Goal: 

You will critically appraise a research design

Content Requirements: 

You will select one research report with a qualitative design and one with quantitative design and answer the following questions regarding the following categories:

1. Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research

• Briefly, describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach.

• Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies.

• Briefly, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice.

• Communicate how this research design used in research.

1. The study, sampling, data collection, analysis, rigor, findings and limitations

• Identify the purpose of the study.

• Briefly, describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose.

• Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.

• Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.

• Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research.

• Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.

• Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.

• Identify four (4) criteria by which the rigor of a qualitative project can be judged.

• Discuss the rigor of this study using the four criteria. 

• Briefly, describe the findings of the study and identify any limitations.

• Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion any implications for the discipline of nursing.

1. Discuss what you understand by the term Quantitative Research – Use the following dot points to guide your discussion (give reasons for your argument and support with references):

• Describe the characteristics of quantitative research.

• Identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a quantitative research approach

• Differentiate between observational and interventional research designs and also between experimental and quasi-experimental designs.

• Briefly, outline the difference between inferential and descriptive statistics and their relationship to levels of measurement.

• Communicate how this research design used in research.

1. Critique the Quantitative Research Report – Use the following headings to guide your critique (in all discussions and explanations give reasons for your argument and support with references):

• The study

• Identify the purpose and design of the study.

• Explain what is meant by ‘blinding’ and ‘randomization’ and discuss how these were addressed in the design of the study.

• Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.

•  Sampling

• Explain the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.

• Discuss how the sample size was determined – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used.

• Data collection

• Briefly, outline how the data was collected and identify any data collection instrument(s).

• Define the terms validity and reliability and discuss how the validity & reliability of the instruments were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important.

• Data analysis

• Outline how the data were analyzed.

• Identify the statistics used and the level of measurement of the data described by each statistical test – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used.

• Findings and limitations

• Briefly, outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study

• Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to briefly discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion an explanation of the term statistical significance and name the tests of statistical significance used in this study.

Submission Instructions:

• The assignment is to be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation and misspelling.

• The assignment should be formatted per current APA and 4-5 pages in length, excluding the title, abstract and references page.

• Incorporate a minimum of 3 current (published within last five years) scholarly journal articles  or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.

This assignment is an analysis of local, state, or federal health policy.

1.     Select a state health policy reform innovation

2.     Discuss the rationale for the policy, how it was adopted (e.g., federal waivers, passage by state legislature), the funding structure, and (to the extent statistical data are available) its impact. ethical outcome based on evidence.

3.     Examples of state innovations include Maryland’s hospital rate setting, Vermont’s single payer system, and Massachusetts’ health reforms

Submission Requirements:

·        The paper is to be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation and misspelling.

·        The paper is to be formatted per current APA style, 5-7 pages in length, excluding the title, abstract and references page.

·        Incorporate a minimum of 5 current (published within last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.

RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 

OVERVIEW 

The Research Paper Assignment for this course will be based on the topic you chose at the beginning of the course concerning teaching and learning. Your paper must be 15–20 pages and written in formal current APA style (refer to the information and sample paper provided in the course’s Writing Style Guides).  This assignment is a review of the literature on the topic that represents a practical problem in education.  You should not conduct original research for this assignment.

INSTRUCTIONS 

The minimum number of resources to be used for the paper is 10.  All resources must be from scholarly or peer-reviewed journals (usually found from databases such as ERIC, EBSCO Host, or Info Trac). Resources must be diverse in nature, including articles from scholarly journals, books, and professional websites. The research aspect must be your diligent work in ascertaining current, scholarly resources to support your writing about the topic/issue. At least ten of your resources must be five years old or newer.  If you use older resources (particularly in the Historical Summary section), be sure that at least ten in the overall paper are five years old or newer. You should use at least some of the sources identified in your Annotated Bibliography Assignment.

The required parts to include are as follows:

•                  Cover Page

•                  Abstract

•                  Introduction

•                  Historical Summary:  How did the issue develop and how has it been viewed in                 the past?

