Each paper should focus on a key idea or set of related ideas that are presented in or stimulated by the reading materials assigned for a particular week. I will not read past the 5th page of text. Part of the grade will be based on the use of good grammar and quality of writing and organization demonstrated in the paper. The papers are to demonstrate analytic thinking. Papers that simply summarize the readings will not be graded favorably.
Various strategies are possible for writing a strong paper.
You may question the authors' views or findings, or develop their thinking along different lines. Another strategy is to reflect upon the implications of a particular empirical analysis for policy. A further possibility is to compare the assigned reading with some other scholarly work that you think is related. State the similar or opposing positions in the works being compared and develop an argument that draws on the different sources. The papers are not to be research papers.