PAGE

Table of Contents

Revised Argumentative Essay - pg. 2

Unrevised Personal Narrative - pg. 8

Unrevised Rhetorical Analysis Essay - pg. 14

Unrevised Argumentative Essay - pg. 21

Critical Reflection Essay - pg.26

 2

Ethan Dexter

Paper 3

Ms. Boggs

11/20/2022

Not all degrees are created equal. There are degrees that are more valuable than others.

Degrees that will guarantee the most money are clearly the most valuable. All the jobs are in

finance and technology, so anyone would be better off getting a degree in those fields. Degrees

in the arts are worthless. Who is going to hire a percussionist? How are you going to make a

living? Can you even support a family?

These are all things that anyone with a degree in the arts has heard, regardless of their

veracity. Modern societies often value a degree or field of study based on things like financial

potential, societal acceptance, or cultural tradition. This is, of course, shortsighted and close-

minded, as there are many ways to assign value to degrees or fields of study.
This paper seeks to argue for the value of a Bac
. Music performance degrees
personal growth,
are valuable for a variety of reasons, including cultural education,
financial potential, and personal growth.
and financial potential.

Value can be defined many different waysmany ways. Admittedly, it is not wrong to

assign value based on societal acceptance or cultural tradition. However, this is arbitrary, and

value means different things to different people. Therefore, it is impossible to say that any degree

is objectively valueless.
One benchmark by which one could assign value to a music performance degree is that

One benchmark by which one could assign value to

 3

Music is a cross-cultural phenomenon, with people all over the world enjoying different kinds for

many different reasons. College gives performers and educators alike the chance to experience

many different kinds of music from around the world. As part of UNCG’s November 2022

Percussion Ensemble Concert, the UNCG Percussion Ensemble performed maracatu nação, a

Brazilian drumming tradition celebrating God and community (@uncgperc, Instagram). This is

music not often performed or taught in the United States, and to many of the performers, this

was their first maracatu experience. UNCG has many ensembles that perform the music of the

world, including a Steelpan Ensemble, Middle Eastern Ensemble, Old Time Ensemble, and an

Indian Ensemble (UNCG, “Music”). These are ensembles led by experts who grew up with this

music and have been performing it their whole lives. Students can join any of these ensembles

at any time during their degree program, and most studying music performance have to join one

of these
“eclectic ensembles.”ensembles. This exposes students to music from around the world
 4

and is extremely important as a cultural education that leads students to appreciate people and
Cole Agostinelli says about Steelpan Ensemble: Steelpan Ensemble[It]
their traditions. “ was

really fun and just a really good experience. I had never played this kind of music before and

now I listen to it all the time” (Agostinelli). There is also a heavy focus on playing music
written
composed
by minority and women composers, which exposes many to cultures and ideas they

would not have known had they picked a different field of study. This cultural education is so

important as learning about people brings the global community much closer together and allows

us to love each other without prejudice.

There are also many employment opportunities for professional performers. Freelance

music is an extremely popular way for musicians to support themselves financially. Many

musicians will find employment playing music at bars, libraries, and other venues. Many cities in

the United States have bustling music scenes with many opportunities for employment. Small

music venues have bands playing every weekend in Raleigh and in Greensboro. Musicians

have also long taken part in the art of busking, or playing music in public for free, asking for tips

placed in hats or cups or their instrument cases. This isn’t quite as financially feasible as a full

time job, but it is a way for musicians to make money. There are a multitude of performance

opportunities in the military for all kinds of instruments, including bands, jazz bands, jazz

combos, and marching bands. Many performers also make a living teaching young students in

private lessons. Most often, they teach lessons in high school and college to very young

musicians just starting out on their instruments. Finally, professional orchestras and wind

ensembles abound in the United States, with just about every major city having its own

symphony orchestra or wind band. These are generally very difficult to get into, as the skill level

and demand is very high, but they can be very stable sources of income for performers.

