Writing Assignment 1: Bach, Beethoven, and Bugs Bunny?
DESCRIPTION

This is an NPR Weekend Edition Sunday story focusing on classical music in cartoons. Read the summary of “Classical Masterpieces Turn Up in Cartoons” from NPR. Then, click on “Listen Now” in the top left corner to open the 9 minute program. Listen carefully to the interview — hopefully you will remember some of the examples.

ASSIGNMENT

Go to the NPR story on their website.
Read the summary
Click “Listen Now” in the top left corner to open the program
Listen to the entire interview
Respond to the following prompts:
Do you remember any of the cartoons mentioned? If so, explain which ones and what your experiences of these cartoons and the music were.
Whose “Ave Maria” is mentioned in the interview? Have you heard this piece before? What are your reactions to this piece?

Do you think children today experience classical music as much as people in your generation did?

Do you think exposing children to a wide variety of music is important? Why?

What is your prior experience playing, reading, and listening to music?

What is your favorite type of music? Why? What draws you to this genre?
Please spend considerable time listening, writing, and reviewing. The Writing Assignments are the most important aspect of the course, and you must articulate your ideas in both depth and detail. One of the primary goals of the course is to help you develop your ability to think critically and deeply about music and then explain your ideas clearly, thoroughly, and in a professional manner.

All answers should be written in proper formal style. This means that responses should be written in complete sentences with no spelling or grammatical errors and all sources must be cited using the MLA citation format, with parenthetical citations in the text and a complete Works Cited list at the end (in the same file).

All Writing Assignments should aim to weave responses together into a consistent narrative. Try to expand on your ideas as much as possible — one-word responses are never acceptable. Your ideas should flow from one to the next with appropriate transitions and come together as a cohesive work. You should not address each prompt as an individual idea or list the numbers of the prompts.

Always remember that cannot get inside your brain and experience directly what you are thinking or feeling. You must explain your opinions and thoughts so that  can start to understand them; just stating an opinion is never enough,  want to know more: How exactly did you arrive at this idea? How exactly does the music make you feel? Why do you feel this way? Why? Why? Why? Keep asking yourself these critical questions.
Please address all of the prompts in your response, but in paragraph form with appropriate transitions between ideas. Any response that requires your opinion on the music should be extensive; this is always the most important aspect of the assignment. Do not settle for a simple, surface-level answer; music is complex as are human feelings and reactions to it. You must work to articulate your ideas and opinions clearly and completely. You will not be graded based on your opinions — you will be graded based on your ability to communicate your ideas.
Please create your response as a Word document. Lines should be double-spaced. There is no need to list the questions again in your final submission. When saving and submitting your writing assignments, please use the following naming convention:
Lastname Firstname WA1.docx

This example is for a recent version of Word that saves with a .docx file extension — .doc extensions from older versions of Word are fine too. .pdf extensions are acceptable as well, but please do not submit .odt or .rtf files — your word processing program should allow you to save as a .pdf. Do NOT use symbols (#,&,@, etc.) when creating filenames — this often makes files harder to open (and this applies in work settings as well; stick to letters, numbers, and spaces only).
Do not cut and paste any of your answer from another source. Plagiarism includes any copying of the words, structure, or ideas of another author without clear citation of that source. If you use the ideas of another author, put these in your own words but still cite the source of the information. Use quotations sparingly and only in support of your response; you cannot use a large-scale quotation and consider this the entire response.
Reminders:

All work for this course should be written in complete sentences with proper grammar and spelling. Use the spellcheck tool on your word processor.
Avoid accusations of plagiarism by citing every idea presented that is not your own using MLA style.
If you use a direct quote from a source, you must put this in quotation marks and cite the source at the end of the sentence. Use quotes sparingly and on a small scale; you should not quote entire paragraphs.
All work for this course must be done independently; there should be no group collaboration except through sharing ideas on the discussion boards. Assignment submissions must be original work.
If you are unclear about any of this please contact me through the course email system.

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