Assignment Submission Basics

 Written (verbal) work

1. ATTACH a cover sheet to the front of your work or, where applicable, to the outside of any folder or binder containing your work. Ensure that your the course name, course code, the title of your work (including, where applicable, the title of the film or tune you have studied) appear clearly on the cover sheet. If you write in Microsoft Word, feel free to use the template (fichier patron) specific to the work you submit.
2. Put your NAME, the ASSIGNMENT TITLE and the MODULE CODE at the top of each page. Since pages can get separated it is essential to know which page belongs to which essay, by which student on which module. If you use relevant template, these page headers will be produced automatically.
3. Write on ONE side of the paper only. Your assignment might be photocopied and it is much easier to copy text written on one side than on both.
4. Number ALL pages. Pages can get separated and it is a waste of time having to reread page turns in an effort to piece together the intended order. If you use the relevant template, page numbers will be generated automatically.
5. Write CLEARLY, preferably using word processor or desktop publisher. Poor handwriting severely impedes comprehension.
6. If writing by HAND, use a pen with black ink: this makes your work photocopiable and allows you to distinguish more easily any comments (usually in red or blue) made by whoever marks your work. Never use a pencil or a red pen.
7. COPY and/or BACK UP your work before submitting it. If you do not have your work on disk, photocopy it. Texts have been occasionally known to get lost in the increasing flood of paper teachers are expected to deal with. If your work is on disk, make sure you have a backup copy.
8. Leave a decent sized MARGIN for the marker's comments. If you submit your work in a binder of some kind you must leave an even bigger margin because text obscured by the binding mechanism cannot be read. Sufficient margin also allows the marker to enter comments. If you use the relevant template, margins will automatically be satisfactory.
9. If in North America, use US 'Letter' size paper. Elsewhere, please use A4 paper (210 x 297 mm).
10. Do NOT submit your text in plastic pockets. Bind them together in a way so that the marker can write comments on them. Extracting sheets from plastic pockets and having to re-insert them is an unnecessary and time-consuming task which may result in sheets being crumpled or even torn. If your work contains less than 25 pages, use a stapler instead!
11. Do NOT submit original hard copy if you wish it to be returned with no comments written on it.
12. If you put extra space in between paragraphs you will NOT need to indent. If your paragraph and line spacing are the same, always indent a new paragraph.
13. If using a COMPUTER, run a SPELL CHECK before printing. If typing or writing by hand, check your spelling, please. Correct spelling is not just a matter of form: it also aids comprehension considerably. Remember that spell-check routines are not very intelligent and that you will have to check through your work again after running a spell check.
14. Check punctuation. Good punctuation aids comprehension (see Assignment Tips if writing in English).
15. Check pronominal referencing (especially if writing in English). What do it, this, which, they, etc. refer to? (see Assignment Tips).
16. Check sentence construction. Proper sentences are much easier to read (see Assignment Tips if writing in English).
17. Check page layout. Good layout makes reading easier.
18. Check your references (see Assignment Tips).
19. Check your internal links (see Assignment Tips).
20. Does your work have a coherent structure(see Assignment Tips)?
21. Read your work through AT LEAST TWICEbefore handing it in. Also read it aloud at least once. Correct mistakes as you go. Do all the sentences make sense? Does it read well? Is it legible?
22. Do NOT start with conclusions or with sweeping statements that have no empirical or theoretical grounds (see Assignment Tips)..
23. Submit your work ON TIME, delivering it personally to the appointed person / place.

  Submitting musical and audiovisual materials

Musical notation

General guidelines

1. Do NOT submit manuscript paper larger than A4 or US ‘Letter’.
2. Write your notation on ONE side of the paper onlyto facilitate photocopying and reduction.
3. Use a photocopier or scanner plus image software to REDUCE sheets larger than A4 or US ‘Letter’ TO ONE such sheet or to REDUCE two pages of music manuscript to one. If your notation is very large, it may be advisable to reduce your score twice. For further instructions, see below.

