The student in this course, as in all principles of economics courses, had to first understand the logical basis for important economic relationships. This involved learning a particular vocabulary and distinguishing between assumptions and logical conclusions of the argument. This material was usually presented verbally, but numerical examples were often used to clarify definitions and mathematical equations were sometimes used to make arguments precise.

Once the underlying logic behind a relationship like the "law of demand" was understood, the student had to be able to represent that relationship by a graphical model. Since economic theory is most useful in predicting responses to changing circumstances, the student had to be able to explain why and show how changes in the economy affected the demand curve for a product, for example, using the graphical model.

The third task facing the student was to integrate economic relationships in a more complex graphical model. To understand price determination using the simplest economic model of supply and demand the student had to learn the logic behind the law of demand and the law of supply, how these laws are depicted in graphical models, how these relationships and the corresponding graphical representations were affected by changing economic situations, and learn how demand and supply changes interacted to determine price.

From the outset of the first course, students were expected to learn how to use fairly complex, abstract models of the behavior of firms, people, and markets to answer such questions as: how would a rise in the tax on cigarettes affect the price of cigarettes, the number sold and the revenue raised by the state from the tax?