Essay hints, tips and cheat codes

* Collect cohesive ideas into readable paragraphs

* Introduction, conclusion (write both last): clearly state your intentions/argument/methodology etc., in the introduction.
Sum up the essay's findings in the conclusion. It's only 1000 words, so keep them brief.

* Please study the difference between commas (,), colons (:), and semi-colons (;).

Example:

Several problems often come to light during the marking of essays, a few of which are as follows: firstly, the use of semi-colons where commas would be more appropriate; secondly, the use of semi-colons where colons would be more appropriate; and, thirdly, a lack of commas in many longer sentences.


* Write 1980s, 1990s—not 80s, 90s, or eighties, nineties

* Songs: ‘Sabotage’, ‘Root Down’
Albums: Ill Communication
Band: Beastie Boys

* Italics/underline for book, film, album & journal titles. Consult a UQ or MLA style guide.


* Double or 1.5 space; in-text references (not footnotes); indented quotes are single spaced, but note that they don’t require italics or quote marks or a smaller font


* Journalism students: this is not a journalism class. Please present your work in a format appropriate for an analytical essay.


* Referencing Websites

Note: internet research, other than online databases in the UQ system or the rare refereed online journal, is only appropriate for the odd fact. Wikipedia-style sites are not acceptable, as there is no onus on them to verify their information. Also, unless you are specifically making a point about fan cultures and their relationship to your chosen music (not that that is the focus of this course), there should be no need to research amateur sites and blogs.

Otherwise:

If you can locate an author name and year, use them in the in-text reference:

According to the All Music Guide, The Brian Jonestown Massacre's debut LP Methodrone was 'shoegazer-influenced' (Ankeny 2006).

If not, use a shortened version of the site's name: (allmusic.com)

Depending on the amount of citation information you can find, the listing
in the bibliography would look like one of these:

Ankeny, Jason 2006, 'The Brian Jonestown Massacre' , Allmusic, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll, Accessed 22 May.

or

'The Brian Jonestown Massacre' 2006, Allmusic, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll, Accessed 14 August.

or

Allmusic 2006, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll, Accessed 14 August.

(Cheat code: on your keyboard, enter the following letters: w,r,i,t,e,a,g,o,o,d,e,s,s,a,y,f,o,r,c,o,r,y)