The student meets all of the guidelines for the assignment as outlined on the assignment directions. 1 pts Incomplete The student missed at least some of the criteria or guidelines for the assignment. 0 pts Missing The student did not turn the assignment in before the deadline. 2 pts Total Points: 2 PreviousNext