A song could be defined as a set of phrases or a poem that is set to a certain tune and meant to be sung. At its most basic structures, a song is referred to s a piece of music, usually with words commonly referred to as lyrics. Songs combine both vocals and a melody to create a rhythm that is able to convey their message to their listeners/ fans who in a classroom setting are required to learn how to quote songs.
All things considered, some of these song lyrics have very deep academic roots and pass on useful information using the song as the medium. Therefore we need to teach ourselves how to quote a song for the purpose of writing high-quality and acceptable format papers. Songs have been used by students worldwide as primary sources in their writing. By examining a song’s lyrics, you can have a deeper understanding of certain past and present events in the society.
Depending on the type of paper you intend to write about you may be drawn to gather information from many different sources, some of which may be songs. Therefore, the necessary skills are needed to know the best way on how to cite a song in an essay. A song may be the composition or a specific recording. The format for your citations and references will be somewhat different depending on the writing style you choose to use for formatting your paper. The most common styles of how to cite a song in a paper that is most commonly used by students include Harvard, Chicago, APA, and MLA.
In addition to the style of writing that you choose when quoting a song, the way you cite and reference a son will be different depending on how you access the information they possess and also how much of the song’s lyrics have influenced your paper. The question you should ask yourself is, “how do you quote a song?” For instance, if you quote a song from a compact disc (CD) you had the chance to listen to; in the body of your essay, you might just refer to the song by name. Afterward, you will be expected to create works cited or reference page for the song with information pertaining to the singer and the album it is a part of. When you want to learn how to quote a song in a paper the information needed includes;
- The performers or band’s full names
- The title of the album
- The publisher of the album and release date
- The URL of the song (where applicable)
- You can also include the format of the song (optional)
You can access our website for samples on how to quote song with the proper appearance of these forming styles in a body of text, and also you can find templates to assist you to format your own citations and reference/ works cited lists.
Importance of Knowing How to Quote A Song in an Essay
“How do you cite a song in a paper?” you ask. Using songs as your primary source of information in a particular area of study, for instance in a history assignment, could enable you to learn more about how to properly quote a song and what a particular culture was doing in terms of economic and social-cultural activities from the lyrics of the songs they sang at that particular point in time. Also, you can learn more about a people’s history and development through their cultures songs. Therefore, it is an added advantage to you to learn how to quote a song in an essay as early as possible.
Sometimes the use of songs as information sources and the importance of quoting a song in a paper is overlooked due to the listeners’ mistakenly labeling it as fictitious or untrue. Most of the time student writing assignments are not all about what happened but focus on the religious and political aspects of the theme of the song or any other aspects that preoccupied songwriters at that particular time the song was conceived. Also, song lyrics can fuel contemporary debated that have proved to be useful learning tools in any classroom.
Why you should Learn How to Quote A Song in MLA Writing Style
Song lyrics are known to have a deep significance in the lives of many people and as such quoting a song MLA should be a big deal. Songs are written to resonate with the actions, experiences and belief systems of its listeners. From time to time, you will find yourself looking to songs for inspiration to incorporate into your essays. Students all over the world are increasingly rushing to know how to quote a song in MLA, why is this? MLA writing style for formatting your bibliography has a standard for almost every type of information source, even songs.
By learning how to quote from a song and reference your papers in accordance with the stipulated styles of writing, you are playing it safe when it comes to cases of plagiarism, which is where you want to be. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Cases of plagiarism are often viewed as a breach of trust when you fail to give credit to the originator of information that has helped you complete your research, this is the case whether it is intentional or by accident. However, other than avoiding plagiarism, songs have other important roles in academic circles.
The Importance of Quoting a Song in an Essay
When you are quoting a song in an essay you have to consider from which medium the song lyrics have been sourced and what amount of information you have included in your body of text. And it is a regulation in most institutions of learning that any paper that sources information from the research, words, opinions or ideas of other authors has to have citations and corresponding reference and works cited pages. The importance of citing and referencing is outlined below;
- Acknowledge the contribution of others to your completed work
- Provide your reader with a way to follow up on your research by accessing the original information
- Shows the reader that you have conducted the necessary research
- Support your claims and deductions with citations.
- Assert your mastery of a particular field by citing similar papers in the same field
Complete Guide on How to Reference A Song in A Paper
For you to learn how to reference a song in a paper first you are required to have a source in the form of a song or songs. Next, you are to visit our website for more instructions and guidelines to help you convert your source into a correct citation and works cited entry. On the website, you will find that it is easy to navigate and peruse the various tools available to help you learn more about how to quote music. Do not be left behind, all your classmates are using citation generation machines for MLA citing a song, why not you?