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Music in World Cultures MUSC1010

How to write an (university) essay

Aims

Outline approaches to wri@ng academic essays

Examine some examples of good and bad essay wri@ng

Discuss extra @ps on how to improve the quality of an essay

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What makes a good essay?

All good essays should:

Answer the ques@on or related ques@ons

Have a thesis

Have an appropriate structure

Include relevant examples / suppor@ng evidence

Star@ng your essay

Start early

Define the ques@on and analyse the task Consult numerous sources

Lecture notes Key and addi@on readings (listed in unit outline) Lecture PowerPoint presenta@ons and handouts UWA library catalogue and Supersearch

Skim read to locate specific informa@on

Take notes with the ques@on in mind

Keep track of all sources consulted

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Organising your ideas

1a. Choose a topic

1b. Generate ideas

1c. Create an outline

2. Write 1st, 2nd, 3rd draft

3a. Edit and revise

3b. Proofread

3c. Submit

Step 3: Revising

Step 2: Drafting

Step 1: Planning

Orientate the reader Identify the focus/purpose Outline the scope State thesis

Topic sentence 1 Supporting details Concluding sentence 1

Topic sentence 2 Supporting details Concluding sentence 2

Topic sentence 3 and so on Supporting details Concluding sentence 3

Restate thesis Summarise argument

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Essay Outline Paragraphs

References Cited Sources listed A-Z by author

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Beginning the essay with an introduc@on

The introduc@on should: Grab the readers aTen@on Help to narrow the focus of the essay Present the thesis

Unhelpful beginnings

This essay is about gamelan music. I am wri@ng to tell you

Wri@ng vague introductory sentences Music is important in many sub-Saharan cultures. That's what this

essay is going to talk about.

Good example of introductory paragraph

On March 4, 1849, John Smith was born to Anna Bradcock Smith and James Smith. Although certainly not of humble origins, John was acquainted with several prominent and influen@al men of poli@cs with whom he discussed maTers of mathema@cs, history, science, logic, law, and theology. Smith was brilliant in each of these fields, but he became known par@cularly for his contribu@ons in the fields of philosophy, mathema@cs, and logis@cs. This essay will not only shed light on some of Smith's theories and words regarding these three areas, but will also tell of the events in his life that made him the man that he was.

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

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Paragraphs in the body of the essay

Try to relate each paragraph of the essay to the next in some fashion

Use subheadings to break up the prose and to help segue between all sec@ons

Each paragraph should aim to address one point

Use sub-points to help do this

Body of the text: paragraph one

Smith was born in Scotland to Amelia and John MacLeod. A plague in 1858 killed Amelia and John, leaving two-year-old John an orphan. With no nearby rela@ves, John was placed in an orphanage, where he was luckily discovered by Nancy and Arthur Smith. The Smiths were an American couple visi@ng Scotland for Arthur's research on castles. The orphanage happened to be housed in what had once been a castle, and the Smiths fell in love with the precocious John while there. They took the child back to the US with them in 1860 (Superwriter 1980: 4-7).

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

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Body of the text: paragraph two

According to both Superwriter (1980) and Doorknocker (1985), Smith never married, apparently choosing instead to bury himself in his passion: widget watching. As will be discussed in the next sec@on, he may have had some friends in the New York group, but his complete absorp@on into his studies resulted in him being a sad, biTer old man in his later years (Doorknocker 1985: 39). His death in 1902 was long thought to have been caused by a heart aTack (Superwriter 1980: 86), but recent research indicates that he may have in fact commiTed suicide by swallowing some widgets (Doorknocker 1985: 39).

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

Body of the text: paragraph three and four Smith's involvement with the New York Widget Watchers

provided him with con@nual funding (Bogus 1975: 27), and may have also served as a surrogate family in his later years. Superwriter (1980: 54) states that, Smith's comrades in New York were closer to him than anyone else, including family.

New evidence, however, indicates that if the rela@onship with the New York associa@on once was harmonious, it eventually decayed. Doorknocker has unearthed memos from the group dated shortly before Smith's death in 1902 that make men@on of the possibility of throwing him out of their ranks due to increasing drunkenness. A par@cularly unpleasant display at the group's Christmas party may have been the last straw (Doorknocker 1985: 39).

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

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Body of the text: paragraph five

Although it is not a certain fact, it is reasonable to consider the possibility that Smith did commit suicide because of his impending loss of financial and scholarly support. If this is true, it indicates how deeply passionate Smith was about widget watching; if he could not con@nue his studies and was separated from his colleagues, he seemingly felt that he had no reason to live.

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

Wri@ng the conclusion

The conclusion should be a logical ending to what previously has been discussed

It must pull together all of the parts of the essay It should refer the reader back to the focus outlined in the introduc@on

and the points discussed in the body of the text

The conclusion gives the essay a sense of unity Never introduce new informa@on at this stage

The conclusion is a change to make a final impact on the reader

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Structure of Conclusion

Link to previous paragraph Begin with a sentence that refers to the main subject discussed in the

body in the essay Make sure that this sentence also links to the preceding paragraph, or

uses words such as In conclusion, to signal that these are your final words on the subject

Brief summary Iden@fy main points/issues

Reinforce the thesis statement This shows the reader that you have done what you said you would do

and gives a sense of unity the essay

Examples of concluding paragraphs

Bad example: From all this, it is clear than John Smith changed the field of widget

watching by inven@ng the widge@scope. My life is enriched for knowing about this wonderful man in this amazing field. John Smith will forever be remembered as the greatest widget watcher that ever lived.

