You are expected to write a short paper in English where you discuss themes from modules 2 and 3. The text needs to be in the range of 450-550 words. You should spend a few words on an introduction, but the main text should be divided between three topics that are covered in modules 2 and 3. You are free to choose either one country for an in-depth analysis discussed in relation to the three topics or different sub-Saharan countries to illustrate the three topics
A minimum 100 words is expected on each topic – agricultural development, taxation and international trade. Use the following four headlines to structure your text:
· Introduction
· Agricultural development
· Taxation
· International trade
Below you will find a short explanation of the three broad topics that should be taken into consideration in this short paper. But you should not cover all aspects of each topic. Make some choices and decide on a focus. I have provided some suggestion of what such fucuses may be, but you are free to decide between the suggestions or other focus areas of your own choosing.
Agricultural development – agriculture in the form of cattle keeping and crop farming is an old system of production on the African continent that has provided the livelihoods of most of the African populations. Discuss the development over time of agriculture, for example, the conditions for livestock rearing and crop farming; the change in livelihoods of subsistence farmers over time; colonial policies in regard to European settler farming and introduction of cash crop production; and so on.
Taxation – one of the first efforts of the colonial administrations in sub-Saharan Africa was to create and implement a system for taxation. Discuss the establishment and implementation of colonial taxation systems, for example, the types of taxes introduced; the difference between colonial taxation and pre-colonial systems with local tributes; affects that taxation on the African labour force; and so on.
International trade – Africa has a long history of being connected to Asia and Europe through trade networks although the character of international trade has changed over time. Discuss, for example, the characteristics of early trade networks; the impacts of slave trade; the commodity trade boom before colonization; colonial trade policies; and so on.
The text will be graded by three reviewers according to how well you have followed the instructions for the paper writing and how well topics are presented. The knowledge base for peer review assignment 1 consists of the course material in modules 2 and 3.
There are six questions graded according to a yes (1 point) and no (0 point) criteria. 1) The text is written in English. 2) The length of the text is within the span 450-550 words. 3) The text is structured according to the mandated headlines. 4) Submission is connected two content covered in modules 2 and 3. 5) All three topics – agricultural development, taxation, and Africa’s role in international trade – are covered with a minimum 100 words each. 6) You include empirical examples in the analysis.
In addition, there are two graded qualitative dimensions that the peer-reviewers evaluate according to the following scale: poor (0 points), satisfactory (1 point) and excellent (2 points).
1) The text is well written in terms of clarity and language.
2) The arguments are informative and to the point.
To pass you need 6 out of 6 points for questions 1-6, and 2 out of 4 points for questions 7-8. Total 7 out of 10 points.
Finally, there is a non-graded section allowing for comments on improvement opportunities.