Perhaps the most important reason to encourage students to attain this degree is the massive potential for
 5

These are all very good options for a performer, but one has tomust ask: is a degree

necessary for these things? What value does the degree have in the field? Music teachers cannot

get a job in their field without their degree and the correct licensure, so the degree is vital to their

success. The same goes for many degrees in many fields of study: jobs in law require a degree

and a passed test, degrees in the medical fields require a litany of certifications. It is true that a

degree in music performance is not required to have the jobs that performers get. However, that

does not make the degree worthless, nor does it mean that performers should attain a different

degree. The rigorous study required to attain this degree more than prepares performers to make

a living making music. The vast majority of current musicians in professional orchestras have

attained performance degrees from various universities. Many musicians get a degree in
 6

performance then get a Master’smaster’s degree in education and go teach. There are a multitude

of opportunities for those who get degrees in performance.

There is a litany of reasons to encourage musicians to further their study of music. Cole Agostinelli share
“Most of all, I’m

just happy I get to play my horn every day. Not everyone gets to live out their childhood dream,

and that’s exactly what I get to do” (Agostinelli). Students attaining a performance degree know

that the road ahead of them is challenging, but the opportunities are lucrative in their futures.

Works Cited

Agostinelli, Cole. Personal Interview. 11/2/2022

 7

UNCG Percussion [@uncgperc]. “UNCG Percussion Ensemble Fall Concert - TONIGHT at 7:30

pm at @uncgsom !” Instagram, 11/6/2022,

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkoeMSzujmL/

UNCG, Music, https://admissions.uncg.edu/academics/majors-concentrations/music/

Ethan Dexter

ENG 101-50
 8

Ms. Boggs

9-16-22

Narrative Essay

This past summer, I went to the beach with my girlfriend and her friends. There were no

parental chaperones, and a bunch of nineteen and twenty-year olds spending a weekend in a mid-

sized beach house. We played games, drank terrible canned alcohol, and spent time at the beach.

We had a great time. For most, this is either a common occurrence or one they hear about often,

with no second thought. For some (myself included), this is a fairly momentous occasion.

On the journey towards this incredible, monumental footnote on the larger timeline of my

life, we pass multiple notable plot points that crescendo into the climactic beach trip. I was born

in 2001 into a conservative Christian family. As an infant I came down with jaundice, bringing

me scarily close to death not even 6 months into my infant life. I have to imagine this near-death

experience for my parent’s first child factors into their helicopter style of parenting.

As a child I was not allowed to indulge in many of the toys, media, and clothes that my

friends had. From the demonic Pokemon cards to the inappropriate Adventure Time on TV (Jake

the Dog said “butt”) I was deprived of the entertainment my friends held so dear. I once got in

trouble for playing a computer game called “Badass Builders” due to the language in the title.

My greatest entertainment was 30 minutes of Wii every day and an hour on weekends. I couldn’t

listen to most popular music, like rap and pop music, due to its language and inappropriate

portrayal of women. Curiously, bands like AC/DC and Guns ‘n’ Roses were okay, even though

they sang heartily about crime and drugs and also had very salacious portrayals of women. This

was because my dad liked this music. Somehow it was different. As I got a bit older I was

allowed to better assimilate into the culture of my contemporaries. My brothers and I were given
 9

an Xbox in middle school so we could play Madden and NBA 2k together, but we were

protected from the dangers of playing online with other people. I could not go out with girls

without a parental chaperone, even in public in broad daylight. My first date with a girl included

my best friend who had to come along, and it took a full day of hounding and begging for my

parents to let me go without one of them. I finally got a cell phone for my 14th birthday, but I

had it taken away almost immediately for downloading Youtube.1

Many of these parenting decisions, while maybe a tad strict and overprotective, are not

totally wild. My parents always felt that we were held to a higher calling as Christians, and the

fact that I was consistently left out of hangouts and parties was just a consequence of abiding by

God’s word. Not only is that logical, I do feel as though I have been raised to be a good person

with attainable life goals and a good moral compass. I am thankful to have been raised by parents

who love me dearly. That does not, however, leave me without frustration going into high

school.

High school is a time where children begin to mature into adults. I wish that message was

relayed to my parents. I was not allowed to hang out with upperclassmen, even as a part of

school-sanctioned events. My parents had this view of high schoolers perpetuated by media that

portrayed them as drunk and stoned every weekend and so, in their fear, they attempted to

protect me from such deviancy. Girls were still a no until I started dating a girl in secret as a 17

year old, and refused to break up with her when commanded to. After that, her house was

blacklisted from the list of hangout destinations for fear of premarital sex. Of course, our house

was fine, as long as we were downstairs in our open living room with a parent.