Good example: Clearly, John Smith's contribu@ons changed the field of widget

watching. His widge@scope helped to turn previously vague theories into provable laws of widgetry. Smith may have suffered loneliness and ul@mately death due to his dedica@on to his studies, but the field today recognizes him as one of history's great widget watchers.

From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

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Use of quota@ons Quo@ng sources is an important element of essay wri@ng

Referencing guards against plagiarism

Avoid stringing a bunch of quota@ons together, even if they are strung in a well-ordered format

Paraphrase long, awkward, or complicated quota@ons into words

that beTer suit your essay

Remember to cite a paraphrased comment! You do not make the idea your own merely by rewording it

The essay should reflect your interpreta@on of many sources Note: too many quota@ons looks like laziness on the part of the writer

In-text referencing

If you quote directly from an author or to cite a specific idea or piece of informa@on from the source, you need to include the page number of the quote in your in-text cita@on:

Blacking (1973: 10) states that music is 'humanly organized sound'. Bok (1984: 124-25) notes that secrecy is a social mechanism. The study of dance remains a subject of inves@ga@on planted firmly on

the periphery of ethnomusicological enquiry (Desmond 1993/4: 34).

Direct quota@ons should be enclosed with single quota@on marks; if the cita@on is more than around 35 words, indent the quote, without quota@on marks, and put it in 10 point font.

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References Cited

All works referenced in the essay must be included in the references cited

Follow the guidelines for references cited in ethnomusicology: hTp://libguides.library.uwa.edu.au/music_referencing

References cited should follow the essay on a separate page

List references A to Z by author

Do not group references by format, i.e. books, journal ar@cles, etc.

Three common sources for references cited

Book Merriam, Alan. 1964. The Anthropology of Music. Evanston:

Northwestern University Press.

Chapter from an edited book Blacking, John. 1985. Movement, Dance, Music and the Venda Girls'

Ini@a@on Cycle. In Society and the Dance: The Social Anthropology of Process and Performance, edited by P. Spencer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 64-91.

Journal Ar@cle Baulch, Emma. 2003. Gesturing Elsewhere: The Iden@ty Poli@cs of the

Balinese Death/Thrash Metal Scene. Popular Music 22(2): 195-215.

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How to say it in formal wri@ng

WriTen language differs from spoken language

Avoid the use of slang Informal wri@ng: I think Macbeths a loser. Formal wri@ng: Macbeths horrific choices cause him to lose everything

he holds dear: children, wife, friends, crown and king.

Avoid the use of abbrevia@ons Use for example instead of e.g. Use among other examples instead of etc. Use that is, in other words instead of i.e.

Avoid sexist language Use people are literate beings instead of man is a literate being

Avoid elision (also called contrac@on) Use cannot, do not, would not, have not, it is instead of can't, don't,

wouldn't, haven't, it's

Logic Avoid presen@ng your own opinion ('I think that....)

Sentence structure Try to be direct, clear and interes@ng Simple words and construc@ons and short sentences are oren best, but

variety does prevent boredom (on the part of the reader!) Avoid long sentences with clauses linked by because or and

Conjunc@ons Facilitate the logical organisa@on of the material Make use of words like However, , Nevertheless, , Moreover,

, 'In conclusion,

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Many students have difficul@es with

Sentence construc@on Make sure that the subject of the clause or sentence is clear, and that

each sentence has a finite verb

Punctua@on Punctua@on is used to mark off elements of meaning and designate

their respec@ve values. Be scrupulous with apostrophes.

The use of the apostrophe Please remember: it's = it is; its = possessive (ownership)

Spelling Develop the habit of consul@ng a good dic@onary for both spellings

and meanings of words; use Australian rather than American spelling. Most word processing programs have spell-checkers use them!

Proof Reading and Edi@ng

Crucial processes that take @me Aim to finish the essay a few days

before the due date

Put the essay away for a few days and then look over it again

Ask a friend or colleague to read over a drar

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Ques@ons to ask when edi@ng

Have I addressed the ques@on? Does the argument make sense?

Does the essay have a clear structure? Is it well balanced and researched?

Check topic sentences / transi@ons

Are examples and quotes relevant?

Have I referenced all quotes and paraphrases? Have I used a consistent referencing style?

Have I remained within the set word limit?

Submivng the essay

First appearances maTer!

Double-line spacing and 12-point font, e.g. @mes, arial Use a cover sheet (available from the school website)

hTp://www.music.uwa.edu.au/students/forms

Number each page and leave wide margins Print on one side of the page only

Ensure to back up and keep a hard copy of each assessment

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Conclusion

Academic wri@ng is a skill that needs to be developed and prac@sed

Start working on the essay now

Careful planning, wri@ng, edi@ng and proof reading can have a significant impact on the final mark for an essay