FTS-100 349 Project 1: My Favorite Albums (Fall 2016)
Start: Monday, 9/12. Essay due: Friday, 9/23, in hard copy, by the start of class. Presentations on 9/16, 9/19 and 9/21.
Bare Bones Description
In this project, you will write a mini essay on your favorite
music albums. You may choose two albums and your essay must consist of
more than three paragraphs.
You will also prepare a small presentation on the subject, Your
presentation will be under five minutes. You may use visual or audio
aids in your presentation.
You are to do this project individually.
What This Project Accomplishes
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally.
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to
reason. This project is designed to help you with the skill of
reasoning.
Project Details
We use your favorite albums as a subject for critical thinking. Can
you reason with me why you like these albums? Remember, critical
thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions. Thus arguments such
as "the songs are catchy" are not effective unless they are furthered
explained. For example, why is being catchy an important quality to have
in songs? If a song is catchy, does that automatically make it a good
song? What other factors does a song need to have in order for you to
like it?
Once you had constructed your arguments, one way to reinforce them
is to make them up with research and information. Since you are
reviewing your favorite albums, I assume that you have listened to these
albums many times. Then, you should read some articles on these albums.
This is not only for fact gathering purposes, but also to understand
how meaning is created and reinforced throughout the media, and whether
or not any of it aligns with your personal beliefs.
You will review two of your favorite albums. For each album, list
three fully realized arguments. You will receive a deduction if any of
your arguments is not fully realized. You should also back up your
arguments with research, quotes or citations, although they are not a
requirement for this particular project.
To cite a resource, please read pages 41 - 44 in your text book
(EasyWriter). You may choose to use any of the citation styles for this
particular project.
For your presentation, you must clearly convey each of your
arguments. You may use audio or visual aids (such as slides, video clips
or sound clips) to support your arguments and to make your presentation
more interactive.
Grading
Points total: 10
- Essay
- Your mini essay should have a clear structure that includes
an introduction and a conclusion. All your arguments should be clearly
presented: 1 point.
- Each of your arguments should be fully realized and
supported: you are to choose two albums, for each album, you are to
present three arguments, for a total of 6 points.
- Presentation
- Each of your arguments is clearly presented: 2 points
- Your presentation is engaging. You make good use of audio and visual aids: 1 point
Due Dates
Your mini essay is due on Friday, 9/23/2016 by the start of the
class. For this project, you must hand in a hard copy of your mini
essay. You should also have your presentation ready to go by Friday,
9/16/2016. We will discuss the order of presentations in class.