Please revise this draft by following the instructions from my professor “This is a very good essay! I have some criticisms for your final submission: Missing footnotes, which amounts to plagiarism because you must cite your sources. Be careful to follow the rules for citation. Quotations *especially* need citations, the quotation marks are not enough on their own. Please see the video on the Chicago Style Citation Guide page for information about how to create footnotes. Please fix the margins, should be 1 inch on all sides. Italicize album title, remove quotation marks. Song titles go on quotation marks. Remove headings, use topic sentences to introduce paragraphs. There is room for a lot more substance in this essay. Sentences should not simply take up space or restate points that have already been made. Sentences must have substance. For instance, the only track that is discussed with any depth is “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But there are eleven other tracks on the album. Certainly more from these tracks can be worked into the Listening, Technology, and Identity themes. The Business theme paragraph sums up sales and chart info. But it lacks any information about who was involved in creating the album. The essay has a lot of really good things. It just needs a little more work. Please make revisions for the final submission. Let me know if you have any questions.” I am also adding the first draft included in the files and the original instructions for the first draft.
Assignment Directions
1. Select an album to review
Students must first select an album to review. The selected album must contain at least three songs and is not limited to any style or genre. It may be an album of music studied in class. Students must inform Dr. Hecker of their selection by Friday, February 2, through email or Canvas message.
2. Write a critical review of the selected album
This review serves as your topical essay. Please carefully follow the directions below.
In their critical review, students must explain how their selected album reflects each of the five themes that have been central to our course:
Listening
Music & Technology
Music & Identity
Music Business
Centers & Peripheries
Students must also indicate which cultural stream(s) are represented through the album and how they are represented. In this course, we have focused on three cultural streams: European-American, African-American, and Latin-American. But there are more that we did not cover, such as Asian-American, Native American, Slavic-American, etc. Determine the cultural stream(s), of the album you’ve selected and explain how it expresses those stream(s).
If students need any help selecting an album or writing about music, they should contact the instructor
3. Essay Formatting Guidelines
All essays must follow these formatting guidelines:
Must be 800 words minimum, 1500 words maximum, not including abstract or track list.
Double-spaced, and 12 pt Times New Roman font.
Document must begin with an abstract on a separate page, clearly labeled as an ‘abstract.’ An abstract is a paragraph that summarizes the topic, goals, methodology, and conclusions of the paper.
Essay must include a thesis statement at the end of the introduction paragraph. A thesis statement is a sentence that clearly states your point and gives an idea of how you’ll prove it.
Document must include a complete album track list on its own page, clearly labeled, at the end of the document.
All sources must be cited properly. Source citations must be formatted in Chicago style. Please familiarize yourself with Chicago style using the style guides provided at the bottom of the page. Contact Dr. Hecker if you have any questions at all.
4. Essay Submissions
Essay submissions must be done electronically through Canvas. Acceptable file formats include .doc, .docx, and .pdf.
Plagiarism Advisory
Plagiarism will not be tolerated on any submission. This course uses TurnItIn which is an electronic program that highlights “borrowed material.” Students must cite all sources properly, including paraphrased information. Submitted essay must be in the student’s own words. Quotations must be properly cited in Chicago style, with footnotes and quotation marks. If the paper appears to include a high percentage of borrowed quotes and material without referenced cites in its content, the instructor will disallow the submission. If the submission is disallowed the student will be notified and asked to correct the problem areas – failure to comply will result in a 0 grade and possible discipline for academic dishonesty. If you are unclear on how to cite information, please contact the instructor. There are Chicago style citation guides linked at the bottom of this page.