1 This could be considered an appeal to ethos or logos. I prove I was a child of strict parents and am
certainly credible when I claim it. The consistent stream of facts about my life could appeal to logic as
well.
 10

It should come as no surprise that I looked forward to college and the freedoms it

afforded. I had started dating a new girl and could now see her essentially whenever our

schedules aligned. And here’s the kicker: I hung out with her in her dorm room, alone! I never

told my parents that, nor did I tell them I had drunk a White Claw when hanging out with college

juniors and seniors. It was all such a rush. Not only that, but I didn’t recess into the pitfalls of

marijuana “addictions” and premarital sex. I was on top of the world. Coming back home after

that feeling was a culture shock. I had to, yet again, turn in my phone to them when I went to

bed, and subject it to prodding and searches. I could not be with friends past midnight.

As a sophomore in college I took the giant leap of turning off location sharing with my

parents. For the first time since I was given a cell phone, they could not track my every

movement and location. They took it better than I expected, only being upset I did it without

telling them.

That summer I finally wanted to take a trip with my girlfriend of 2 years. I brought it up

to my parents, making sure to let them know that I was not asking for permission, I was doing

them a courtesy by letting them know. This was important to me. For so long, I felt as though I

was not in control of my own life. I did things at the whim of my parents, even only applying to

colleges they were okay with (out-of-state schools were a huge no.) I had taken small steps

toward developing the confidence to assert my adulthood. I no longer asked my parents if it was

okay to go see my girlfriend, I told them I was going to see her. I told them I was going out to

buy things with money I earned working jobs that I myself worked to get hired at, rather than

asking them if it was okay to spend my hard-earned money. That is how the conversation started.

My dad told me that he knew I had something to ask him, and I offered a slight but important

correction.
 11

I had nothing to ask him, I had something to say.

This statement, this assertion of my (at least, perceived) maturity seemed like such a

shining moment for me, but it was quickly brought to a halt after my mom let me know that that

correction was unnecessary and disrespectful. I guess I wasn’t as adult as I thought I was.

After that humbling moment, I was expecting a lecture on how men and women can’t

sleep together and how kids are stupid and make stupid decisions, and I expected to be treated

like the child I was seen as. Instead, what I got was an adult conversation about the dangers of

poor decision making and mob rule from two adults wiser and more experienced than me. I

approached the conversation expecting to have to convince my parents to treat me like an adult,

and later got emotional as I realized that they didn’t need my convincing. This frustrated me, as

it felt like I was not projecting the adult image I wanted, but it didn’t seem to change much. My

parents let me know that they still felt apprehensive, but that they trusted me enough to make

good decisions. It was a pleasant surprise, yet disappointing in some ways as well.

For the first time in my life, I felt like an adult man rather than an unimportant kid.

Everyone asked me when I turned 18 if I felt like an adult, and I always answered the same: “Am

I more adult than I was yesterday?” I could buy cigarettes and Juul pods, for what that’s worth.

But even in this conversation we had I was told I am only an adult as far as the government is

concerned. When asked if there were going to be “adults” present at the beach house, I answered,

saying there would in fact be 8. I was then told that even though I was 20 years of age, I did not

count as an adult. After 2 years of living away from home, working jobs, and attaining a 3.8, I

was still not old or experienced enough to be an adult to them. However, they both made an

effort to treat me like someone who was old enough to live away from home and work education

jobs.
 12

I spent a few hours after this discussion in thought. I had many conflicting thoughts about

the discussion. Were they treating me like an adult? This was an adult conversation we had, and

they had no issue with me taking this super fun trip, but I felt condescended to nearly the whole

time, and I was explicitly told I did not get to dictate my future actions to my dad. However, a

past version of myself would have been shocked to find out that I was able to go on this trip.

Why, all of the sudden, was I being treated as I felt I should? WAs I being treated the way I

wanted to be? What changed? Did anything change? I found myself wondering if I had

overreacted the last ten years regarding the infantile way I was treated. Was the end result, a

person well-adjusted to society and a staunch Christian who consistently advocates for his

beliefs, worth it? Many of my friends and even some of their parents believe I was robbed of a

normal childhood. I can’t say I agree, but what if they’re right? Do these ends justify the means?

