Course: Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Ashford
Module: Week 8 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute lectures
Objectives covered: cumulative — Objectives 1–6 (Weeks 1–7): the macro perspective, the PPF & positive vs. normative; GDP & the expenditure approach, real vs. nominal, the deflator; the CPI, inflation & unemployment; growth rates & the rule of 70; the AD–AS model & comparative statics; business cycles & output gaps; fiscal policy, the multiplier & deficits/debt.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 8 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that posts when the module opens. This is the midterm week — it runs differently from a regular week. Dates assume the course's Monday/Wednesday-style lecture pattern with Week 8 sessions on Tue Oct 20 and Thu Oct 22; the Midterm window opens Mon Oct 19 and is due Sun Oct 25, 11:59 p.m.; Discussion 8 (the debrief) is also due Sun Oct 25.

(A) Module 8 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 8: Midterm Review & Exam

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work through the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside this module.

Heads-up: this is the midterm week, so it runs differently. There is no regular quiz, no assignment, and no workshop this week — the Midterm replaces them all. Instead, the week is built to get you ready: both lecture sessions are a complete review of the first half, you work through a three-part prep kit, you sit the exam, and then you reflect on how it went. The midterm is cumulative over Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–6) — the macro perspective and the PPF; GDP and the expenditure approach; real vs. nominal and the GDP deflator; the CPI and the inflation rate; the unemployment rate and the LFPR; growth rates and the rule of 70; the AD–AS model and its comparative statics; business cycles and output gaps; and fiscal policy, the spending multiplier, and deficits vs. debt. It does not include money & banking, the Fed, monetary policy, the Phillips curve, or open-economy macro, which start in Week 9.

The week's big question

"Across the whole first half — measuring the economy, modeling its short-run fluctuations, and using fiscal policy to respond — can I do the one honest move each topic asks of me, and avoid the mistake that sinks it?"

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all six out loud, you are ready for the exam.

• [ ] Think like a macroeconomist (Obj 1) — compute an opportunity cost from a PPF, read the macro meaning of a point inside the frontier (idle resources), and tell a positive statement from a normative one.
• [ ] Measure output (Obj 2) — compute GDP via C + I + G + NX, know what's counted and what isn't, distinguish real from nominal GDP, and compute the GDP deflator.
• [ ] Measure prices and the labor market (Obj 3) — compute the CPI and the inflation rate from a fixed basket, compute the unemployment rate and the LFPR, and classify the types of unemployment.
• [ ] Compute growth (Obj 4) — find a growth rate from two GDP figures and apply the rule of 70.
• [ ] Model short-run fluctuations (Obj 5) — identify which curve shifts in the AD–AS model, which direction, and what happens to the price level & real output — including recessionary and inflationary gaps.
• [ ] Analyze fiscal policy (Obj 6) — apply the spending multiplier 1/(1−MPC), classify expansionary vs. contractionary policy, and distinguish the deficit (a flow) from the debt (a stock).

What's due this week, and what to do

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

There is no Quiz 8, no Assignment 8, and no Workshop 8 this week — the Midterm stands in for all of them. The Study Guide, Exam-Prep Tutorial, and Practice Exam are your prep kit; the Midterm and Discussion 8 are what's graded.

A note on the AI prep tutorial: the Exam-Prep Tutorial works just like every weekly tutorial — the chatbot will sometimes shift the wrong AD–AS curve, use the wrong multiplier, confuse real GDP with nominal, or mix up a deficit (a flow) with the debt (a stock). Catching those errors is part of being ready for the exam itself. (Reminder: AI is not permitted on the Midterm — only on the prep.)

How to succeed this week

• Review actively, not passively. Don't re-read notes — do the moves. Compute GDP, the deflator, the CPI, the unemployment rate, a growth rate, a multiplier, and read off an AD–AS comparative-statics outcome. The Study Guide and Practice Exam are built exactly for this.
• Bound your studying. The midterm covers Objectives 1–6 only (Weeks 1–7). Money & banking, the Fed, monetary policy, the Phillips curve, and the open economy (Weeks 9–15) are not on it.
• Drill the quantitative moves cold. GDP = C + I + G + NX. The deflator = nominal ÷ real × 100. The CPI = basket cost ÷ base-year basket cost × 100. The unemployment rate = unemployed ÷ labor force × 100. The rule of 70 = 70 ÷ growth rate. The multiplier = 1/(1 − MPC). These appear on the exam — make them automatic.
• Know the classic traps. Real ≠ nominal — strip out price changes before comparing. A movement along AD is not a shift of AD. A recessionary gap needs expansionary policy; an inflationary gap needs contractionary policy. A deficit (this year's shortfall) is not the same as the debt (the accumulated total). Fiscal policy is Congress's tool (spending & taxes); it is not the Fed's tool.
• Use the prep kit in order. Study Guide → Exam-Prep Tutorial → Practice Exam. The tutorial finds your weak spots; the timed practice exam tells you whether you have fixed them.

You have already built every one of these skills across seven weeks. This week just asks you to name them all and use them in one room. Come to class with questions on Tuesday.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 8

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Mon Oct 19, 2026 (the day the midterm window opens) — not before.

Subject: Week 8 — Midterm week: review, prep kit, exam

Hi everyone,

We are at the halfway mark, and this week is different from the others: it is midterm week. There is no regular quiz, no assignment, and no workshop — the Midterm takes their place. Everything this week is built to get you ready and then let you show what you can do.

Here is the shape of it: both lecture sessions (Tue Oct 20 / Thu Oct 22) are a fast, complete review of Weeks 1–7 — the macro perspective and the PPF, measuring GDP, real vs. nominal and the deflator, the CPI and unemployment, growth and the rule of 70, the AD–AS model and the business cycle, and fiscal policy and the multiplier. The exam is cumulative over Objectives 1–6 and does not reach money & banking, the Fed, monetary policy, the Phillips curve, or the open economy, which start next week.

Your prep kit, in order: work the Study Guide first (it has topic-by-topic review of all six objectives with fresh practice problems and vetted answers), then run the Exam-Prep Tutorial with an approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) and submit the share link, then sit the Practice Exam timed to find any soft spots before you sit the real thing.

The three dates that matter:
1. Midterm — window opens Mon Oct 19, due Sun Oct 25, 11:59 p.m. (20% of your grade; 20 items; one attempt; AI not permitted).
2. Exam-Prep Tutorial — submit your chat share link before the exam closes (Sun Oct 25).
3. Discussion 8 — the midterm debrief — initial post Fri Oct 23, replies Sun Oct 25; reflect on what prep worked, which idea finally clicked, and your plan going forward.

One reminder: you have built every one of these skills already over seven weeks. This week just asks you to name them and use them under one roof. Open the Start Here / Module Overview page first — it lays out the whole week in order with every due date.

You've got this. Come with questions Tuesday,
Prof. Ashford

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