•                  Current Issue:  described in the present culture of education and including               strategies that are in place to address the issue

•                  Biblical integration:  What does Scripture say about the issue?

•                  Conclusion

This assignment is to be written in the third person and should be in expository form. You must present facts and research supported by scholarly literature. The Biblical Integration section must be supported by Scripture and must make a clear connection between a Biblical worldview and the topic.

Be sure to view the Research Paper Grading Rubric to ensure that you know all criteria and expectations for how your paper will be assessed.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

This forum requires the viewing of two videos: the first is an excerpt from Dr. Kilbourne’s talk “Slim Hopes” and the second is a TED Talk by Ashley Graham. 

Dr. Jean Kilbourne is a renowned speaker who has made a career of presenting on her critical analyses of the effects of advertising on the American culture (ChallengingMedia, 2006). The video is of a brief excerpt (5:10) of Kilbourne’s talk “Slim Hopes,”Links to an external site. where she aims to persuade her audience that our culture’s current obsession with weight stems in part from the powerful influence advertising has on our culture. In fact, she argues that “there is no aspect more pervasive or more persuasive than advertising.” Also, while not required, you may want to view other videos by KilbourneLinks to an external site.which discuss the media’s influence on our culture’s attitudes regarding alcohol, tobacco, and sexuality.

The second video “Plus Size? More Like My Size”Links to an external site. is from a TED Talk by Ashley Graham, a model who is a major voice in the body acceptance movement (TEDx Talks, 2015).

Also, study the chapter on persuasive presentations in our textbook. In light of the videos, the text, and your own experiences, respond to the questions below:

• How do the speakers effectively address the appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos? 

• How do the images and data serve to persuade? 

• With regard to kairos and context, how may modern viewers respond to Kilbourne’s message differently than those who viewed these messages when they were first created (Kilbourne’s videos were made nearly 20 years ago)? 

• How does seeing Ashley Graham, a modern voice, support the work Kilbourne has been doing? 

• Finally, what is your personal reaction? Do you relate? Do you find the messages persuasive? Does the context or age of Kilbourne’s videos affect your receptiveness of her message?

Be sure to respond to others. As a reminder, connect to a scholarly source beyond the videos from Kilbourne and Graham.

References

ChallengingMedia. (2006). Slim hopes: Advertising & the obsession with thinness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7143sc_HbU

TEDx Talks. (2015). Plus size? More like my size. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAgawjzimjc

Task 1:

Assigned Readings:

Chapter 19. The Problem of Adverse Selection.

Chapter 20. The Problem of Moral Hazard.

Chapter 21. Getting Employees to Work in the Firm’s Best Interest.

Chapter 22. Getting Divisions to Work in the Firm’s Best Interest.

Initial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.

Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:

1. Describe an adverse selection problem a company is facing. What is the source of the asymmetric information? Who is the less informed party? What transactions are not being consummated as a result of the information? Could you (or do you) use signaling or screening to consummate these transactions? Offer your company some sound advice, complete with computations of the attendant profit consequences.

2. Describe a decision that is centralized (or decentralized) in your company. How could you decentralize (or centralize) the decision? What would happen if it were decentralized (or centralized)? Compute the profit consequences of the change.

[Your post must be substantive and demonstrate insight gained from the course material. Postings must be in the student’s own words – do not provide quotes!]

 [Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]

Task 2:

This assignment is an individual-specific assessment of the industry in which you currently work or of the industry in which you intend to work after completing your MBA.  You should discuss the sources of the value created within your particular industry.  Your document should address the following issues:

1. Brief description of your current or intended industry

2. Evaluation of the unique, specific sources of value created by your firm (for its customers) relative to all of its competition and the unique sources of value you will add to it.  In other words, what makes your firm special for its customers.  The value may be derived from the quality of the product (relative to others on the market), customer service, overall purchase experience, future prospects, company culture, or a combination of these and other factors.

3. Describe the unique sources of value that you will bring to the firm and enable you to contribute positively to the firm’s performance. This is the most important part of this research project.

