COMPOSER REPORT CRITERIA
Due
Date:
This project is 30% of your final grade. You will get approx. 4-5 class days to research your
composer in the IMC/computer lab. If you are absent on one of those days, it is your responsibility to
do the research on your own time, using at least 3 different references. (Internet, encyclopedia,
books, CD jackets, or packet(s) provided for you). Your due date will be assigned a specific day. All
students should be prepared to present their report to the class on that day and be prepared with a
recorded example of their composer to play during the presentation. Each student may earn up to 10
extra credit points by dressing up in the era of your composer, and/or playing or singing a sample of
your composers’ music in front of the class.
Composer Power Point Project Grading Scale
PRESENTATION………………………. /20
ANIMATION……………………………...../5
REPORT………………………………
/50
Listening sample (on CD or iPod/M-P3)……………. /20
Flash drive…………………………………../5
10 (playing instrument/singing (10pts); Dressing up(5 pts.only)
….
Name of Composer:
Listening sample(s):
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Extra credit………………………..
/TOTAL………………………………
/100
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This is a power point presentation. Gage your font size by proportioning your bullets and pictures to the
individual slide. I generally advise: Font size-28-32 -Use interesting backgrounds, clip art, pictures that
are ‘relevant’, contrasting colors, animation, word art, etc. *Rule: Information FIRST then animation!
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* If TYPED OR HAND WRITTEN, use 12-14 font, use black ink for type/hand written & double space
report.. (see Mrs. Smith for criteria on a hand written report) (This option is reserved for students who
miss too many lab days during school.)
20 points~ PRESENTATION=Practice in advance pronunciations, articulate words & use vocal inflection in
your speech.
55 points~Report
10-14 Slides required. Required slides:: Title Page, Time Line, Picture slide (collage), Bibliography , & The End
Slide w/ quote Suggested slide Headers Interesting facts about the composer, education, private instruction &
influences , family, personal relationships, (including children & wife) , music characteristics used considering
the era they are from, forms of composition written (ex. Symphonies, piano works, vocal pieces, chamber music,
etc) , top 5-10 compositions (some composers wrote thousands of pieces), etc… Include pictures or clip art on
your slides (except for timeline)
Detail of slides:
~ A Title Page (including your name, composers name & picture, period, and the piece by ‘title’ that you chose to
play during your presentation)
TIME LINE and indicate where your composer falls within the timeline, (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque,
Classical, Romantic, Nationalistic, 20th Century, 21st Century (include the years) ; Bibliography (a list of your
references), Picture Collage slide including text boxing OR be able to explain them to the class (include a variety
of pictures), ‘The End’ slide (include a direct quotation from the composer or relevant quotation from a
different author )
* Animation~After you get your information, include animation for your slides (5 points)
BIBLIOGRAPHY= Use from 3 – 10 references, listing the specific websites, not search engines. Include a
picture on this page. When using books or magazines, list tiles of Books, author, publishing company & edition/
copyright year & pages used.
The End Slide~Include a picture or relevant clip art photo with the header, “the End” ~include a quotation from your
composer or some other person you find interesting and relevant to this project and music.
20 points~ LISTENING EXAMPLE= to be provided on cd, burnt cd, IPod, or MP3 player. (These are the only
players available at school)
Your listening sample will be played during your presentation. I prefer instrumental compositions which serve
as better background music for presentations. Your selection should last as long as your presentation. I
generally recommend a 6-7 minute composition. On the Composer topic list (under shared documents), I have
included many suggested listening pieces for you to select from, or make your own selection. If your piece is
lengthy, choose the best part of the composition for the class to hear. You can find music samples on ITunes,
public library, borrow from a friend or relative, or store bought (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. )
When saving your power point to your flashdrive, save as follows:
Plug in your flashdrive into your computers USB port.
In the top left corner, Go to the circle with the red/yellow/green symbol & click on
it.
*Scroll over the “Save As” & then “Click” on Power Point Presentation
*Then, in the Save In window at the top, click on the down arrow ~locate and click
on, “My Computer”
Scroll down and locate your flashdrive (it will say either removable drive A –L, or
or USB drive….double Click on it when you locate it
At the bottom, change file name to “enter your first and last name followed by
your composers last name…(ex. John Smith Beethoven) & then click SAVE.
