Assignments

Writing

You will be required to submit three 6-page papers + one revision. The revision can be either of the first or second paper. Late paper policy is as follows: An extension on a paper will require prior approval and will be granted at my discretion, and only in extraordinary circumstances. Late papers without approved extensions will be given no credit.

Grading will be based on the following weighting: 3 papers + 1 revision = approximately 40% of final grade; discussion directing + agendas = approximately 30% of final grade; participation in class discussion overall (including attendance, of course, and possible in-class writing assignments, and reading quizzes as necessary) = approximately 30% of final grade.

The first paper (6 pp.) is due session 9; the second paper (6 pp.) is due session 17; the revision of either the first or second paper is due session 23; and the third paper (6 pp.) is due session 25.

CMS Statement on Plagiarism

Plagiarism—use of another's intellectual work without acknowledgement—is a serious offense. It is the policy of the CMS Faculty that students who plagiarize will receive an F in the subject, and that the instructor will forward the case to the Committee on Discipline. Full acknowledgement for all information obtained from sources outside the classroom must be clearly stated in all written work submitted. All ideas, arguments, and direct phrasings taken from someone else's work must be identified and properly footnoted. Quotations from other sources must be clearly marked as distinct from the student's own work. For further guidance on the proper forms of attribution, consult the style guides available in the Writing and Communication Center and the MIT Website on Plagiarism.

Reminders and advice:

  • Please use your own words to express your own ideas (review the syllabus for the policy on plagiarism)
  • Provide full citations for everything you quote or paraphrase, including class readings, online texts and sources, etc
  • Feel free to communicate with me about your ideas before the due date
  • All essays should be free from errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation, as these can impede comprehension and may result in a lowering of your grade
  • I would prefer that you did not include a separate title page: instead, put your name and other information at the top right of the first page, drop down a line, center your title, and drop another line between that and your first paragraph
  • Double-space everything (except indented longer quotations)
  • Use a legible (12 point) font and standard (1-inch) margins
  • Number your pages

Good luck, and have fun!

Selected titles of student papers, Fall 2012:

  • "Listening with the Eyes"
  • "Sound Effects and Sound Technology in the Film Industry"
  • "The iPod and the Musical"
  • "On Speech"
  • "Car Talk: The Nuts and Bolts of Radio"
  • "Togetherness: How Online Technologies Shifted the Concept of Shared Listening"
  • "John Cage: Noise and Music"
  • "America, Israel, Algeria, and Egypt: The Radio Spectrum"