4. Concluding discussion that addresses how the factors that influence value created in this industry may change over the next five years. Also: describe how the value and contributions you make may evolve and grow over the next five years.

5. This should be a full 5+ pages of content in APA format and Submitted as a Word document.

TO PREPARE

• Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider the insights they provide about assessing and diagnosing anxiety, obsessive compulsive, and trauma-related disorders.

• Review the Focused SOAP Note template, which you will use to complete this Assignment. There is also a Focused SOAP Note Exemplar provided as a guide for Assignment expectations.

• Review the video, Case Study: Dev Cordoba. You will use this case as the basis of this Assignment. In this video, a Walden faculty member is assessing a mock patient. The patient will be represented onscreen as an avatar.

• Consider what history would be necessary to collect from this patient.

• Consider what interview questions you would need to ask this patient.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Develop a Focused SOAP Note, including your differential diagnosis and critical-thinking process to formulate a primary diagnosis. Incorporate the following into your responses in the template:

• Subjective: What details did the patient provide regarding their chief complaint and symptomology to derive your differential diagnosis? What is the duration and severity of their symptoms? How are their symptoms impacting their functioning in life?

• Objective: What observations did you make during the psychiatric assessment?  

• Assessment: Discuss the patient’s mental status examination results. What were your differential diagnoses? Provide a minimum of three possible diagnoses with supporting evidence, listed in order from highest priority to lowest priority. Compare the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for each differential diagnosis and explain what DSM-5-TR criteria rules out the differential diagnosis to find an accurate diagnosis. Explain the critical-thinking process that led you to the primary diagnosis you selected. Include pertinent positives and pertinent negatives for the specific patient case.

• Plan: What is your plan for psychotherapy? What is your plan for treatment and management, including alternative therapies? Include pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments, alternative therapies, and follow-up parameters, as well as a rationale for this treatment and management plan. Also incorporate one health promotion activity and one patient education strategy.

• Reflection notes: What would you do differently with this patient if you could conduct the session again? Discuss what your next intervention would be if you could follow up with this patient. Also include in your reflection a discussion related to legal/ethical considerations (demonstrate critical thinking beyond confidentiality and consent for treatment!), health promotion, and disease prevention, taking into consideration patient factors (such as age, ethnic group, etc.), PMH, and other risk factors (e.g., socioeconomic, cultural background, etc.).

• Provide at least three evidence-based, peer-reviewed journal articles or evidenced-based guidelines that relate to this case to support your diagnostics and differential diagnoses. Be sure they are current (no more than 5 years old)

TO PREPARE FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT:

• Select a vulnerable patient from the list provided.

• Consider age, birth-assigned sex, FDA approvals, and risk and side-effect consideration.

• Select the most appropriate medication for your selected patient based upon the information provided.

• Review the textbook for commonly prescribed antidepressants, Fast Facts for Psychopharmacology for Nurse Practitioners.

• Conduct research through the FDA websiteLinks to an external site..

• Review prescriber information for professionals of the medications.

  Note: These can be located free online with web search.

• Review national guidelines for prescribing for these vulnerable individuals:

• Depression Treatments for AdultsLinks to an external site.

• Depression Treatments for Older AdultsLinks to an external site.

• Depression Treatments for Children and AdolescentsLinks to an external site.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Step 1: Choose one of the following vulnerable patients to create a Medication Guide for the patient:

• Patient 1: 26-year-old female with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder who is increasing in isolation and poor self-care. She is in her third trimester of pregnancy.

• Patient 2: 16-year-old male with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, severe. He has seen a therapist weekly for the past 6 months and has had minimal change in symptoms. He has expressed thoughts of wanting to die.

• Patient 3: 72-year-old male with diagnosis of major depressive disorder and panic disorder. He has cardiac history and takes antihypertensive medications.

• Patient 4: 8-year-old Asian female with a diagnosis of severe depressive disorder presents to the office with a report of worsening symptoms. She has never taken psychotropic medication before.

