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Essay Instructions: CLEAR THESIS AND A FOCUSED ARGUMENT. SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS OR AS NEGATIVE EVIDENCE.
WHY IS SO MUCH MODERN POP MUSIC SEXIST? TO DEVELOP SUPPORT FOR YOUR THESIS, ANALYZE A SELECTION OF CURRENT MUSIC VIDEOS, PAYING ATTENTION TO BOTH LYRICS, THE STORY BEING TOLD, AND THE ARTIST'S PERSONAL STYLE.

Essay Instructions: My topic is a comparison/contrast of how Formulaic Language is used in two different genres of musical love song lyrics - Pop music lyrics vs. Country music lyrics.

I need a paper that:
1) defines and describes the types of "formulaic language (FL)" (e.g., chunks, collocations, idioms, compounds, etc.) 2) discusses how often we use FL in everyday speech and the most common kinds of FL that we use (i.e., what percentage of our conversation/discourse discourse is made up of FL and which types are seen most often)
3) a comparison/contrast of the genres of country music and pop music and how formulaic language is used in the lyrics of each genre (i.e., do they use same/different amounts of FL, more of one type of FL than another, etc.).

I will upload some jouranal articles for you to use as sources, and some sample pop/country song lyrics for comparison. If you have any questions, you may contact me at: jkirkjordan@yahoo.com.
There are faxes for this order.

Essay Instructions: When asked to describe what makes a film great, the famed movie critic Roger Ebert responded:
“A great film is one that, every time you go back to it, you always find something new, something you missed before.”

For your Essay Response, consider Ebert's statement:
Although Ebert was speaking specifically about the film Citizen Kane, how might his remarks apply to music? To Bach or Mozart or Brahms or Stravinsky, or any of the composers we have covered this semester? And how might his ideas apply to pop music?
By Ebert’s criteria, can one determine what is a “great” piece of music?

Your Essay Response must address the assigned topic, which requires some critical thinking and/or personal reflection, but this is not intended to be excessively time-consuming.

You will be graded on relevant content--your response must address the assignment questions.
Pay attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure; failure to do so may result in points being deducted.

Essay Instructions: * Topic B: In Euro-American societies "classical" music is generally understood to mean art music in the Western European art music tradition. Was classical music always "classical" (in the sense of "masterpiece")? What does that mean for our perception of new music that hasn't been tested by time? Is it possible for pop music to be considered "classical"? Why? Why not?

Must be written mostly in 3rd person.

In any essay, you must have a central idea or issue that you will address. Be sure to organize your paper with introductory and concluding material. Be as creative as you would like within the constraints of college-level writing.

As well as introducing your writing to me, this paper also serves as an introduction of me to you. Effective writing has two equally important components: good ideas and effective presentation.

Your paper will be graded according to the following criteria:

Paper is well-constructed with complete sentences, correct spelling, and correct punctuation;
Topic/theme clearly stated in first paragraph (but not "this paper is about" statements);
Subsequent paragraphs provide supportive description pertinent to the stated topic;
Concluding paragraph provides a summary;
Paper is consistent in use of tense and each paragraph is written in consistent person/voice (i.e., first person, third person);
Paper meets the 300-word minimum requirement;
Paper is formatted correctly (double-spaced, name on title page or first page, etc.).
In general, essays will receive low grades for one of three reasons.
Lack of content: A good essay answers the question or problem posed by the assignment description. Read the description several times during the writing of the essay to make sure you are on track.
Lack of organization: A good essay should have an organized, easy-to-follow form. If you are a beginning writer, the five paragraph essay is a good model. In the five paragraph essay, the first paragraph has a brief statement of the main points and guides the reader through the middle three content paragraphs to the summary or concluding paragraph. In the case of a longer paper, each paragraph can become a section.
Bad Grammar: A good essay is written with sufficient care that the grammar, spelling, and punctuation are generally correct. Problems with grammar, spelling, and punctuation will result in a lower grade.
Commonly used words to avoid in your writing
Many words have become overused to the point where they rarely have any meaning.

Example: "The music at the concert was definitely awesome."
Compare with: "The music at the concert was performed with rhythmic precision."

Interesting - Everything is in fact interesting and, therefore, to state that something is interesting is unnecessary

Definitely - This word is used like salt and pepper today. It is best to avoid it completely.

Obviously - If it is obvious, you do not need to state it. If it is not obvious, then you are misusing the word.

Intense, awesome, amazing, major, excellent, incredible, and most other superlatives are used instead of language that could actually be more descriptive

Mellow - This word is overused so much that it has become meaningless.

You - Never use the second person. See the guidelines in the section on writing in third person.