PETA Member

(1) Textual Artifacts

• PETA releases tons of flyers monthly all promoting ethical treatment of animals. The flyers usually give examples of companies that treat animals in a cruel way, asking you to boycott them.

• PETA also keeps a blog on their website. Through this blog they keep you updated on all different things going on with animal cruelty movements and also give you advice on what to make being a vegetarian or how you can help the cause. 

• The PETA website gives as a member gives you tons of ways to support their organization. By just clicking  on a link you are shown a list of what to do as a member.

• The PETA website allows all members to comment on articles and campaign ads posted on their website. This gives members the opportunity to communicate their opinions on different issues.

(2) First Day Narrative

• I've always been an animal lover, always asking my mom for a new pet since I was a child, I've had hamsters, frogs, fish, and my favorite dogs! My sophomore year in high school I met my a short, bubbly, outgoing, brunette who would soon end up being my best friend. I soon learned that my newest buddy Lindsay was a full-on vegetarian. I can remember sitting there asking her so many questions, and the one question that received the longest response was why. She had told me that she was always against animal cruelty and was urged by a friend to check out PETA's, people for the ethical treatment of animals, website. She watched video upon video of animals being skinned for their fur, or tortured for their meat. After this life-changing talk I myself decided to visit PETA's website. I spent hours on that website, watching the same videos Lindsay did and reading articles on the truth behind fast food restaurants and products tested on animals. Soon after I decided to become a member and a full-on vegetarian. Becoming a member of PETA meant that I had made an account on their website and signed many pledges, such as agreeing to give certain donations a month and pledging to be a vegetarian and not wear fur. I had access to message boards and comment features throughout the site. I had actually felt like I was giving back to a cause that I cared so much about. It made me feel like a was standing up for something I believed in. I was so proud of myself. Now, almost four years later, I am still a vegetarian and proud member of PETA.

My Discourse Community

Never Shout Never Fan

How large is this community?

• Never Shout Never's fan base is not very big. The band that plays indie and alternative music has not quite yet made it to the big leagues yet. Christofer Drew, the lead singer, only plays small shows with an audience of probably around 100 big-time fans.

Does your discourse community have a forum or discussion/communication?

• Yes, Christofer Drew has his own personal twitter were he updates fans about upcoming private shows and about new EP's he is working on. Also, he has his own personal Youtube and website where fans, like me, can go and catch up on what's coming next for Never Shout Never. The website also includes a forum where people can go and write about other Never Shout Never news and opinions.

Does your discourse community have a certain purpose?

• The purpose of my discourse community is to listen to the music that I love, become inspired by Christofer Drew's lyrics and messages, and show up to all his shows for support. Without the fan's Never Shout Never would not be able to keep making music and keep doing their shows.

Is your discourse community bound by rules?

• Basically, the rules for being a Never Shout Never fan are to just support Christofer Drew, buy his music, and show up to all his shows.

Does your discourse community offer useful textual artifacts for analysis?

• Yes, Christofer Drew writes all his own songs and the lyrics of his song's can be deeply analyzed to get a clear, meaningful message. Also. all of Never Shout Never's shows can be analyzed by the way he presents himself and his music. 

Intertextuality in Glee

This video clip is taken from an episode of Glee where they perform songs from the musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This clip displays intertextuality because they use a very popular song from the musical called "The Time Warp" and incorporate it into their act, dressing up as the characters and recreating the dance. Although the song and dance number is taken directly from Rocky Horror, the cast somehow makes it their own.

Discourse Communities

Discourse Communities I am apart of:

• Graduating Class of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 2010
• UCF Class of 2014
• Facebook Users
• Dorm Roommates
• Gleek (Glee Fan)
• Warnke Family Member
• Blackberry User
• Colts Football Fan

Peer Review Feedback

I really enjoyed the peer review we did in class. I wasn't sure if my essay was working well but after Kacie looked it over and wrote down her comments it really helped me see what I needed to still work on and what my strong points were. I also liked that the whole process was anonymous so the reader didn't automatically put a face to the paper or judge it right away. I will now be more positive with my work when I go to revise it because I know what's working well.