Step 2: Create a Medication Guide for a patient. In your guide, you should provide the following specific instructions for the patient:

• Describe the chosen classification of medications, from the classification category, for your chosen vulnerable patient. Explain your rationale for your choice.

• Explain what dose you would start the chosen medication with and the frequency.

• Discuss how the medication works to treat their symptoms.

• Explain how long they should take the medication.

• Discuss the typical or common side effects of the medication.

• Explain the urgent or emergent considerations for the patient taking the medication.

The Medication Guide should also include:

• Directions you would provide the patient on how to take the prescribed medication

• Instructions on what the patient should do if a medication dose is missed

• List of any other medications, over-the-counter medications, and/or supplements/herbals the patient should avoid while taking the prescribed medication

• List of foods the patient should avoid when taking this medication

• Date when the patient should return for follow-up visit with you

• Discussion about the legal and ethical considerations for the medication being prescribed

• Answers in consideration of Social Determinants of Health on how you would:

• Assist the patient who cannot not afford to pay financially for the medication you are recommending/prescribing; and/or

• Has difficulty with transportation that impacts their ability to present for regular appointments with you

• Discuss how financial hardship and lack of transportation could relate to Social Determinants of Health, as well as why they are important considerations for you as a prescriber.

The post For this assignment, you will research Hispanic populations and the Lost Boys of Sudan, immigrant refugees. Create a 1250-1500-word essay based on your research. is a property of College Pal
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For this assignment, you will research Hispanic populations and the Lost Boys of Sudan, immigrant refugees. Create a 1250-1500-word essay based on your research.

According to the Pew Research Center (2016), the Hispanic population became the largest ethnic group in America, comprising 57 million people, or more than 18% of the population. In 2019, the population reached a record of 60.6 million in the U.S. (Pew Research Center, 2020). For this assignment, select 3 states that have the most Hispanic/Latinx populations. Name each state and discuss the Latinx/Hispanic population that is most represented in each state.

Part 1. Answer the following questions and/or discuss the following about either the Hispanic population or the Lost Boys of Sudan, immigrant refugees population:

Describe health-related problems encountered by the poor and uninsured in your selected population.
What socio-economic factors impact healthcare decision making and outcomes in your selected population?
Discuss the cultural diversity that exists between and among immigrant populations and the implications for nurses
How do cultural differences, language barriers, and poverty impact healthcare access for your selected population?
Part 2. Research the Lost Boys of Sudan and answer the followings questions:

What are some health challenges a nurse may encounter refugees? Include in your answer communicable and non-communicable diseases you may find in this population.
What are some cultural considerations a nurse should consider when caring for patients from this population?
Explain the role of the nurse in providing resources when caring for members of this population.
M6 Assignment UMBO – 2, 4
M6 Assignment PLG – 1, 4
M6 Assignment CLO – 5, 6, 7

Assignment Dropbox

Instructions & Specifications
Submissions
Rubric

Start by reading and following these instructions:
Study the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
Consider the discussion and the any insights you gained from it.
Review the assignment rubric and the specifications below to ensure that your response aligns with all assignment expectations.
Create your assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources, use APA style as required, and check your spelling.
The following specifications are required for this assignment:
Length: 1250–1500 words; answers must thoroughly address the questions clearly and concisely.
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Be sure to use Level 1 and/or Level 2 heading titles to separate the sections you discuss.
References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources to support your claims.

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The post Post your answers and reply to at least two classmate’s posts. is a property of College Pal
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Post your answers and reply to at least two classmate’s posts.

Hi Everyone,

1. Please list the 5 websites that you visit the most often.

2. Discuss what you like about each one.

3. How many times a week do you visit each site? If you visit daily or hourly tell us why.

4. What device do you use to access the Internet most often?

5. Are there any websites you feel addicted to (meaning you find yourself checking it throughout the day)? For example, many people compulsively check Facebook.

