MUS303 H1 Final Visual Research Presentation Instructions
For this course, students must prepare and submit a final visual research project and presentation
which engages with one or more of the issues, topics, or themes addressed during the term.
The final visual research project (and all its components) is due on the last day of class, 4 April
2024 by 11:59pm, and is worth 30% of your final grade.
Note: As stated on the course syllabus, the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is
strictly prohibited on all assignments for this course. Use of generative AI will be considered use of
an unauthorized aid, which is a form of academic misconduct. You may not interact with, nor
copy, paraphrase, or adapt any content from any generative AI for the purpose of completing this
assignment.
Project Overview:
For the final visual research project, you are expected to conduct original research on a musical topic
such as an artist, genre, album, composer, specific piece(s), or form of music-making which
intersects with any of the topics covered over the course of the term (ex: identity, politics,
nationalism, race & ethnicity, religion, etc).

Your final research presentation must take into consideration the social, political, historical and/or
cultural contexts which inform and frame your chosen subject of study and should demonstrate how
these circumstances have contributed to or informed the composition, creation, and/or artistic
activities of your chosen subject.

Your research will be accompanied by a visual presentation (i.e. PowerPoint, Prezi, website, digital
poster, etc.), and delivered orally. Due to the number of students enrolled in MUS303,
presentations will not be delivered in person, but rather, you must record your presentation and
upload the video file to Quercus as part of your project submission (more on this below).

Topic Selection:
For your project, your topic may include any artist, genre, album, composer, specific piece(s), or
form of music-making which intersects with the various themes and topics addressed throughout
the course.

All research must be original, and you must conduct the research yourself.

Please note that you may also choose a topic from the course that we have not yet addressed
together in class. When choosing your topic, try to pick a topic that interests you or that you want to
learn more about; this will make the research process more enjoyable. Do note, however, that you
should not pick a piece, song, or artist already discussed in detail in the course; if you would
like to choose one of the artists or pieces/songs explored in class as it relates to another topic or
issue, please contact me in advance to run your topic by me.


Research Guidelines:
Your final visual research presentation and project should articulate a broad research question which
binds your presentation together as it pertains to the topics and issues explored in class. As
mentioned, your presentation should also address the social, cultural, political, and/or historical
contexts which inform your chosen topic.

Your final project should also consider the feedback you received from your project proposal.

Your final visual research presentation should draw upon and use academic and scholarly sources.
This includes journal articles, books, and other digital or audio-visual sources. For the final visual
research presentations, students are required to have consulted at least 6 scholarly sources, and are
welcome (if not, encouraged!) to use more as needed. A great place to start is the University of
Toronto’s music library website, which can be accessed here: https://music.library.utoronto.ca.

Grading and Submission Details
Your final visual research presentation is due by 11:59pm on 4 April 2024, and all materials
(including your visual presentation and the video file of the recording of your oral presentation)
must be submitted online via Quercus, and will be graded on the following criteria:

Project Content:
As mentioned, the content of your project should focus on either a song, genre, piece, artist, or
album which addresses or intersects with any of the topics covered over the course of the term (ex:
identity, politics, nationalism, race & ethnicity, religion, etc), and should articulate a clear research
question.

A successful project will:
1. Address the 5W’s (who, what, when, where, why)
2. Articulate some kind of broad research question which binds your project together
3. Take into consideration the social, political, historical, and/or cultural contexts which inform
and frame your chosen subject of study.
4. Should demonstrate how these circumstances have contributed to or informed the
composition, creation, or artistic activities of your chosen subject, and should support your
research question.

Your presentation should have a logical structure in terms of the organization of your ideas and the
presentation of information. It should have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion which
summarizes the main points and arguments of your research.

While your research presentation will be graded on content and the articulation of a research
question, it will also be graded on writing mechanics and structure/organization, so please
make sure that you take the time to properly edit and revise the written content of your presentation
(see below for more information concerning grading criteria).



