Writ 121 Essay 3: Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll--or More?

Note: the above links in the pull down menu are for your convenience to find specific aspects of the assignment as you work on your essay.  However, I suggest you read through the entire page first, to get a good overview of what you're to do.  Furthermore, I imbed mini-lectures throughout the page, much as I might orally in a traditional f2f class.  I want you to learn from and reflect upon the assignment page, not just find out what you need to do.

Introduction

Owning an Assignment:

Over the number of years that I have taught writing, I've had many students express a distaste for an assigned topic. They wanted to write about whatever they chose, finding an assigned topic limiting. And they're right. It is limiting. But get used to it. You will find lots of times when you will have writing assignments--both in college and in the business/professional world--where you will have to write whatever is assigned to you. 

• "Explain the value of content analysis in media research."
• "Interview the new hires here at Krogers and write an article 
  introducing them to the store." 
• "How important was the influence of the Civil War on Walt Whitman's 
  poetry? Discuss with specific analysis of at least three Whitman pieces." 
• "Study the cost overruns in your department for the last six months 
  and write a proposal for reducing them." 
• Or my favorite that I faced in a final exam for a Jewish History class: 
  "Discuss the history of the Jews from 70 AD to present day." Two 
  thousand years in two hours!

So you have to deal with assigned topics, but you don't have to look at them as mere drudgery. You can make them work for you. 

Fulwiler, in The Working Writer, includes a brief discussion about the value of owning an assignment:

To understand and take seriously assignments given by other people, you need to do more than merely react to them. You need to make them your own. One way of owning an assignment is to figure out how doing the assignment benefits you in some way--answers a nagging question, is fun or challenging, helps somebody you care about. Another way of owning an assignment is to break it down to a manageable size so you can handle it with the information and time available. In addition, you may also find a way of doing the assignment that's original and creative--an approach more likely than not to spark interest in your reader. (48)

In other words, the key is to find an angle, a perspective, an approach that is in some way connected to your interests, your experience and your worldview so that you can infuse value into the work. That way, you will learn from the work, and you will more likely find a way to make it interesting and insightful for us, your audience.

Moving on, with this essay, we are going to continue our exploration of popular culture. This time we are going to shift our view a bit in exploring the world of music.

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Topic Questions

So based on our readings from Common Culture (CC), I'd like you to develop a discussion about your point of view concerning some aspect of popular music. Here are some possible ways to approach the subject:

1. Gavin James Campbell's article on Britney Spears explores her background in Louisiana and suggests cultural influences that contribute to her popularity and to criticism against her. If you've been following Spears's career, what might you add to Campbell's analysis--how has her career and popularity evolved in the two years since the article was first published? Now, don't even think it's possible to cover most of what Campbell discusses in his article. Choose one point made by the author, and explore how it has played out in the last couple years of the artist's life and career.

2. What about another popular artist that you have been interested in for some time? What does his or her background say about the persona that has been created by the artist? What does this artist's persona--with the values or views on life expressed in his or her music--say about the fans?

3. Critic James Blandford (in Gary Burns's article) suggests that Marilyn Manson does not "promote the illnesses of society, but forces us to confront them." Burns then suggests that such is what many contemporary musicians do. He even suggests that music that deals with the illnesses of society have been lifesaving for listeners (281). Do you agree? Focus upon a specific artist who deals with a negative aspect of our culture such as drug abuse or violence and analyze the positive or negative influence that the lyrics have on listeners. I suggest you focus on an artist that you are very familiar with because you listen to him or her regularly, or because someone close to you does.

4. Here's one from Petracca and Sorapure: "In an essay, respond to [Burns's] thematic position: that the media use pop music artists as easy scapegoats for many of society's ills, while ignoring more pervasive and dangerous influences. Based upon your own reading of newspapers and magazines, and your watching of television and movies, do you find evidence to support Burns' assertions?... Also, feel free to adopt a contrarian position: ... that pop stars are to blame for youth violence" or some other societal ill. You will need to focus on a specific artist or scapegoat theme to keep this essay under 800 words.

5. Do note that for week 7 reading and online activities, you are required to read and share another music article from CC. Feel free to develop an insightful analysis on some aspect of popular music based on the article. Do look, though, for ways to connect your analysis to the shared knowledge of your audience, the articles we all read.

6. Note that our editors have several suggestions at the end of the "Music" section of the book (339-40). Feel free to consider these as possibilities. However, make sure that you clearly connect your discussion to the readings we've done together.

Note: some students have fallen into the trap of writing a my-musical-preferences essay. In other words, they have simply told us about music they like to listen to. Starting with what you like to listen to can be an excellent place to explore what you would like to write about as part of your prewriting.

• But remember SWWC--so what, who cares?
• In other words, what is significant, interesting or curious about your 
  topic for us, your audience? See the next section.

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Remember your audience

We, the members of this class, are your audience. As I mentioned above, your goal is to bring us insight into your point of view concerning popular music.

To do so, you need to convince us that your point of view is credible and interesting.

• Of course, there are many ways to do so that WW discusses throughout the text. However, there are two ways to reach your audience that is specific to us.

1. Consider the points of view that class members make in chat or on the Blackboard Discussion Board.

• For example, if you notice that a class member says he or she just loves Shania Twain, and you lambaste the country singer in your essay, how effectively have you reached your audience? 

• Of course this doesn't mean you can't disagree with each other.  
  Doing so is inevitable.

• But doing so respectfully will get your audience to consider your position valid and worth listening to even if they disagree.

2. Another way to convince us of the validity and significance of your point of view is by specific, detailed examples from your own experiences and observations.