6. What is “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) and how has social media played a part in it?

7. Share an example of FOMO from your own experience.

8. What effect has social media had on your life?

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Essay 2: The L.A. Mixtape Project

“Songs can orient us to where we are, ground us in a sense of home, but they can also help us imagine where we want to go and reimagine just what home can mean.” – Josh Kun, “Los Angeles is Singing”

In Essay 1, we examined how texts (in various forms) provide a way of seeing – a lens that filters, represents, and asserts power. For Essay 2, we will take this further to consider how music can speak to or represent a place/community.

After reading Josh Kun’s essay in LAtitudes, “Los Angeles is Singing,” our task is to build on his project. We’ll create our own discussions to analyze how particular songs reflect, influence, or speak directly to Los Angeles. Your own discoveries and research will lead you to create a scholarly essay that discusses a selection of songs (the “mixtape”) and analyzes how those songs speak to or reflect a neighborhood, landscape, culture, or community in Los Angeles.

The Catalyst

This essay project will get us into writing moves and strategies that build on the work we did in Essay 1. Most of all, this project is original and individually unique. The analysis and larger argument that you construct will be something that hasn’t yet been written. Your job as a writer/scholar is to lead readers through an insightful discussion that examines particular songs, based on your own selection and research. Along the way, you’ll gain practice in writing a deductive argument with specific emphasis on selecting evidence, developing analysis, conducting research, and gaining further strategies for intros, conclusions, quote integration, transitions, paragraph development, and citing sources.

Getting Started

Think of your project as part of a guidebook that offers a “soundtrack” to the city. Through your essay, you’ll want to offer your readers an in-depth discussion of specific songs that reflect or represent Los Angeles in some way. Through this analysis, your larger argument will help readers better understand how music offers a meaningful understanding (or an experience) of Los Angeles. The first step is to decide on a focus. You’ll need an angle to help narrow the scope of your project.

Choose from one of the following ways to focus:

Pick a specific neighborhood or community in LA and discuss how particular songs represent or reference that neighborhood/community. Make sure you have at least one song as example!
Look into the ways specific songs represent or reflect a particular culture in LA. Culture in this case could mean many things – race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, country of origin, etc. It could also mean a subculture that revolves around an activity or place (such as art, surfers, car culture, sports, etc.) Make sure you have at least one song as example!
Investigate songs (or a musical genre) that reflect(s) a historical moment or movement in Los Angeles. Offer your readers an analysis of how those songs give us information about what life was like at that time and place in LA. For example, the singer-songwriter movement in 1970s Laurel Canyon, the hard rock scene in the 1980s on the Sunset Strip, the Chicana/o fusion bands emerging in East LA in the 1990s, the West Coast jazz scene on Central Avenue from 1940s-1950s, etc. Make sure you have at least one song as example!
For the project, you will need to include at least one song, but you are welcome to include as many as you find necessary for your argument.

Should all of the songs specifically reference some aspect of LA in the lyrics?

That’s your decision. For your soundtrack, you may choose to take readers through songs that capture a mood or feeling in LA, without lyrics that specifically mention the city. If your focus is more about culture, it’s also likely that your songs will move outside of direct references to LA. Doing this kind of work is a good challenge because it will call on you to analyze how the songs capture an aspect of the city or its people (without direct referencing through lyrics). Nevertheless, you must make certain that the connection to LA is clear through your evidence and your analysis.

The Research

This project will require you to do research throughout. Certainly, your own listening and discovery of songs is an important step. YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, etc. will be valuable tools to use as you work on the project. Listening to the music is essential and the main source of inspiration for your writing. Close analysis of how those songs speak to or represent Los Angeles (in the way you’ve chosen to focus) will be the key aspect of your essay.

Along with the songs, you will want to understand more about the music, cultures, neighborhoods, and histories you are digging into. That will require research in the background as you prepare you draft. Research, in this case, should be an engagement with credible sources (we’ll talk about this in class).

What you include to go with your analysis and claims about the songs will be your decision as a writer. Consider what context your readers might need and what might be helpful for you, as a scholar, to better understand your subject.

In terms of source requirements, you must incorporate Josh Kun’s essay from LAtitudes and at least one song.