Were the means really that bad? I grappled with these questions for some time, and I haven’t

really come to a satisfying answer. I can say, however, that it probably wasn’t as bad as I made it

out to be. My parents never abused me, have always been extremely vocal about their love and

care for me, and both parents were present for many things in my life. I can say I wish I had a

longer leash as I grew up, and there were events I missed out on that all my friends got to partake

in, but it has become clear to me that if it was that childhood that led to the man I am today, I

would do it again in a heartbeat.

I don’t know if that makes forcing me to miss seminal events in my childhood the right

thing to do, but it is a part of my identity and without it I could very well be unrecognizable.

Each person is an amalgamation of their experiences and I can’t say I wish I turned out different.

I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking about this, wondering if I would parent my children the

same way. I was undoubtedly robbed of some things as a child. I have just as many memories of
 13

seeing my friends at social functions as I have of seeing the functions from afar. Is that worth

turning out well? Of course, this assumes I turned out well, but that’s a topic for another essay.

My parents, of course, would say that their strict way of raising me has led to me

becoming a good man. My girlfriend’s mother, who has a more laissez-faire approach to

parenting, argues that I was robbed of a childhood and learned to be secretive rather than

obedient. As cliche as it is, I think there is truth to both and an accurate picture can be found in

between these two poles. My parents don’t know I had alcohol on this trip, nor do they know I

smoked marijuana on a beach trip with my guy friends. I likely will not tell them, at least not for

a long time. However, it isn’t as though I have been left as a maladjusted man with a malformed

moral compass. Therefore, although I can safely say I wish some things had changed in my

childhood, I can also say I am grateful for the childhood I was given. After all, I am remarkably

blessed with the life I have. I am at a good school studying for the career I’ve always wanted, I

am with a woman I will likely marry, and I am a part of a loving family that would do anything

to see me succeed.

It’s hard to pinpoint how this event changed my life or sense of self, since I’ll never know

how I’d feel if it went down differently. It also wasn’t necessarily one event that shaped this

essay but a whole life’s worth of feelings and experiences that are still forming and changing to

this day. I can say that reflecting on the event allowed me to define my sense of self and my

feelings about my childhood. I haven’t discovered any new feelings about my childhood or this

conversation we had but this essay has given me an opportunity to put words to my thoughts. I

always knew how I felt but describing my emotions in a way a reader could understand has

allowed me to wrap my head around my own feelings.

 14

Ethan Dexter

English 101-50

Ms. Boggs

10/28/2022

Rhetorical Analysis Paper

Film critique is often seen as a high-brow, snobbish form of media, only enjoyed or

written by those pedantic enough to believe in a real difference between “film” and “cinema.”

However, recently some have tried to utilize the social media revolution to spread their new-

school take on film critique to an audience of laymen who can appreciate their work. The video

sharing site YouTube is the most optimal site for this content form, as videos require a shorter

attention span than articles, yet are long enough to present a critique of a full movie. The

YouTube channel CinemaSins has successfully taken this laid-back approach to film critique and

shared it with its millions of subscribers and viewers. This is not, however, due to the

professional quality of the critique or the quality of the product, it is in spite of these things.

Whereas the channel lacks many of the objective requirements of film critique, they have

mastered their delivery to the point of millions of views and much support. CinemaSins’

attempts at legitimate film critique flop due to rampant misunderstanding of literary terms and

devices and misleading cuts and effects. However, their audience is usually left appreciating the

content and agreeing with the result due to their easy-to-grasp content form and use of humor.

This odd discrepancy between objective quality and audience appreciation can clearly be

seen in their video titled “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,” a

twelve-minute critique with over thirteen million views. Curiously, this movie has been
 15

nominated for and won a litany of awards, including BAFTA and Critic’s Choice awards.2 Yet

according to CinemaSins, there are eighty-three mistakes, or “sins,” in the film worthy of note.

Whereas most film critics refrain from providing a list of every individual problem they have

with the movie, CinemaSins lists every grievance in each of their videos. Some of these “sins”

are legitimate mistakes, but most are the consequence of a severe lack of understanding of the

movie and of literary analysis.