How to Get Over the Guy You Can't Get Over - Analysis

Voice: helpful, supportive, sympathetic

• The author of this article, Erin Zammett Ruddy, uses a helpful, supportive, sympathetic voice. This is shown clear through sentences such as "Either way, you deserve to move on- and yes, it is possible."Another example is "You will survive. Read... and stop weeping." She uses long then short sentences, pushing her point. She also uses quotes to make herself more creditable. For example, she uses a 29-year old women Kathleen who says "My friends helped me see that I fall for men I could never have a future with. They live across the country or they work 24/7 or they're way too young". When I compared the voice in this article to the one in "Editor's Note" is very similar. Cindi Leive, the cute, short, bubbly, editor-in-chief of Glamour writes all about her journey to help fight the BP oil spill in the gulf. She writes in a caring, sympathetic voice saying "Choosing this year's cause was, alas, an easy one; as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico became the worst such disaster in United States history." She also emphasizes on how bad this incident was using words such as disaster, ravaged, and underprivileged. 
• The author speaks to the writer rather casually as if she was talking to a friend. She uses sentences such as "You will survive." and "You can gloat later about how your floating-above-it-all attitude drove him crazy". Ruddy repeats a lot of words such as you, tempting, breakup, positive, and suffering. She probably does that to push the message that yes break-ups are hard but you need to stay positive and move on. Based on reading this article I can tell that the main audience for this magazine are older women who are established in life and are looking for more mature relationships. This article relates to the target audience by giving the women advice on how to move on from a bad break-up and how to eventually have a healthy relationship. The purpose of this article is basically a six-step plan on how to get the one guy under your skin out for good. Ruddy wants the readers to get over the guy they left behind and move on and be happy. 
• Reading this article it shows me that the aspirations of Glamour readers are to be established in a great, healthy relationship and not be stuck weeping over their past love. Through the writing style it also shows that Glamour is all about giving advice and helping their readers in problems they may face. 

TOC Analysis

The table of contents is located on the 13th page of Glamour, followed by tons of ads for products such as Olay Anti-Aging Kit and DKNY Jeans. It is organized in sections based on the topic of the article, such as news, men, fashion, look, and love. It also gives you the pages of the cover stories. Their is not a lot of text used, just titles and three word descriptions. The titles of the articles are written in bold font followed by descriptions of their content in a smaller, less exciting lettering. The main color scheme is girly, keeping it similar to the cover. The titles and numbers are written in a baby blue and the rest is a simple black and white. There are very few pictures used but the ones featured are eye-catching. A picture of a couple kissing is placed up top and a cute lipgloss is pictured below, each with a description of the article they are referring too. Some conclusions I can draw from looking at this table of contents is that the readers are mostly women based on articles such as, "Best in Shoe," "Beauty News," "Stud Meter," and "Fall's Sexiest Hairstyles." Also, I can tell they want to appeal to a younger audience because of how "risque" the pictures and articles are. Most older women wouldn't want to read about "New Ways to Bring Down the House," or "Seduce Him!" Taylor Swift is profiled and interviewed, also proving they are appealing to a much younger audience.

Sketching: Glamour

• Taylor Swift is pictured on the cover of Glamour, her long, blonde hair is flowing and she's wearing a cute, black lace cocktail dress. She looks glamourous and classy, the magazine wants people to aspire to be her and pick it up and buy it. The title, Glamour, is written behind her head in flashy, bold, baby blue lettering. This draws the reader in and appeals to woman because of the girlish color. The more appealing headlines are written in bold lettering, this is done to give the reader a quick glimpse of what the magazine is about. These headlines include "Taylor Talks," "25 Cute Hair Ideas," and "The Ultimate Advice for Dressing Your Curves." They all appeal to women and make her want to buy the magazine to find how what Taylor thinks of her ex, or how to look slimmer in a new dress. 
• The magazine if filled with articles, mostly appealing to women, about fashion, beauty, health, and relationship tips. Most of the advertisements in Glamour are fashion products and cool gadgets that would appeal to young, tech-savvy women. An ad that stands out to me is one for Camel cigarettes. The boarder of the page is hot pink and the rest of the background is black. Centered in the middle is a pink camel with Camel written in a girly font, highlighted in pink, above it.  The advertisers are smart and know most of Glamour readers are women, so appeal to them they make the ad look glamorous with pretty pink accents.

Aspiring Magazines

Vogue
Vogue aspires me because it is exactly like a magazine I want to own when I get older. Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that addresses topics of fashion, life, and design. It is probably known as one of the most influential fashion magazines of all time. It's articles are about high fashion, high society, art, culture, politics, and ideas. Everything about this magazine appeals to me. It's advertisements draw my attention because they are interesting and eye-popping fashion pieces. The images are fashion models I've grown up looking up to because they're living my dream life trying on all the latest designer fashions. 