Additional sources you bring in should help your readers understand why a closer look at your chosen songs is warranted and useful to help understand Los Angeles (and its people) in a deeper way. You are required to use two additional sources that can be found through the GCC databases or other well-vetted sources. Don’t forget to add a signal phrase and parenthetical citation.

Note: A key practice for any academic essay is to keep track of those sources you consult. Anything you use in your own essay needs to be correctly cited (whether it is a paraphrase or direct quote) so your readers can see the sources informing your scholarly discussion.

The Writing

For this essay, you’ll want to set up an initial working thesis early on in your paper. This thesis should be a complex claim that explains how music is able to speak to or reflect a neighborhood, landscape, culture, or community in Los Angeles (depending on how you’ve decided to focus your essay project). Your task, as a writer/scholar, is to move readers into a deeper understanding of the ways music can offer a unique look at the city, a stronger understanding of a culture, or a sense of history layered into the sonic power of the music.

As you bring readers into the essay discussion, you’ll want to show readers how you’ve come to the claim that you’ve set up. Leading readers through a discussion of the songs will call for your own descriptions of the songs (imagine readers don’t know them), select quoting of lyrics (if there are any), and any accompanying source material that offers context to your song/soundtrack tour. The trick for this project is to not turn your essay into a list of facts or a recitation in past tense (“The first song I picked is…”). The writing that you offer should be lively and voiced in a way that engages readers.

As you bring in evidence, such as lyrics, moments in a song, or other outside source material, it will be important to pay attention to the ways you lead in and out of that evidence. As you lead out of evidence, it’s especially important to offer readers your analysis of why that evidence is interesting or useful. In other words, when you come across important evidence, keep asking “so what?” Doing so will help you make that leap to develop a scholarly argument about how the song(s) offers a window into an unnoticed layer of LA. Overall, you’ll want to make your readers think about your chosen songs in an interesting or new way (whether they are well-known or not), with particular focus on the music’s connections to the city.

Songs I chose – Lana Del REy “ LA Who am I to Love?”

– Lana Del Rey “Radio”

Essay 2: The L.A. Mixtape Project

“Songs can orient us to where we are, ground us in a sense of home, but they can also help us imagine where we want to go and reimagine just what home can mean.” – Josh Kun, “Los Angeles is Singing”

In Essay 1, we examined how texts (in various forms) provide a way of seeing – a lens that filters, represents, and asserts power. For Essay 2, we will take this further to consider how music can speak to or represent a place/community.

After reading Josh Kun’s essay in LAtitudes, “Los Angeles is Singing,” our task is to build on his project. We’ll create our own discussions to analyze how particular songs reflect, influence, or speak directly to Los Angeles. Your own discoveries and research will lead you to create a scholarly essay that discusses a selection of songs (the “mixtape”) and analyzes how those songs speak to or reflect a neighborhood, landscape, culture, or community in Los Angeles.

The Catalyst

This essay project will get us into writing moves and strategies that build on the work we did in Essay 1. Most of all, this project is original and individually unique. The analysis and larger argument that you construct will be something that hasn’t yet been written. Your job as a writer/scholar is to lead readers through an insightful discussion that examines particular songs, based on your own selection and research. Along the way, you’ll gain practice in writing a deductive argument with specific emphasis on selecting evidence, developing analysis, conducting research, and gaining further strategies for intros, conclusions, quote integration, transitions, paragraph development, and citing sources.

Getting Started

Think of your project as part of a guidebook that offers a “soundtrack” to the city. Through your essay, you’ll want to offer your readers an in-depth discussion of specific songs that reflect or represent Los Angeles in some way. Through this analysis, your larger argument will help readers better understand how music offers a meaningful understanding (or an experience) of Los Angeles. The first step is to decide on a focus. You’ll need an angle to help narrow the scope of your project.