Many of these so-called “mistakes” are actually good characterizations of the characters

or the setting. This, of course, implies that either CinemaSins hates good characterization, or

simply does not understand what the film is telling him in plain language. Sin number twenty-

two is simply a voice clip of Homer Simpson yelling the word “nerd” over Hermione answering

a question in her Herbology class.3 Whereas it is not uncommon to think these things about a

“teacher’s pet” like Hermione, that does not make this characterization a sin of the movie.

Rather, this is the movie staying consistent with its characterization of Hermione as an extremely

booksmart student who takes much pride in her intelligence.4 CinemaSins has sinned good

characterization and has told their audience that a character being intelligent is bad. On top of

this, the information Hermione shares is about the Mandrake Root, an item which becomes of

extreme importance later in the story. This is the story’s way of setting up a resolution to

conflict: the plant acts as a cure for petrification.5 None of this matters to CinemaSins, who plays

the whole scene for laughs.

2 “Awards,” Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, IMDb, accessed October 28, 2022,
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295297/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
3 CinemaSins, “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,” September 10, 2013, YouTube
video, 12:03, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieKUcgm-
2E&list=PLig1MFtn9LMwnm6B7PORW2OjX9710DNYG&index=3
4 J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Press, 1999)
5 J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Press, 1999)
 16

Sinning good characterization is, unfortunately, the rule and not the exception. Sin

number forty-seven deals with the fact that all the characters that got petrified survived: “This is

the most convenient and luckiest set of circumstances ever for numerous characters to defy

death.”6 CinemaSins attempts to portray this scene as an extreme plot convenience, that all these

characters managed to somehow survive the basilisk attack. What CinemaSins fails to

understand about this scene is that this is, yet again, good characterization of each victim. Colin

Creavey is known to walk everywhere with his camera. Hermione is known to investigate things

on her own and would have already known that the basilisk kills with its sight, causing her to

bring a mirror. This also explains the parchment paper found in her hand, the subject of another

sin.7 This doesn’t mean the connection between their survival isn’t convenient, but the events are

set up by both the plot and the characterization. Another thing CinemaSins fails to understand

about many of the Harry Potter books and movies is that many are structured as mystery stories,

and each of these deaths serve as a clue for Harry and facilitate his “detective work.” This event

is vital to move the story forward. With such a fundamental misunderstanding of the films, one

would wonder if any of his viewers see any credibility in CinemaSins.

While these sins have been mistakes of the content creator, they have been honest.

CinemaSins has misunderstood the point of scenes and the literary terms used to describe them,

but they have not done so intentionally. That unfortunately is not the case for every sin the movie

receives. CinemaSins also misleads their audience by judging this movie based on scenes that

were not even included in the final cut. This, of course, is incredibly disingenuous, as

professional film critics do not judge movies based on scenes that are not shown. Viewers of the

6 CinemaSins, “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,” September 10, 2013, YouTube
video, 12:03, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieKUcgm-
2E&list=PLig1MFtn9LMwnm6B7PORW2OjX9710DNYG&index=3
7 J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Press, 1999)
 17

video are never told the scenes were deleted, and have no reason to believe they are. They are

presented just like any other scene, meant to mislead the viewer.

The eleventh sin this movie receives is a complaint against a plot contrivance after

Harry’s botched Floo powder travel: “Harry just happens to get accidentally sent to a place

where he can overhear the Malfoys being evil.”8 This is despite the fact that it is not a plot

contrivance, as it does not serve to move the plot forward. As well, in the book, this event serves

as a red herring, and the Malfoy family in fact had nothing to do with the opening of the

Chamber of Secrets. This is not a mistake, nor is it a plot contrivance. CinemaSins does not

understand the function of that scene and incorrectly deems it a mistake. More importantly, this

scene was not actually included in the movie. It was a deleted scene.9 CinemaSins put it in their

critique while painting it as a scene that was included in the final cut. This disingenuity, when

found out, leads the audience to doubt CinemaSins’ credibility. Unfortunately, this is not a tactic

that can be discovered easily, and so it is easily used to persuade the average viewer.

