Final Reflection

    Final Reflection

One of the blogs that I wrote during the semester was “Keeping Music Students Motivated”.  It was intended to describe the different types of methods being used today to help the young music student.  What I was trying to illustrate was the effectiveness of the three methods mentioned by comparing and contrasting, yet in a persuasive essay format.

    My intended audience for this blog was to the students and teachers who are developing strategies to practice musical instruments, but also for those people who do not play, to explain to them what the learning process constitutes.  The thesis statement to the blog was, “There are numerous ways to maintain the music student’s motivation, however music teachers must know how to analyze each of their students learning capacities and decide which method suits the student’s learning style.”  If this thesis were to be analyzed, the context would be music, the subject would be the different music methods that exist, and the claim would be that music teachers need to analyze their students learning abilities and decide which teaching method is best for the individual.  The thesis is well defined throughout the paper and is shown clearly in the blog.  I demonstrate my ability to analyze best in the essay when it comes to comparing and contrasting articles and interpreting them.  I believe I work quite well with others work, however there is still a lot of room for improvement.
    My research paper, “The Similarities Between Marching Band and Football”, is about how marching band should be treated as a sport and how much football and the band have in common.  My audience was directed towards those people that do not believe it is a sport and for those who have no marching band experience.  I wanted to make clear how society defines marching band and a sport such as football.  
    The thesis statement was, “In comparison to football, high school marching bands should be treated as a sport due to the total hours of rehearsal, football game performances, competitions, physical activity, and injuries experienced throughout the season.”  It was well defined throughout the paper in that the context was marching band and football, the subject was that it is a sport, and the claim I was trying to make was that it should be treated as such due to rehearsals, performances, etc.  I felt that my ability to analyze in this paper was best in the first couple pages.  My ability to work with others pieces or articles could have been better.
    I think my writing has greatly improved throughout the semester.  I know that at the beginning, I knew how to write an academic essay, but not in the way college professors expect them to be written.  I believe that what I have written in this class reflects my abilities and the topics that I am interested in.