Assignment
Select a song that youd like to analyze for this formal writing. Essay # 2 is worth 25% of your final grade
Songs must be accessible to a wide audience. In other words, pick a song that anyone can easily access.
It doesnt have to be a currently popular song, but it does need to be a published song nothing by your best friends neighbors totally awesome brother who will totally be famous soon!
This is not as easy as it sounds! Your assignment is to write an analysis of a song using as many poetic and literary terms as are appropriate. It is important that when you select the song, you identify significant elements: the form, a theme, imagery, plot, rhyme scheme,
Remember, you are looking at this song as a piece of literature, so you must frame this as you would a discussion of one of the poems from our
textbook.
If you would like to make a connection between your song and one of the poems from the text or another song, that is acceptable; however, make sure that all connections are clear and justified.
General Guidelines
Your paper must have a heading with your name, the course name/number, the date, and the title of your papernot just the title of the song or assignment name.
You do not have to include any additional research in this essay.
In your introduction, you should state the title(s) of the song being discussed and the artists full name. If you refer to the artist again, refer to them by last name. If it’s a band, you’re welcome to just use the band name.
Remember, the songwriter and the performing artist may not be one and the same!
It can be important to acknowledge both depending on the scope of your discussion.
However, your focus needs to be more on the song as a piece of poetry and not on the artist/band/performer/music.
Research Requirements
You are not required to do any research for this essay!
However, you do need to include a typed transcript of the lyrics with the essay.
The typed transcript of the song lyrics must be in the same style/font as the rest of your paper.
Do not just copy and paste the lyrics from some random website!
The transcript can come at the end of your paper or as a separate attachment – whatever works best for you!
You only have to type out the chorus the first time it appears in the text. After that, if there are no changes to the lyrics, simply type the word Chorus.
Just as a reminder..titles of songs MUST be written EACH TIME you write them in quotation
Example: Were Going to be Friends by the White Stripes is a lovely song about friendship.
When quoting two or more consecutive lines of a song, separate each line with a /.
Example: Fall is here, hear the yell/ Back to school, ring the bell/ Brand new shoes, walking blues
Format
400-500 words (approximately 2-3 pages) typed in standard 12 point font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Do not attempt to play with margins, font size, etc. to make papers appear longer!
The final draft must follow MLA 8th edition format.
The Little Seagull Handbook pp. 119-169.
For heading example, see the syllabus.
Include an appropriate title centered on the first line.
Do not underline the title or put it in quotation marks, italics, or bold.
The title should reflect your discussion, not the name of the assignment.
Write in standard, formal English, avoiding slang and casual language.
Use of the first- or second-person perspectives (you) are not appropriate or acceptable in this essay.
You must include a Works Cited page listing the song and/or the site used for lyrics.
You must save your paper as a Microsoft Word document. If you are using a different program, make sure to save as and select either .doc (or .docx) or .pdf as your file type.
