Your Module Guide will provide details about expectations for any given piece of writing. The following provides additional advice for consideration for documenting creative work.
A successful piece of supporting written documentation for creative projects will typically address and discuss the following areas in a clear and concise manner, with carefully considered specifics rather than vague assertions.
Artistic Aims
You should offer a clear summary of your key artistic aims, intentions and ideas as they have developed in relation to the project brief. What were you trying to achieve? And what can you say about why you were trying to achieve this? It might be appropriate here to discuss paths and options not taken with a project, if this will assist in articulating your ideas.
Note that your tutor will typically be less interested in knowing why you chose this particular project than in how you chose to approach the project.
Context
As much as possible, you should attempt to show your developing awareness of how any creative project relates to a wider artistic and technological context. Does it relate to other approaches, concepts, practices, aesthetics that you can discuss in relation to your own work? Through lectures and your reading have you encountered concepts or approaches that have influenced your work? If so, be specific, and discuss the nature of this influence. Similarly with any music listened to that has influenced your work, be specific in identifying it and try to describe how it has influenced your project.
Working Methods
Offer a clear summary of key relevant aspects of your working methods and decision-making processes as they determine the outcomes of your project. If working towards a performance, it would be appropriate to discuss rehearsal processes, and if working in an ensemble it could also be appropriate to discuss the musical roles played by the individual performers. This should not take the form of journal-like writing or logbook notes — and need not necessarily be presented in chronological order — but should offer a concise summary of key important aspects.
Be specific about what you did and why. For example, if you applied a filter to a sound, what filter did you apply, at what settings and, most importantly, to achieve what?
Evaluation
An effective way to conclude your writing would be to offer a critical evaluation of the process that led to the creation of your work, as well as the final outcome itself. To what extent did you achieve your project aims? With the benefit of hindsight would you have approached anything differently? What were the project’s strengths, weaknesses, and distinctive characteristics? Did it pose any particular challenges for you as a musician? How closely did you achieve your intended aims? If the outcome of a project is a performance, then present an evaluation of the performance itself.
Be specific in your evaluation. A statement such as “This project went well” does not say much. What went well, how and why? Thinking through this carefully will help you improve your future work.
Your tutor will likely see a mixture of specific positive evaluations and areas for improvement as being more thoughtful than an all positive — or all negative — evaluation.
Further Advice
This is a formal piece of writing, therefore you should reference texts and music as appropriate as per a conventional essay. However, this type of writing relates to your work and you should not be afraid to use the first person (what I did, what I thought, what I was trying to achieve, and so on).
Leave plenty of time to edit, refine and proof read such written work. The creative-work writeups rarely have expansive word counts; therefore, rereading and redrafting will help in your successfully communicating your key ideas to your readers clearly and concisely. If you are really being specific in your observations, rather than using vague generalities, you will probably meet your word count quite readily.
If you find yourself stuck for ideas, it can be very useful to read a project assignment brief again, identifying key points that you might address one by one. Similarly, it might be useful to refer to the content on module aims and learning outcomes and other information contained in the module guide.
Do not hesitate to contact our tutor if you need clarification and guidance.