Morgan Lail English 1102 Reflection to EIP Professor Voltz Reflection Rap music does not influence violence

on our generation. This has been my argument throughout my proposal and essay. Most of the sources I found throughout my project went the opposite position posing that rap music does influence violence. I stuck with the positive aspects because rap music is an evocative subject that has numerous positive aspects in which society often overlooks. I did happen to find helpful sources even negative ones to disprove, and to strengthen my argument. The topic is very compelling, because the majority of music my generation listens to is rap music. My opinion never changed, because I feel very strongly that rap music does not influence teens. Statistics and facts that I found in the book Does Rap Music Influence Violence really persuaded me that rap music reflects a lifestyle, and gives young rappers hope to escape from poverty. In the development stage of my idea I was looking for things as to what the media feels on the influence of rap music. All of these sources I found were against my topic and were only making it more difficult to look at the positive aspects. The media refuses to look at rap music as being a work of art and prefers to look at rap music as a depiction of violence. Rappers dont create the violence they only examine it, evaluate it, and echo its sentiments through their music. If anything this desensitization process only educates its audience, and allows them to accept the actual violence in the world we live in. In determining whether rap music influences violence I learned that the music influences in a positive aspect as well. Rappers promote socio-political issues and positive themes as well.

Despite all of the public debate social scientists have not correlated violence to Rap music or its listeners. When we listen to music we dont pick up every word unless we look up the lyrics. Even when we do determine the lyrics it is hard to apply them unless we have been exposed to these situations before. In my research I found unexpected information that only 30% of teens actually comprehend the lyrics they listen to. I found this in chapter 8 The effects of Violent Music on Children and Adolescents by Donald Roberts. I learned that the lyrical content is not what interests us in the music it is the rhythm and the beats that attract us to the songs. All music even Rap music can improve academic abilities and express progressive attitudes regarding society. The factors that cause the development of aggression and violence are not in the music we use to escape from reality. They are found in a confluence of factors such as poor parent-child relationships, poor academic performance, and exposure community violence. In designing my essay I didnt have a plan or outline. In a former ap class I had in high school we learned to guide research papers with notecards. This technique really helps me to remember important facts I need to incorporate in my essay. I use note cards for each source and piece of information that educated me on my topic. If I get lost when writing my paper I always refer back to these notes and guide my paper. If I use actual quotes or statements from the sources I include this on my notecard and cite them in my paper. Writing groups throughout this project helped me open my mind more. The writing groups remind you that you are educating an audience on what you learn. The suggestions they offer are helpful because they remind you of important questions you forgot to answer, and areas where you need to strengthen your research. My findings encouraged me to narrow my research because my beginning topic was too broad. In the proposal there were many ideas I didnt continue to incorporate in my research

paper. One particular subject that needed to be narrowed down was the specific age group I wanted to focus on in my research. I decided against younger children and focused more on teenagers. I focused on Rap music from its origination rather than just the current Rap music. I find that Rap musics origination has a lot of influence on the Rap we still hear today. It is very similar in lyrical value although the beats and rhythms have evolved. As a learner I got to look at my topic from two angles, both positive and negative. I wouldnt change my perspective on the influence Rap music has on its audience because there is strong evidence to support my topic. Throughout the writing process I think my writing techniques became stronger. My ability to support a topic based on research was increased from the proposal to the reflection.