This is not the only time CinemaSins disingenuously uses deleted scenes to give the

movie sins. The twenty-seventh sin this movie receives comes as Gilderoy Lockhart gives a quiz

to his students about his personal life. CinemaSins sins the movie for the lack of realism: How

would Dumbledore allow such dubious curricula in his school? Beyond the fact that this, again,

is not a sin of the movie, as the movie makes it clear Dumbledore hired Lockhart in order to

expose him, this is yet again a scene not included in the movie’s final cut. This again is very

effective rhetoric, as many will not realize the scene is not part of the movie.

These tactics, along with others, make for a video that is still partially rhetorically

effective. The video has over thirteen million views, and over twenty-three thousand comments,
8 CinemaSins, “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,” September 10, 2013, YouTube
video,12:03,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieKUcgm-
2E&list=PLig1MFtn9LMwnm6B7PORW2OjX9710DNYG&index=3
9 J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Press, 1999)
 18

an overwhelming majority of which are in support of CinemaSins and their assertions. This may

seem paradoxical: how does a video with such obvious rhetorical holes garner such support?

This is largely due to the disingenuity the channel uses, but they also employ humor to create

entertainment.

The Homer Simpson gag is an attempt to get the audience to laugh. One has to admit

even if they didn’t find it funny it came as a surprise. For the film’s thirty-first sin, Professor

McGonagall’s Transfiguration lesson is sinned for the lesson being useless.10 Besides the fact

that the lesson seems useless because it is simply an introduction to a larger and more useful

category of spells, and is therefore not a mistake of the movie, CinemaSins masks their

mischaracterization with more humor. They sarcastically portray a spell turning a bird into a cup

as an extremely useful spell that will be used daily. This, of course, isn’t true, but it’s quite funny

(to some), and serves to appeal to the good humor of the audience.

These methods, along with the occasional correct sin, i.e. pointing out an actual movie

mistake, are effective in seizing an audience. CinemaSins seems to have effectively garnered a

large audience with these tactics despite their objectively poor rhetoric elsewhere. A lack of

credibility, honesty, and understanding has been outweighed by humor and disingenuity.

This somewhat paradoxical fact is somewhat surprising, but one should remember that

this is content made by and consumed by humans. CinemaSins cannot be expected to make

perfect content, but their poor usage of rhetoric can still be analyzed, as can their good usage of

rhetoric. It should be noted that CinemaSins fails to appeal to any sort of objective rhetoric, but

are more successful appealing to the subjective. As such, it seems odd that people would ignore

the poor arguments and continue to gravitate towards the content, but humans are not always

10 CinemaSins, “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,” September 10, 2013, YouTube
video, 12:03, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieKUcgm-
2E&list=PLig1MFtn9LMwnm6B7PORW2OjX9710DNYG&index=3
 19

objective and logical. That fact is most clearly seen when they interact with someone they look

up to and are a fan of; they are more likely to look past objective flaws to support their favorite

creator.

An analysis of both the effective and ineffective rhetoric used in this video reveal a

certain oxymoronic effectiveness. Many laymen have enjoyed and continue to enjoy this content,

and the rhetoric used. However, a deeper examination of the content in the video will invariably

lead to discontent with the disingenuous tactics and lack of knowledge shown in the video. Of

course, enjoyment is subjective and should not be admonished, but one should be aware of the

rhetorical tactics being used to persuade them.

Works Cited:
 20

Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Press,

1999)

CinemaSins, “Everything Wrong With Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,”
September 10, 2013, YouTube video, 12:03, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qieKUcgm-2E&list=PLig1MFtn9LMwnm6B7PORW2OjX9710DNYG&index=3
IMDb, “Awards.” Accessed October 28, 2022.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295297/awards/?ref_=tt_awd

Ethan Dexter
Paper 3
Ms. Boggs
 21

11/20/2022

Not all degrees are created equal. There are degrees that are more valuable than others.

Degrees that will guarantee the most money are clearly the most valuable. All the jobs are in

finance and technology, so anyone would be better off getting a degree in those fields. Degrees

in the arts are worthless. Who is going to hire a percussionist? How are you going to make a

living? Can you even support a family?

