Class Paper Assignment
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Class Paper Assignment

Objectives

Very short description

For the class paper you must

Trading basics

Most of the insruction you need on trading will be given in class, so class attendance is crucial for doing the class paper. The basics, however, are as follows.

Formatting instructions

Suggested organization

Grading

I would never voluntarily assign a paper to such a large class because it is impossible or me to provide feedback. I am forced to assign a paper of this length because this is an “S” class. With so many papers to grade it will take me the rest of the semester to grade them all, so do not expect to have your paper grade before pre–finals weeek. When grading your papers I will be checking your paper content by comparing your stated profits and trading performance to your actual performance, evaluate whether you followed the instructions, and then I will listen to a computer read your paper (I have chronic pain where it hurts me to stand still or sit, so I grade papers by listening to audio versions of it while I walk) and assign an overall grade to the paper. Unfortunately I will not be able to describe exactly why I assigned a certain grade, but I will assign points according to the categories below.
15 Points—based on participation and performance trading
Low score: Put little thought into trading stragies and/or strategies were not sound. Either participated very little and performed poorly or seemed to participate randomly just to seem like they were active. Did not seem to learn from failures or successes and modify their strategies accordingly. Or, student may have been active and followed a sound strategy but their description in the paper is confusing, unclear, and the like.
High score: Established a logical strategy for trading and continued to follow it if it was successful or modified their strategy if unsuccessful. Traded little with success, traded frequently with success, or was not successful but their participation indicated they were trying. Description of stratgies and outcomes of their trades was understandable and logical. A student can lose money in the prediction market but still score high in their component if it appears they were actively trying to learn from their mistakes.
15 Points—based on understanding of the prediction market
Low score: Did not seem to understand how the market worked, or why they lost money sometimes and made money other times. Did not make the connection of how their profits derived from how their beliefs and strategies differed from those of their classmates. Inaccurate calculation of their per contract profits. Description of trading activities was either confusing or did not seem consistent with how the prediction market operated. Showed little ability to understand what the prices exchanged in the market represent.
High score: Displayed a clear understanding of how the prediction market worked, why they lost or made money, and how these profits depend on their beliefs and strategies compared to their classmates. Accurate calculation of per contract profits. Explained what contract prices (for contracts actually bought and sold) communicate about the market’s (meaning the class’s) beliefs about the OSU men’s basketball team, how those prices changed over time in response to information, the accuracy of market prices over time, and how the students’s beliefs contrasted with the market.
20 Points—based on understanding of Trading Places plot
Low score: Did not understand the similarities between the prediction market in class and the OJ futures market in the movie. Did not seem to understand how Murphy and Aykroyd profited by manipulating information. Description of how a similar manipulation could have taken place in class was either wrong, hard to follow, confusing, or lacking in specific details.
High score: Clearly understood how the prediction market in class resembles the OJ futures market. Not only comprehended how Murphy and Aykroyd profited by manipulating information in the OJ futures market, but outlined a detailed, creative, and plausible method by which a similar manipulation could have occured in class. This description includes the factors that would have made the manipulation successful as well as ways it might have been detected and could have lost the manipulators considerable money.
20 Points—based on quality of writing
Low score: Confusing narratives. Typos and bad grammar. Improper punctuation. Began too many sentences with “I”. Used common vernacular rather than eloquent sentences. Poor choice in number of paragraphs. Sentences and narratives displayed poor transitions and little relation to one another. An independent reader (someone other than Dr. Norwood) would not only be shocked at the poor writing but would have trouble understanding what the student is saying. Unclear and unattractive bar graph.
High score: Eloquent narratives with few or no typos, proper grammer, appropriate punctuation, and clear communication. Transitions between sentences and/or paragraphs are smooth. Someone other than Dr. Norwood could read the paper and not only be impressed with the writing but would mostly understand what the student was communicating, even if they were unfamiliar with the class prediction market, the OJ futures market, or the movie Trading Places. Clear and attractive bar graph of the per contract trading profits for each of the three contracts.
15 Points—based on formatting
Low score: Paid little attention to the formatting guidelines.
High score: All of the formatting guidelines were adhered to.
15 Points—based on meeting deadlines
Low score: Students will lose 15 points if they submit their paper to either location between 5 PM on March 10 and 5 PM on March 20. Students not turning in their paper by 5 PM on March 20 will receive a paper grade of zero.
High score: Papers submitted to both D2L as electronic copy AND the box in AGH 419 as hard copy by 5 PM on March 10 will receive all 15 points.