The music essay

This essay will be approximately 4 pages in length, plus the works cited page and the "What I Learned from NPR/PBS" section), just like all the essays we are doing.

You will need to quote from two sources and you can use Wikipedia if you want to.  To quote from these and list on works cited, see Essay Guidelines page.

I want you to think of one of your favorite musicians.  Do some research on them and find out who inspired them (in other words what earlier musician inspired what they did....or are doing.)  Any  type of music fine. Then research the earlier musician as well.

Gather info together on each of these musicians and think about why you like the later one, and why he/she like the earlier one.  Are their styles similar?  In what way?  How does each make you feel?  Was the music industry different for the earlier one?  Listen to as much as you can from both of these.

Form:   Come up with an interesting title.

Follow the essay guidelines for the Intro paragraph.  Start with a 'hook' that gets the reader's interest/don't name subjects here.  Name the first subject and give very general info in him/her....and then do the same with the secon.  Then end with the Thesis, main idea (last sentence of intro paragraph)---all this is the first paragraph.

First body paragraph:  Here give the biographical info on the musician that you listen to now.  In the first sentence you want to create a good topic sentence (see guidelines and emails) which tells point of paragraph and links back to thesis (put the word 'music' in there to help you do that....and also stress the importance of why we need to know what you are about to tell us.)

Second body paragraph:  Discuss this person's music.  Maybe quote from critics about it.  Note:  each paragraph in the essays should be 5-10 sentences long.

Third body paragraph:  Discuss your feelings about this music.

Fourth body paragraph:  Give biographical info on the earlier musician.  The first sentence needs to link the two together....refer to thesis.

Fifth body paragraph:  Discuss the music of this person.

Sixth body paragraph:  Compare the two musicians.....lives and music.  Add any personal info you care to here as well.

Conclusion paragraph:  restate main idea, review some points, leave the reader with something interesting to think about.

Next page:  center and title--Works Cited--don't center the rest of page.

List alphabetically the two sources you quote from, see guidelines.

Next page:  "What I Learned from NPR and PBS"--see directions for this.