These are all things that anyone with a degree in the arts has heard, regardless of their

veracity. Modern societies often value a degree or field of study based on things like financial

potential, societal acceptance, or cultural tradition. This is, of course, shortsighted and close-

minded, as there are many ways to assign value to degrees or fields of study. This paper seeks to

argue for the value of a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. Music performance degrees

are valuable for a variety of reasons, including personal growth, cultural education, and financial

potential.

Value can be defined many different ways. Admittedly, it is not wrong to assign value

based on societal acceptance or cultural tradition. However, this is arbitrary, and value means

different things to different people. Therefore, it is impossible to say that any degree is

objectively valueless. One benchmark by which one could assign value to a music performance

degree is that of personal growth. Many students attaining that degree at the University of North

Carolina - Greensboro, a top-tier music school in North Carolina, attest that this degree has

allowed them to grow as people. “I expanded my horizons and met some really good people,”

Cole Agostinelli, an undergraduate music performance student, said in an interview. “I have

learned things about myself and matured through the expectations that get put on us. I’ve failed
 22

and succeeded a lot and due to that I have really grown as a person” (Agostinelli, interview,

11/2/2022). At UNCG, degrees in music performance require lots of personal practice which

requires a lot of discipline. “I have to practice a lot when I’d rather do anything else. Especially

because practice means picking apart all my mistakes. It’s not always fun, but I have to admit it’s

been rewarding” (Agostinelli). It’s clear that this degree forces students to develop discipline and

a good work ethic. These are good qualities to have for any adult, for those that want to perform

their instrument in perpetuity or those that want to enter the workforce some other way.

Music is a cross-cultural phenomenon, with people all over the world enjoying different

kinds for many different reasons. College gives performers and educators alike the chance to

experience many different kinds of music from around the world. As part of UNCG’s November

2022 Percussion Ensemble Concert, the UNCG Percussion Ensemble performed maracatu

nação, a Brazilian drumming tradition celebrating God and community (@uncgperc, Instagram).

This is music not often performed or taught in the United States, and to many of the performers,

this was their first maracatu experience. UNCG has many ensembles that perform the music of

the world, including a Steelpan Ensemble, Middle Eastern Ensemble, Old Time Ensemble, and

an Indian Ensemble (UNCG, “Music”). These are ensembles led by experts who grew up with

this music and have been performing it their whole lives. Students can join any of these

ensembles at any time during their degree program, and most studying music performance have

to join one of these “eclectic ensembles.” This exposes students to music from around the world

and is extremely important as a cultural education that leads students to appreciate people and

their traditions. “Steelpan Ensemble was really fun and just a really good experience. I had never

played this kind of music before and now I listen to it all the time” (Agostinelli). There is also a

heavy focus on playing music written by minority and women composers, which exposes many
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to cultures and ideas they would not have known had they picked a different field of study. This

cultural education is so important as learning about people brings the global community much

closer together and allows us to love each other without prejudice.

There are also many employment opportunities for professional performers. Freelance

music is an extremely popular way for musicians to support themselves financially. Many

musicians will find employment playing music at bars, libraries, and other venues. Many cities in

the United States have bustling music scenes with many opportunities for employment. Small

music venues have bands playing every weekend in Raleigh and in Greensboro. Musicians have

also long taken part in the art of busking, or playing music in public for free, asking for tips

placed in hats or cups or their instrument cases. This isn’t quite as financially feasible as a full

time job, but it is a way for musicians to make money. There are a multitude of performance

opportunities in the military for all kinds of instruments, including bands, jazz bands, jazz

combos, and marching bands. Many performers also make a living teaching young students in

private lessons. Most often, they teach lessons in high school and college to very young

musicians just starting out on their instruments. Finally, professional orchestras and wind

ensembles abound in the United States, with just about every major city having its own

symphony orchestra or wind band. These are generally very difficult to get into, as the skill level

and demand is very high, but they can be very stable sources of income for performers.

These are all very good options for a performer, but one has to ask: is a degree necessary

for these things? What value does the degree have in the field? Music teachers cannot get a job in

their field without their degree and the correct licensure, so the degree is vital to their success.

