Go HERE for a list of background papers. One strategy is to read one of these and use it as the core of your paper. See above paper-based approach. Another starting point is to pick one of the topics highlighted in Chapter Four of China 2020 . Length is about the same as before, though with the deadline looming a shorter, narrowly focused paper is appropriate.
Details are HERE .
It is easy to see defects in the structure, management and performance of the economy under Mao's leadership. After all, the Great Leap Forward led to the worst famine in history. Many of these excesses, however, are closely associated with mass political campaigns, and so it is very hard to differentiate the failures in the economy from the quirky nature of Mao's leadership. What I want you to focus upon are the gains made under Mao, that is, between 1949 and 1978, when Deng Xiaoping came to power. We have two models to work with.