+1 862 207 3288 How long should the paper be and how should it look when I turn it in?
• Your paper needs to be 6-8 pages in length, typed, consistent with MLA or APA formatting and documentation guidelines (both internal citations and a Works Cited or Reference page), and printed in 12 point-Times New Roman font.
• You need to consult at least 8-10 sources, combining both primary and secondary sources in your research project (refer to handout in Unit 3). You may also use any of the readings that we have read or will read throughout the semester. Four of your sources must be accessed through the MSU library database.
What is this paper about? What do I research?
For this project, I would now like to challenge you to use what you have learned–about rhetoric, writing, and research by focusing on one specific literacy, music. You will choose an aspect of music literacy. Some topics may include (These are BIG topics that we will discuss in class. However, you are not limited to this list…BE CREATIVE):
Genres
Time periods (eras)
Artists and Bands
Songs and Lyrics
Writers and Producers
Composers
Music Videos
Instruments
Events
Reality Shows
EDM (Electronic Dance Music)
Distribution of Music
For each of these categories, you must consider the rhetorical situation and design of the music that does something intentionally and effectively. Additionally, I am asking that you choose a specific piece of a larger topic to explore (Examples will be given in class).
Background: The first two formal paper assignments for this course gave you opportunities to identify themes and terms for analysis so that you could begin to understand and practice meeting the expectations for writing in higher education. Paper three allows you to continue practicing sound analytic and critical thinking, reading, and writing skills while also working within a literacy that is universal, and exploring how this form of literacy informs, defines, and transforms our lives.
Requirements: The assignment gives you the opportunity to begin building your own understanding of an aspect of music of interest to you. As you build this understanding, you will also identify what can change as a result of the information you gather. In other words, What will your exploration of music literacy (disciplinary literacy) revise? For what audience? How?
Writing Context: Music is a universal language. Additionally, music appeals to people and impacts them in a variety of ways. Different types of music appeal to different types of audiences. Your task is to identify and write to an audience that would/could be affected by your research. Your purpose in this essay is to give your audience an opportunity to be a part of an exploration of an aspect of music that you have chosen, while at the same time, informing and helping them to better understand specific aspects of music and how it can inform and affect our lives in various ways.
What is new for this project?
For this project, you will incorporate primary and secondary sources, which we will discuss in class. Primary sources can afford us original, authentic, first-hand experiences and discoveries in a particular area of study. For this project, you will engage in field research by conducting an interview or survey. Please remember that interviews and surveys require organized preparation and implementation. We will talk much more about this in class: finding someone to interview, making contact, conducting the interview, finding questions for surveys, explaining methodology, analyzing data, reporting on the data, etc.
Additionally, as with every assignment this semester, you project will include 2-3 visuals that support your research, placed in text. Some examples include: drawings, graphs, charts, maps, photos, magazine clips, etc
Ideas and suggestions for getting started
Probably the best way to choose a topic for this project is to think about what issue interests or affects you the most—something you have particular experience with, prior knowledge of, or strong feelings about. Expect to BEGIN with an “opinion,” and end with a more informed perspective on the issue.
1. Read this assignment description VERY CAREFULLY. Read it again. Then read it again.
Take notes on what you don’t understand. Ask questions.
2. Once you’re sure you understand what this project is asking you to do, choose a topic. Here are some ways to choose a topic that connects to your own experiences and interests:
• Pick an area of interest in relation to the music you prefer. Are you aware of the debates and issues surrounding the artists, writers, producers, genres, music videos?
• Is there an aspect of music that would relate to your major?
• You can look at what you wrote about in Project # 2 to help you think about how various issues relate to literacy.
• You could use class readings and conversations to take you in a new direction.
After you decide on a topic, you’ll need to formulate research questions to focus and guide your research.
(We will be working on research questions in class)
The answer to your main research question will later become the thesis of your paper.
4. Once you have a research question, you’re ready to begin looking for sources that can help you find answers to your question. You’ll look for relevant sources in your reader, online, in library magazines and journals, and among people you know.
5. Once you’ve gathered your sources, you’ll take notes on them. If you’re using print or online sources, you’ll summarize their arguments and take notes on any passages you want to quote in your paper.
6. You will then need to choose if an interview or survey serves your purpose for the essay. At this point, decision need to be made in relation to whom you are using as a human source for the interview and devise interview questions specific to your topic. Or, who will be a part of your database for the survey and what type of questions you will need to ask. For both, ****Provide yourself with ample time to schedule and conduct the interviews or surveys, as well as to analyze the information that generates from the field research. .
7. AFTER you have collected your sources and taken good notes, you’re ready to begin writing. Think about how your sources help you answer your research question, and craft a thesis about what you learned from them. Make sure you’ve summarized and quoted sources accurately and that you’ve documented them correctly. Think of a title that reflects or predicts your thesis.
8. Revise, proofread, and edit.
How will you know an “A” paper when you see it?
A “good’ paper will do the following:
• Will introduce the research by giving background or motives for your research
• Will represent all perspectives and positions accurately, fully and fairly
• Will summarize source material fully enough so that your reader understands it
• Will include well-chosen quotations from sources and create a balance between paraphrasing and direct quotes
• Will include enough of your own voice and language to show that you understand the issue and positions you’re describing
• Will NOT be just a stack of summaries with no “voice” framing and integrating source material
• Will document all sources both internally and in a Works Cited or Reference page
• Will be effectively organized, so that each paragraph has an identifiable purpose and point
• Will have a conclusion that indicates why what you learned matters or could matter—to you, or to others
• Will have a title that indicates both the subject of your analysis and your position on it
• Will be carefully proofread and edited.
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