For this in-class assignment, students skim several short articles and paraphrase the arguments in each of the articles, practicing their ability to discern the location of the arguments within a typical musicology article. Skimming is taught in class as a skill to help students learn how to move through longer, tougher readings and synthesize information.

This assignment was used in “Topics in Musicology,” a course offered at Queens College that has a writing component. The reason for including skimming in the course (along with close reading) was to prepare students for compiling a bibliography for their final papers. (In contrast, they also learned about and practiced “close reading.”)

Disciplines: Music, Musicology, Mutlidisciplinary

Courses: Topics in Musicology”; “Writing about Music”

Assignment