• If you can show us expertise--

• by sharing an anecdote about playing in a band or
• by showing us the intricacies of Coldplay's style--

• then we are more likely to consider your point valid.

• And more likely to consider it interesting.

• See part 3 of the virtual lecture on academic essays about developing paragraphs.

3. One other way to convince us of your point's validity is to use other sources.

• If you find

• an informative discussion in a magazine article about music piracy,

• a fact from a credible web page (more on this later) about
  the extent of Christina Aguilera's popularity, or

• a relevant quotation from a music critic about Ska,

you bring in other voices to your discussion that may enrich you position.

Note that you have online access to a reference librarian who would delight in helping you.  Click here for more information.

4. Finally, you can convince us of the validity and significance of your point of view by using  the shared knowledge of your audience.

• We've read together two articles from CC on popular music. You would do well to use one or more of the essays we’ve read together.
  • Remember our conversation scenario in the essay 2 page?

Again, think of the authors we read as other voices that participate in the conversation about the topic you are giving us insight into, voices that you spring off in agreement, disagreement, qualification and such.

• Doing so broadens your credibility and shows us that your point of view is based not only on your perceptive observations, but also on your consideration of a community of writers and thinkers in our broader society.

• Plus using articles we've read together places your topic into a context that we are familiar with and can give us more insight into your point of view.

• And as I noted above, you don't necessarily have to agree with those we read.

But you do need to disagree respectfully, as you would with one of us.

Just remember that some in your audience may agree with the position you disagree with. If you insult the author, you may be insulting your audience, who may then disregard what you are asserting.

So, again, you would do well to use support from one or more of the selections we've read together.

• Just remember that if you make a point that could be supported by our reading and you don't, your discussion will be less effective for us. 

Also, make sure that when you do quote or paraphrase from someone you put the page number in parenthesis. (See WW 431+.)

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Using Sources

Therefore based on the discussion above, this essay must include as support for your discussion the following:

• One or more articles from CC

• One or more published sources outside of CC (not a dictionary 
  or encyclopedia)

Also, make sure that when you do quote from or paraphrase someone, you put the page number in parenthesis. See WW 431+.

And again, try a works cited page that presents the sources you use, whether from CC or elsewhere.

• Do note that any essay placed in the portfolio that uses any sources--including CC or WW--will need to include a works cited page. See WW 435+.

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Requirements

This paper is to be

• 600-800 words in length,
• formatted with MLA style guidelines (WW 431 and sample in Course Documents>Samples from Dan) and
• in RTF format.

And again, it must include support from at least

• one of our CC articles, and
• one other published source

Also, don't forget that it needs to include a works cited page presenting information about the sources you use.

And remember: strive to accomplish the maximum number of words allowed on papers--shorter papers typically are not developed effectively with sufficient detail or with sufficient complexity of thought for a college level audience.

And make sure to keep everything you do in working this paper, including hard copies of the drafts you produce, because I will need to see all of it if you choose the essay for the portfolio.

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There are four steps that need to be completed as described below to receive full credit for this essay.

Due dates:

• Step 1--prewriting: 2/28/04, Saturday midnight
• Step 2--draft: 2/28/04, Saturday midnight
• Step 3--audience response: 3/4/04, Thursday midnight.
• Step 4--revised draft: 3/6/04, Saturday midnight.

Step 1: Prewriting

(Note: please send under separate email from your online activity letter for week 7, and include writ121prewriting3 in your email subject line. Do not send your prewriting to me through the drop box.)

By Saturday midnight 2/28/04 e-mail me, as a TXT file or RTF file, some prewriting--note there are two things to submit--techniques from WW and a working thesis:

1. At least two starting techniques from WW, chapter 7, "Strategies for Starting."

• Please label each technique based on the terms and definitions in the just mentioned chapter.
• Some of the techniques might work better for you using old-fashioned pen and paper, such as clustering.
  • Feel free to use something other than the computer, but report to me in 
    your prewriting e-mail what you did, including what topics you explored, 
    and what you discovered through use of the prewriting technique(s).

I'll expect to see a minimum of 300 words.

2. A working thesis for the essay.

• See the virtual lecture on academic essays, part 2, if you don't recall what this is.

Again,  make sure to keep everything you do in working this paper, including hard copies of the drafts you produce and sources you use, because I will want to see all of it if you choose the essay for the portfolio.

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Step 2: Draft

Also by 2/28/04, Saturday midnight, you need to upload a draft of your paper to the Drafts of essay 3 forum on the Blackboard Discussion Board.

• You can attach as a TXT or RTF file.
• Or you can copy and paste into the message box.
• And this draft should be as complete as possible--with a beginning, middle, end--though it doesn't need to be pretty or perfect.
• Click here to remind yourselves of the comments I make about academic essays.

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Step 3: Audience Response

By 3/4/04, Thursday midnight, read class members' papers and post responses to the writer in the discussion board. I'll have a link on the Calendar by class 3/2/04 for further instructions.

• When you submit your revised draft (step 4 below), you will need to have responded to a minimum of three drafts from class members in your batch before I will read and respond to yours.

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Step 4: Revised draft with reflection

Finally, by 3/6/04, Saturday midnight, send a revised draft of Essay 3 in RTF format through the Digital Drop Box in Blackboard.

And when you are in the drop box, click on , not . 

• Add file is for your use, to store files that you want to access later. 
• If you choose Add File, I will not see it, only you will.

Include the following pasted to the end of your essay:

• Reflection on Essay 3, which will be available Friday by 5 p.m., 3/5/04, linked to the Calendar.

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