Glamour
Glamour is a women's magazine that focuses on fashion, health, beauty tips, and other women's interest issues. The reason Glamour stood out to me is because it recognizes women that do good for their community and serve as role models. Also, they choose women who have made a difference and are respectable to put on their cover. 

In Style

In Style is a women's fashion magazine that contains articles about beauty, fashion, home, entertainment, charity, and celebrities. The reason In Style appealed to me because it's goal is to make women feel confident and fabulous. It shows you "The Look" which is what all the celebrities are wearing that month. It also gives advice on make-up and how to care for your skin. It also includes an inspiring story about the cover girl.

My Life in 10-15 Years

In 10 years I will be living in a huge house in Los Angeles, California working as an established fashion magazine editor. I'll most likely be married to my dream man with two boys. I will always be well dressed in the newest trends, driving a Range Rover. I will definitely have the same morals and values I have now and spread them on to my children. I will not waste my income on material things but I will make sure my family lives a good life. Sitting in my living room, looking down at my coffee table, I will see my own magazine sitting there. All the different advertisements will be for different fashion brands and clothing stores. The products will be chic but affordable outfits and accessories. My magazine will give advice on how to find bargain deals and how to put together the perfect outfit. I also want to incorporate articles about how fashion helped people in their daily lives, whether it gave them more self-confidence or helped them enjoy a new hobby. The voice of the magazine will be helpful and friendly.

Key Terms in "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents"

• Rhetorical situations point out influential factors within the broader contexts that help explain why decisions were made and why things turned out the way they did. (pg 264)
• Rhetorical situations help us discover the extent to which the world is not chaotic but ordered, a place where actions follow patterns and things happen for good reasons. (pg 264)
• "Compound" rhetorical situations are discussions of a single subject by multiple rhetors and audiences. (pg 265)
• Rhetorical situations are generally the context in which speakers or writers create rhetorical discourse. (pg 265)
• They are also the situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse. (pg 265)
• Integrity is the ability to apply a standard set of strategies effectively to any situation the rhetor may face. (pg 265)
• Receptivity is the ability to respond to the conditions and demands of individual situations. (pg 265)
• Rhetorical situations can also be defined as a set of related factors whose interaction creates and controls a discourse. (pg 265)
• Exigence is "an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be". (pg 265)
• A rhetorical exigence is some kind of need or problem that can be addressed and solved through rhetorical discourse. (pg 265)
• Constraints are "persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence". (pg 266)
• The stasis theory can be used as an analytic tool, an organizing principle in the sequence of questions that explore the exigence of a situation, but defining the issues of a discourse also involves determining the stases that will be contested in the discourse itself. (pg 266)
• Kairos is the right or opportune time to speak or write. (pg 266)
• An "implied author" or "second self" is the authorial identity that readers can infer from an author's writing. (pg 269)
• Primary and secondary audiences are audiences that are present and those that have yet to form, audiences that act collaboratively or as individuals, audiences about whom the rhetor knows little, or audiences that exist only in the rhetor's mind. (pg 270)
• "Composite" audiences consist of either of several factors or of individuals who each represent several different groups. (pg 270)
• Constraints are persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decisions and action needed to modify the exigence. (pg 272)
• Inartistic proofs are beliefs, attitudes, documents, facts, traditions, images, interests, motives and the like. (pg 272)
• Linguistic constraints are imposed by the genre of the text or by the conventions of language use dictated by the situation. (pg 273)
• Dialogue challenges the idea of rhetorical situations having neat boundaries. (pg 274)
• Precedents always create constraints. (pg 276)

Core 1 Reflection

I am starting to really like the essay I have written for Composition 1. I believe my strengths are my natural voice and how descriptive some of my sentences are. Some of my weaknesses are the length of the paper and how generalized some of my paragraphs may come across. I'm really enjoying writing this essay and learning how to better my writing through a lot of revising and rewriting.

Writing Habits?

            When it comes to writing I've always had trouble figuring out what works best for me, morning or night, quiet or noisy, but trying out different environments to write in for this assignment actually helped me what works best. For my first essay I wrote it early in the morning, on my laptop, in the silence of my room. I realized how fast I wrote and how much I could actually concentrate on the assignment at hand. The thoughts just flew from my brain to my fingertips to the computer screen in a matter of seconds. My second essay I decided to write at night in my tiny dorm room with my roommate present and the television playing quietly but present in the background. It took me much longer to write this because I found myself getting easily distracted by Family Guy or Facebook. Trying hard not to fall asleep on the keys, I managed to finish the paper after a couple of struggling hours. The third essay I wrote at night in my common room on a fresh, college-ruled piece of paper, which I then transferred to my computer screen. I found this to be the easiest to write because I had absolutely no distractions what so ever, besides the occasional hello from a friend who lives on my floor. I got everything that I need to say down on paper without the computer auto-correcting my words and the feeling that I just needed to fill the page without using size 20 font.

