WRITE AN ESSAY that compiles sources and presents their view point on the  topic of the influence of music.

1)    Use 4-6 sources. (TRY NOT TO HAVE AUTHORS WITH ALL THE EXACT SAME OPINIONS.) This can be 

achieved by finding:

1.a.     Authors who disagree about how to define your topic

2.b.     Authors who think differently about your topic because they’re writing from different time periods

3.c.     Authors who think differently about your topic because they’re different kinds of people (think 

race/gender/scholar vs. layman, conservative vs. liberal, etc.)

4.d.     Authors who agree on some things, but not on others

5.e.     Authors who argue the same point but use very different evidence

6.f.      Authors who directly attack or contradict each other

7.g.     Authors who agree on the problem but offer different solutions

2)    Develop a thesis that:

1.a.     DESCRIBES THE RELATIONSHIP between your sources

2.b.     DESCRIBES WHY/HOW the relationship exists

3.c.     EXPLAIN WHY it matters to your topic

Each body paragraph needs to work with your thesis. Each body paragraph needs a topic sentence that explains what 

the paragraph will talk about. A QUOTE IS NOT A TOPIC SENTENCE because someone else’s quote can’t explain 

YOUR body paragraph. A topic sentence must come from your own brain.

DO NOT simply summarize what the various authors say about your topic without connecting them by USING ONE of the 

above approaches, but analyze the ways in which your sources speak to each other about the same topic. The ESSAY needs 

to analyze, compare, contrast, or draw conclusions in each paragraph, all the way through.

5)    End your ESSAY with a concluding paragraph that explains why it was important for you to compare/contrast 

these authors’ ideas aka why you even bothered writing the paper.

1.a.     How has your work illuminated your idea of the topic/problem?

2.b.     How has your work changed how you’ll write about your problem in your upcoming paper 5?

3.c.     You’ll also want to address the area that you believe researchers have either failed to address fully or 

perhaps neglected to address at all and offer a plausible reason, if possible as to why such an area has not been 

researched. 

IMPORTANT!!!

–       Avoid your opinion. Your ESSAY must analyze sources and how they’re talking to one another—save your opinion for 

your Conclusion and Paper 5: Classical Research Argument paper.

–       Know when to ANALYZE, and when to SUMMARIZE. In other words, one of your essay’s main points is 

to analyze the dialogue your sources engage in, and not just list facts from your sources.  

Your paper must be a minimum of 3-6 pages long with quotes and in-text citations, and include a works cited 

page. Everything should be formatted in MLA or APA, and written in your most concise, grammatically correct, and 

– NO (((plagiarism)))

collegiate academic voice.