Project Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

MUS 7921 Spring 2022

10% of course grade
Due: 28 March, 11:59pm
Submit on Moodle

Overview: Write a 500-word (450-550) proposal for your final paper, and compile a
bibliography to support your research. The final project itself will comprise a thesis-driven
analytical essay of 2500-3000 words. You may research a topic of your choice (though it
should relate to the themes of the course), and you must engage with music theory/analysis in
some way. You may engage with any analytical perspective: rhythm, form, harmony, timbre,
vocal expression, etc. You are welcome to engage with social, cultural, and historical issues as
well, though musical analysis should remain at the center of your paper. I strongly encourage
you to check in with me about your topic before you write your proposal.

Research proposal: Your proposal should be a few paragraphs long, and articulate the
following: the thesis statement that is guiding the project, the project’s significance (why
should someone [interested in metal and/or music theory] care about your project?), and
your methodology (how you will go about demonstrating your thesis).

Your introduction should draw the reader in, and then present the core question your
research seeks to answer or the problem it will solve.

You should organise the remainder of your proposal in a way that makes sense for your
project. However you do this, it should accomplish the following:
• Briefly give essential background information. Show what is already known
(cite sources as needed), how your project fits in, and how it will build on
work others have done.
• Explain how you will do the project. What information will you gather? What
sources – primary and secondary – will you consult? How will you engage
with the material: what kind(s) of musical analysis will you do? Will other
modes of analysis be involved? Close reading? Textual analysis?
Compare/contrast? Corpus studies? Data analysis?
• Indicate what conclusions you hope to reach.

Finally, be sure to give your project a meaningful title. (You may change this later if
needed.)

I strongly encourage you to discuss your research topic with me in the weeks before this
proposal is due. I can help you make sure the project is of an appropriate scope and scale, as
well as help you formulate a strong thesis statement and choose an appropriate methodology.
Chances are I will also be able to point you toward useful books and articles.

Annotated Bibliography: Your work must be in conversation with other writers and
thinkers. These sources may include a mixture of primary and secondary sources, academic
books and articles and journalistic/popular press materials. You must, however, have a
minimum of 3 academic sources (articles in a peer-reviewed journal, or books published by
academic publishers). Each entry should be followed by a 1-3 sentence summary of how the
source will contribute to your project. The bibliography is not part of the word-count for the
proposal.

Please use Chicago Style citations. I recommend author-date style for in-text citations, but full
notes are also acceptable.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html

Discography: Please additionally include a discography if relevant (it should be for most—if
not all—of you).
Marking will be out of 100 points: 70 for the 500-word proposal and 30 for the
bibliography. The proposal will be marked on the quality of the thesis statement, the
project’s contextualisation and relevance, appropriateness and explication of the proposed
methodology, its structure and clarity, and its mechanical correctness and proper citation of
sources. The bibliography will be marked on the quality and relevance of the sources, the
adequacy of the summaries, and its mechanics and formatting.