Choose from one of the following ways to focus:

Pick a specific neighborhood or community in LA and discuss how particular songs represent or reference that neighborhood/community. Make sure you have at least one song as example!
Look into the ways specific songs represent or reflect a particular culture in LA. Culture in this case could mean many things – race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, country of origin, etc. It could also mean a subculture that revolves around an activity or place (such as art, surfers, car culture, sports, etc.) Make sure you have at least one song as example!
Investigate songs (or a musical genre) that reflect(s) a historical moment or movement in Los Angeles. Offer your readers an analysis of how those songs give us information about what life was like at that time and place in LA. For example, the singer-songwriter movement in 1970s Laurel Canyon, the hard rock scene in the 1980s on the Sunset Strip, the Chicana/o fusion bands emerging in East LA in the 1990s, the West Coast jazz scene on Central Avenue from 1940s-1950s, etc. Make sure you have at least one song as example!
For the project, you will need to include at least one song, but you are welcome to include as many as you find necessary for your argument.

Should all of the songs specifically reference some aspect of LA in the lyrics?

That’s your decision. For your soundtrack, you may choose to take readers through songs that capture a mood or feeling in LA, without lyrics that specifically mention the city. If your focus is more about culture, it’s also likely that your songs will move outside of direct references to LA. Doing this kind of work is a good challenge because it will call on you to analyze how the songs capture an aspect of the city or its people (without direct referencing through lyrics). Nevertheless, you must make certain that the connection to LA is clear through your evidence and your analysis.

The Research

This project will require you to do research throughout. Certainly, your own listening and discovery of songs is an important step. YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, etc. will be valuable tools to use as you work on the project. Listening to the music is essential and the main source of inspiration for your writing. Close analysis of how those songs speak to or represent Los Angeles (in the way you’ve chosen to focus) will be the key aspect of your essay.

Along with the songs, you will want to understand more about the music, cultures, neighborhoods, and histories you are digging into. That will require research in the background as you prepare you draft. Research, in this case, should be an engagement with credible sources (we’ll talk about this in class).

What you include to go with your analysis and claims about the songs will be your decision as a writer. Consider what context your readers might need and what might be helpful for you, as a scholar, to better understand your subject.

In terms of source requirements, you must incorporate Josh Kun’s essay from LAtitudes and at least one song.

Additional sources you bring in should help your readers understand why a closer look at your chosen songs is warranted and useful to help understand Los Angeles (and its people) in a deeper way. You are required to use two additional sources that can be found through the GCC databases or other well-vetted sources. Don’t forget to add a signal phrase and parenthetical citation.

Note: A key practice for any academic essay is to keep track of those sources you consult. Anything you use in your own essay needs to be correctly cited (whether it is a paraphrase or direct quote) so your readers can see the sources informing your scholarly discussion.

The Writing

For this essay, you’ll want to set up an initial working thesis early on in your paper. This thesis should be a complex claim that explains how music is able to speak to or reflect a neighborhood, landscape, culture, or community in Los Angeles (depending on how you’ve decided to focus your essay project). Your task, as a writer/scholar, is to move readers into a deeper understanding of the ways music can offer a unique look at the city, a stronger understanding of a culture, or a sense of history layered into the sonic power of the music.

As you bring readers into the essay discussion, you’ll want to show readers how you’ve come to the claim that you’ve set up. Leading readers through a discussion of the songs will call for your own descriptions of the songs (imagine readers don’t know them), select quoting of lyrics (if there are any), and any accompanying source material that offers context to your song/soundtrack tour. The trick for this project is to not turn your essay into a list of facts or a recitation in past tense (“The first song I picked is…”). The writing that you offer should be lively and voiced in a way that engages readers.

As you bring in evidence, such as lyrics, moments in a song, or other outside source material, it will be important to pay attention to the ways you lead in and out of that evidence. As you lead out of evidence, it’s especially important to offer readers your analysis of why that evidence is interesting or useful. In other words, when you come across important evidence, keep asking “so what?” Doing so will help you make that leap to develop a scholarly argument about how the song(s) offers a window into an unnoticed layer of LA. Overall, you’ll want to make your readers think about your chosen songs in an interesting or new way (whether they are well-known or not), with particular focus on the music’s connections to the city.

Songs I chose – Lana Del REy “ LA Who am I to Love?”

– Lana Del Rey “Radio”

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