  Manuscript paper originals

  Reducing to half size using a photocopier

1. Lay your one double-sized sheet of paper, or your two normal-sized originals side by side, face down on the photocopier's glass.
2. Ensure that the correct paper tray is selected so that the reduction prints on to paper whose horizontal axis is longer than its vertical axis (landscape).
3. To reduce to half size, ensure that the photocopier's magnification/reduction display shows the numeral 70.
4. Press the usual copy button.

  Recorded materials

1. Your name and a description of the work must be visible and legible on both the medium and on its cover.
2. Do NOT submit cassettes (DAT, audiocassette or video), MiniDiscs or CDs without a protective cover of some kind.
3. If submitting a CD containing more than one file, please print out its contents and either attach these to the CD cover or place them as an inlay inside the CD cover. In this way you will save me time because I will know what to look for where on the CD. I will also know in which machine (CD player, DVD player, MP3 player or computer) to insert your CD.

  Audio cassettes and video cassettes

1. If the material to be perused is not at the start of the A side of the submitted audio cassette or if it is not at the start of the submitted video, you must cue the cassette to the appropriate starting point.
2. If submitting a video or audio cassette which contains more than one item to be watched and/or heard, and if those items are not next to each other on the cassette, either (i) rerecord the items so that they are arranged one immediately after the other, or (ii) submit the items cued up on separate (video) cassettes.
3. On the audio or video cassette's inlay, or on a separate piece of paper safely attached to the cassette (or to its box), write out a clear list of the cassette's contents.
4. Ensure that your name and the course code are clearly visible on both the carrier and its cover.

  When editing an audio cassette containing short excerpts of longer pieces of music, please remember the following points:

1. If you are recording over previously recorded sound, first wipe enough of the tape clean (by recording at zero input volume) so that pauses between the new examples you intend to record will not be bugged by loud `blips' of sound from previous recordings.
2. Always fade out the recording volume (unless you are recording the end of a piece) at the end of each excerpt. It is also sometimes advisable to fade in examples (unless you are including the start of a piece or starting to record after a complete pause).
3. It is very difficult to splice one excerpt into another on a standard audio cassette recorder. However, if you need to attempt a direct splice, remember to (i) have the record, play and pause buttons depressed well in advance; (ii) to press, but not to let go of, the pause button before the `splice point' arrives; (iii) to let go of the pause button a split second before the `splice point'. It also helps if, before attempting the splice, you take the cassette out of the machine and wind the tape back a millimeter or so.

  For instructions concerning the submission of video cassettes, see Notes pour le travail « Cue list et analyse », sections 8.3, 8.4 and 9.2.1.

  When compiling an audio CD for submission, please ensure that your examples are recorded in one of the following three formats: [1] standard audio CD (.cda); [2] wav (.wav); [3] mp3. Material recorded in any other format will not be considered when marking.

  When compiling an video CD for submission, please ensure that your examples are recorded as mpeg files (.mpg) or as video CD files (.vcd) in standard NTSC or PAL. Your material may also be presented as a DVD if you have access to the requisite software and hardware. Material recorded in any other format will not be considered when marking.

  Use of computer

1. Computers are virtually everywhere and basic computer skills essential in many jobs.
2. You do not need to photocopy your text. It remains on the computer's hard disk. You need only backup to diskette or CD -- a matter of milliseconds.
3. You can correct and alter your text without using rubbers, TipEx, etc.
4. All word processing and desktop publishing packages come with a spell check, so you need not delve into your dictionary so often.
5. You can lay out your text in a professional manner, use italics, indents, margins, columns, paragraph formats, different fonts, etc. You can even import image files (e.g. notation, drawings) into your text file.
6. Text produced using a word processing or desktop publishing package is much easier to read than handwritten text.

  Templates (fichiers patron)

• MUL 1121 Histoire de la musique populaire anglophone : Projet individuel
• MUL 2109 Musique et images en mouvement : Cue list et analyse
• MUL 6248 « Essay review »
• MUL 6250 Analyse de « tune »