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

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
Dene 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 specic informa@on

Take notes with the ques@on in mind
Keep track of all sources consulted

Organising your ideas

Step 1: Planning

1a. Choose a topic

1b. Generate ideas
1c. Create an outline

Step 2: Drafting
Step 3: Revising

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

3a. Edit and revise
3b. Proofread
3c. Submit

Essay Outline
Introduction

Paragraphs
Orientate the reader
Identify the focus/purpose
Outline the scope
State thesis
Topic sentence 1
Supporting details
Concluding sentence 1

Body

Topic sentence 2
Supporting details
Concluding sentence 2
Topic sentence 3 and so on
Supporting details
Concluding sentence 3

Conclusion
References Cited

Restate thesis
Summarise argument
Sources listed A-Z by author

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
inuen@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 elds, but he became known
par@cularly for his contribu@ons in the elds 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

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

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

Body of the text: paragraph ve

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 nancial 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 nal impact on the reader

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
nal 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 eld of widget
watching by inven@ng the widge@scope. My life is enriched for
knowing about this wonderful man in this amazing eld. John Smith
will forever be remembered as the greatest widget watcher that
ever lived.
Good example:
Clearly, John Smith's contribu@ons changed the eld of widget
watching. His widge@scope helped to turn previously vague
theories into provable laws of widgetry. Smith may have suered
loneliness and ul@mately death due to his dedica@on to his studies,
but the eld today recognizes him as one of history's great widget
watchers.
From http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/badwriting.html#good

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 reect 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 specic 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 rmly 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.

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 diers from spoken language
Avoid the use of slang
Informal wri@ng: I think Macbeths a loser.
Formal wri@ng: Macbeths horric 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 dicul@es with

Sentence construc@on
Make sure that the subject of the clause or sentence is clear, and that
each sentence has a nite verb

Punctua@on
Punctua@on is used to mark o 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 nish 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 signicant impact on the nal mark for an essay

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