The same goes for many degrees in many fields of study: jobs in law require a degree and a

passed test, degrees in the medical fields require a litany of certifications. It is true that a degree
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in music performance is not required to have the jobs that performers get. However, that does not

make the degree worthless, nor does it mean that performers should attain a different degree. The

rigorous study required to attain this degree more than prepares performers to make a living

making music. The vast majority of current musicians in professional orchestras have attained

performance degrees from various universities. Many musicians get a degree in performance

then get a Master’s degree in education and go teach. There are a multitude of opportunities for

those who get degrees in performance.

“Most of all, I’m just happy I get to play my horn every day. Not everyone gets to live

out their childhood dream, and that’s exactly what I get to do” (Agostinelli). Students attaining a

performance degree know that the road ahead of them is challenging, but the opportunities are

lucrative in their futures.

Works Cited
 25

Agostinelli, Cole. Personal Interview. 11/2/2022

UNCG Percussion [@uncgperc]. “UNCG Percussion Ensemble Fall Concert - TONIGHT

at 7:30 pm at @uncgsom !” Instagram, 11/6/2022,

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkoeMSzujmL/

UNCG, Music, https://admissions.uncg.edu/academics/majors-concentrations/music/

Ethan Dexter
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Ms. Boggs

Critical Reflection

12/7/2022

Critical Reflection

It has been a long semester of writing and critical analysis and it has finally come to a

close. This semester has seen both a wide breadth as well as a profound depth of content, and I

have witnessed much personal growth, exceeding my expectations in regard to the student

outcomes given at the beginning of the class. I would like to focus on a few: My ability to

evaluate arguments, construct arguments, and make use of source material. I have seen a lot of

growth in these aspects of my writing, due to the assignments and readings we were able to do.

The ability to evaluate arguments is essential in many ways in everyday life. Reading

anything from an email to a text to a tweet involves evaluating what the writer is saying. It also

becomes even more important when the matters are more formal, like participating in a board

meeting or dissecting the ideas of politicians or even Presidential hopefuls. It becomes extremely

important to be able to evaluate arguments when listening to people, like future Presidents,

debate on what direction to lead our country in. Analyzing their opinions is critical as we citizens

have a say in which direction the country goes. For these reasons, and many more, I am glad to

have had the opportunity to learn how to get better at it through both writing and analyzing

others’ works. I was able to read essays on fashion, shopping, and education and hear what the

authors had to say and, under a critical lens, dissect their opinions and find holes and appreciate

their strengths. I used some of these ideas to craft my own arguments in the second and third
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papers assigned in this class, both of which I did fairly well on. It is certainly cathartic to see this

progress and work pay off in the manner that it has.

Along with evaluating arguments, constructing them is extremely important. That ability

is also extremely important in adult life: being able to effectively argue allows you a better

chance at getting what you want in any given scenario. It also allows you to convince others of

your opinion in hopes to see it acted on in a way you deem beneficial. This ability was also

improved over the course of the semester, thanks in no small part to the assignments and

readings we did. Paper 2 was the climax of my growth in this area, as I feel as though that paper

was very well organized and very well written, with my thoughts and arguments clearly written

and laid out for the reader. I dissected the opinions of a “film critic” on YouTube and laid out

why I thought they were mostly hogwash, yet still managed to captivate an audience of millions.

I went into pretty deep detail on some of these clips, and was able to argue my thesis (which was

also really good) in an effective way that I think would persuade many readers into seeing this

critic as I do. This opportunity to write and critically analyze arguments really worked my

writing chops and allowed me to grow.

Making use of source material is an important skill for a writer to have. It can be useful

when using a source as evidence for a claim, being sure it’s credible and relevant to the

argument. It can also be developed to critique a writer’s use of a source or their analysis of some

form of media. I wrote a paper on a film critic’s use of rhetoric and their usage of source material

to make a certain claim (and how they did it poorly) which relates to this skill on two levels: I

needed to use the source material they used (the movie) as well as using the video critique itself,

and I criticized the critic’s use of source material. This is a skill developed solely over the
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process of writing this paper, and finishing it was almost as cathartic as reading my professor’s

comments about it. I was extremely proud of this and I am glad to have been able to develop this

skill.

This has been a great class to develop those skills. I developed others as well, but these

were the easiest to dissect in an essay. I enjoyed watching myself become a better writer, and I

hope the reader enjoyed reading my work.