Visual Component:
Your final presentation should be accompanied by a visual presentation. How you wish to
approach the visual component of your project is entirely up to you, however it should demonstrate
creativity and originality. Examples include a digital poster, slide presentation (PowerPoint, Prezi,
etc.), or another medium approved by the course instructor.

Looking for inspiration? Check out the Faculty of Music’s Showcase competition winners which you
can access here (https://music.library.utoronto.ca/showcase-2023). Please note that these posters
include far more information than would be necessary for the purpose of this research project, but
should give you a sense of what kind of material can be included in your presentation (whether as a
digital poster, or as a powerpoint).

Bibliography and Image Reference List:
For your final presentation, you will compile a bibliography which includes a minimum of six
scholarly sources, with properly formatted per the Chicago Manual of Style Citation guide
(notes-bibliography style, NOT author-date), with at least four sources published recently (10 years).

When citing sources in your visual presentation, please use the following parenthetical in-text
citation format: (Sumner 2019, 12).

All images used in your presentation should feature a brief caption explaining the relevance of the
image to your slide/discussion point, should be numbered (i.e. fig.1, fig. 2, fig. 3) and should be
cited in an image reference list after your bibliography, ordered according to the appearance of the
images in your presentation (as best as possible), using the following citation format:

Last Name, First Name of artist/creator. Title of Image. Image medium. Accession Date. Website
URL

Here’s an example:
Anderson, Sophie. Scheherazade. 19th Century. Painting. Accessed on 13 February 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheherazade

Your bibliography and image reference list should be included in your visual presentation either as
the final slide of a PowerPoint presentation, or as a small section of your digital poster. Note: your
final visual presentation will NOT be considered complete if it is missing a bibliography and image
reference list.

Oral Presentation:
Your visual research project must be accompanied by a no-more than 4-6 minute oral presentation
which summarizes the key findings of your visual research presentation, expanding on some of the
information included in the visual component. You will submit a recording of your oral
presentation, accompanied by your visual slides. A successful oral presentation will cover the key
points and arguments you intend to articulate, will be succinct, and will keep your audience
captivated. Points will be deducted for presentations which are longer than 6 minutes.
All images used in your presentation should also be cited in an image reference list after your
bibliography, ordered according to the appearance of the images in your presentation (as best as
possible), using the following citation format:
Last Name, First Name of artist/creator. Title of Image. Image medium. Accession Date. Website
URL
Here’s an example Anderson, Sophie. Scheherazade. 19th Century. Painting. Accessed on 13 February
2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheherazade
The Final Product:
The final product should be a video that presents the visual component of your research
presentation accompanied by the audio of your oral presentation. The easiest way to record the
video of your presentation is using Zoom. If you are unsure of how to record your presentation
using Zoom, there are plenty of online tutorials available which can walk you through the process. If
you are having trouble, please reach out to your TA or myself. You do not have to have your camera
on while recording your presentation. If you choose to create a poster, please zoom in on each
section so the images/text are visible as you are explaining them.
To summarize, your final visual research project will be evaluated on:
Content:
• Evidence of research and originality of ideas
• Evidence of critical thought
• Articulation of a clear research question which binds your project together
• 5W’s are addressed
• Social, political, historical, and/or cultural contexts are addressed
Originality and Visual Component:
• Evidence of originality and creativity
• Visual and aesthetic appeal
Structure and Organization:
▪ Evidence of a logical introduction, body, and conclusion to your presentation (both orally
and visually)
Oral Component:
▪ The presentation is at least 4 minutes long, but no more than 6 minutes in length.
▪ Should walk your audience through your research project in a logical manner
▪ Should address the key information from your visual research presentation
Writing Mechanics:
▪ Grammar/syntax, spelling
Sources:
▪ Use of at least 6 credible peer-reviewed scholarly sources, with proper citation style per the
Chicago Manual of Style Citation guide (notes-bibliography style, NOT author-date)
▪ Presentation includes both a Bibliography and Image Reference list
A grading rubric for the final visual research presentation will be made available through Quercus
within the coming weeks.