*THEN, every time you go in and change, edit or add information, you will need to
follow the same process, only when the computer asks if you wish to ‘replace
existing information”, you need to hit, YES or you will LOOSE all information that
you have added.
*You should also save your power point to your documents file ~as a backup copy of
your report. If you loose your flash drive, you will have a 2nd copy saved elsewhere!
*NOTE: There will be 1-2 weeks allotted before we begin presentations. This gives
you one week to tweek; additional time to add information as needed, complete
slides that are incomplete, and/or make up days missed during lab. You are
required to have a ‘flash drive’ to save your report and to work on it at home if
necessary.
NOTE: There will be penalties points applied if student is not prepared to present
on the day of presentation, and every day thereafter. (10 points per day)
NOTE: There is a list of suggested websites under shared docs. On Mrs. Smith’s
teacher webpage. Check: ThinkExist.com for a direct quotation
Choosing When to Give Credit
Need to document
No need to document
When you are using or referring to someone else’s words
or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV
program, movie, Web page, computer program, or any
other medium
When you use information gained through interviewing
another person
When you copy the exact words or a “unique phrase” from
somewhere
When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and
pictures
When you use ideas that others have given you in
conversations or over e-mail
When you are writing your own experiences, observations, insights,
thoughts, or conclusions about a subject
When you are using “common knowledge”
When you are compiling generally accepted facts
When you are writing up your own experimental results
What is “Common Knowledge”?
Material is probably common knowledge if...
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You find the same information undocumented in at least five other sources
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You think it is information that your readers will already know
Making Sure You Are Safe
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When researching, notetaking, and interviewing
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When paraphrasing and
summarizing
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When quoting directly
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When quoting indirectly
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Writing Process
On your note cards, mark
everything that is someone else’s
words with big quotation marks
Record all relevant
documentation information on
your source cards
Finished Product
Proofread and check with your notes to make sure that
anything taken from your notes is acknowledged in some
combination of the ways listed below:

in-text citation
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parenthetical documentation
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Works Cited page
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Quotation marks
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Indirect quotation
Write your paraphrase and
summary without looking at the
original text, so you rely only on
your memory.
Check your version with the
original for content, accuracy,
and mistakenly borrowed phrases

Keep person’s name near the
quote in your notes and in your
paper or use parenthetical
citation at the end of the
sentence
Select those direct quotes that
make the most impact in your
paper – too many quotes may
lessen your credibility and
interfere with your style
Keep person’s name near the text
in your notes and paper
Rewrite the key ideas using
different words and sentence
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Begin with a statement giving credit to sources:
According to Jonathan Kozol, ...
Or use parenthetical citation at the end of the
sentence
Put any unique words or phrases that you cannot
change, or do not want to change, in quotation
marks: “savage inequalities” exist throughout our
educational system (Kozol 10).
Mention the person’s name either at the beginning,
middle, or end of the quote or use parenthetical
citation.
Put quotation marks around the text that you are
quoting
Indicate added phrases in brackets ([ ]) and omitted
text with ellipses (. . .)
Mention the person’s name either at the beginning,
middle, or end of the information
Double check to make sure your words and
sentence structures differ from the original text
structures than the original text
Information on this page is taken in whole or in part from:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_plagiar.html
7
Works Cited Page
Notice, the second line of information is always indented. Your works cited page does not
need to be numbered, all entries should be listed alphabetically by the first word in each entry.
Book with one author
Author last name, first name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999.
Book with more than one author
First author’s last name, first name, second author’s first name then last name. Title of Book.
Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn,
2000.
Article from a reference book
“Article title in quotations.” Book title underlined. Edition #. Place of Publication: Publisher,
Year of publication.
"Jackson, Thomas" Encyclopedia Britannica. 10th ed. New York: Britannica Corp., 1999.
Magazine or newspaper article
Author’s last name, first name. “Article tile in quotations”. Magazine title underlined. Month
and year of publication: page numbers.
Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team." Purdue Exponent 5 Dec. 2000: 20.
Web site
Author(Last name, first name). “Article Title.” Name of Page. Date of posting. Name of
institution or sponsoring organization. Date of Access. <Internet address>
*If any of the information is not provided on the page, move on to the next
requirement. Not all sites provide all information.
Felluga, Dino. “Sojourner Truth.” Africans in History. 2002. PBS online. 12 Mar 2007.
<www.pbs.org/people/sojournertruth>