MUS 138

Music Appreciation: through Contemporary Times

Final Paper Guidelines

1. Final paper topic choice is due via email by 1 pm on February 21st.

2. Draft of final paper is due in hardcopy in class on April 6th.
3. Paper is due in hardcopy at your final exam, May 18th at 10:30am. If it is more than 24 hours
late it will not be accepted and you will receive a zero for your paper grade.
4. If three paper deadlines above aren’t followed, you will lose 10 points per deadline missed.
These 10 point deductions will be taken off your final paper grade.
5. Final paper is worth 100 points (20%) of your final grade.
6. All papers must be 4 pages in length, Times New Roman, 12 point font, and double-spaced.
7. Margins should be standardized for the style of report you are using, and sources must be
credited either in the text or by footnotes at the bottom of the page, using standard MLA or APA
style. For reference, please see the following website:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
8. In addition to citing your two recordings referenced in the paper, a minimum of three academic
sources should be used. Only one of these may be a non-encyclopedic or academic website and
you must include the full url.
9. A title page and bibliography must be attached in standard form.
10. Grammar, spelling, and proper term paper form will count. Do not use terms you do not
understand. Do not include lists of the composer’s works in the body of the paper. Any lists
should be as an addendum and not counted as part of the six required pages. In addition, the
title page, bibliography, photos, and lists will not count towards the page count of your
document.
11. Papers not turned in on time will be penalized one (1) letter grade. Papers will not be accepted
more than one (1) day late. All papers must be turned in as “hard copies;” no e-mail papers
allowed. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Use quotations for direct quotes or paraphrase (use your own
words), and credit the source. All paraphrased resource material should be properly cited.
Plagiarism will earn a student a zero grade for the class, not just for the paper.

Listen to two contrasting works by your selected composer. After listening to your two selections,
include an overview of the composer’s life, discussion of their primary works (at least one from each
major genre they wrote in), and the impact of the composer’s music in the musical period it was written
and why this composer is remembered. What innovative compositional techniques they originated or
excelled in using, what it is about the composer and their music that makes them so important, and how
they made a lasting impact on the history of classical music? Both recordings must be cited in the
paper’s bibliography. Please do not use the class textbook or quote me via your class notes.
Grading Rubric

1. General overview of the composer’s life 20 pts. ____

2. Discussion of their primary musical works (1 in each genre, such as symphony, opera, concerto, mass,
oratorio, etc.) using appropriate music terminology/vocabulary 20 pts. ____
3. *Impact of composer’s influence on the musical period 20 pts. ____
4. Two recordings are cited and referenced appropriately in paper 10 pts. ____
5. Crediting of sources in text of paper using proper style 10 pts. ____
6. Correct form of bibliography (min. 3 sources) 10 pts. ____
7. Correct spelling, usage of words, overall neatness 10 pts. ____
Total 100 pts. ____

*Additional points will be subtracted for lack of source citations or for insufficient paper length.

Franz Schubert
Robert Schumann
Frédéric Chopin
Hector Berlioz
Franz Liszt
Antonín Dvořák
Guiseppe Verdi
Giacomo Puccini
Richard Wagner
Johannes Brahms
Gustav Mahler
Pytor Tchaikovsky
Arnold Shoenberg
Alban Berg
Igor Stravinsky
Bela Bartók
Aaron Copland
Leonard Bernstein
Steve Reich
John Adams