In the written assignments, you should distill the essential points of the readings, comment on them in relation to your own beliefs, and develop the implications for music therapy. You can consider questions such as the following: Why is the topic important for music therapy? Contextualize it in terms of education, practice, theory, research or relationship to the outside society. What are the various positions held and what are the arguments supporting them? Do you agree with these arguments or do you see flaws or limitations in them? Where do you stand on the identified positions?
Providing your own reactions, critiques, analysis, and speculations on the ideas presented in the readings is a necessary aspect of these assignments. Your writing should go beyond a summary of the readings. You may summarize and rephrase some of the concepts in order to discuss them, but you should only provide summaries to the extent that they are necessary for your discussion.
A reasonable length for the weekly assignments is about 1000 words (or 1½ pages, single-spaced, 12 pt. font). This is not a minimum or a maximum; it is a general guideline.