My First Yearbook Article

          In seventh grade I joined the yearbook at club at my middle school and continued working on the yearbook until my senior year of high school. I remember freshman year being the most nerve-wracking. It was my first assignment of the year and I had to submit an article all about the different fashion trends. I worked so hard interviewing students from every grade, even the intimidating seniors.
           I decided to working really hard on the writing process of this essay. I planned so much and drafted so many copies. I tried to write in a way in which every student could relate to. The fashion trends fit every clique in the book from the goths to the plastics. The sentence structure flowed to make the whole article easy to read and the word choice was very high-school appropriate. My editor checked and revised my paper over and over again until the paper was absolutely flawless.
           How I wrote this essay differed from how I wrote many of my essays in the past. For this paper I actually thought more about what the readers would enjoy rather than what my teacher wanted in a perfect paper. I used my peers thoughts in the paper and made them feel like they actually had a say in what was being put into the yearbook. I quoted the nerds on their pocket protectors and the jocks on their favorite sports team's vintage jersey. Showing people I cared about what they thought made them actually want to read the paper. I got only positive feedback and I'm so happy I worked so hard to make that article perfect. The process of writing the fashion essay made me only love writing more than I did before. It showed me that I can actually affect the way people look at something by putting all my thoughts down on paper.

To Research or Not to Research, That is the Question?!

             I'll never forget the day I was assigned my first research paper, I was sitting in my junior year English 3 class when my teacher passed out a lengthy handout all about the assignment. The paper had to be six pages long with a work-cited page, the only good thing about the project was that we were able to pick our own topic on which to write about. After scouring the web for hours trying to think of what hot issue interested me I realized I should pick something that has affected me most of my life, animal rights, I've been a vegetarian since I was thirteen years old.
            I took hours pre-planning my paper, making webs with three main ideas and writing tons and tons of rough drafts. I spent days on my computer researching all about animal rights and watching disturbing videos of animals being tortured and abused. With all of this information I began to build myself a very effective and convincing essay. I explained that animals deserved to me treated just like us, in a humane way. Chickens shouldn't have their beaks cut off and be forced to run around in pain for plain enjoyment. I revised my essay probably ten times before I thought it was good enough to turn it.
           A week after I turned my paper in it was passed back and I couldn't believe my eyes, I was overjoyed, I finally received the A I knew I deserved. Through building a convincing argument I showed my teacher I did all the research necessary and worked hard on my topic. I used pre-planning and revising techniques to perfect my paper. Im so glad I was assigned this essay because it made me look at writing in a whole different way.

The Stressful Process of College Essays

        There comes a day if every high school student's life when they have to conquer the stressful process of writing that essay that makes or breaks your chances of getting into college. My whole life I had always wanted to be a UCF Knight, so I knew that I would do anything in my power to be just that. I had always been told "write a great essay and your golden."
         I sat down on my comfy, queen-size bed with my little white Macbook on my lap, ready to write my life story in 500 words. The prompt had been to write about an obstacle in your life that hindered your learning experience, I knew exactly what to write about, my stepdads death. I already knew how I would go about writing the essay, just be myself and let my emotions fill the empty word document. But, my writing habits got in the way of me doing just that. I had thought the process would be so easy, but when I had though back at my past 12 years of english lessons I couldn't find myself getting past the first sentence of my paper, I kept thinking, what if this sentence doesn't hook the reader in? After more thought and more planning I finally just ignored all the rigid writing rules I was taught and let everything out. I swear I was typing a mile a minute.
          After I finally finished and submitted my essay I waited a few longs months and received my acceptance letter. I had never been so proud, my hard work paid off. I think my writing was so effective because I made it relatable and personal. I opened up and spoke as me, a voice that wasn't phony or too pretentious. I made it clear that I truly believed I belong at the University of Central Florida and that I have worked so hard my past four years of high school to prove that.

The Five Most Important Essays I've Written

1. The most important essay I've ever written was the one that got me into the best university I could ask for, University of Central Florida. The prompt for this paper was to write about a hardship you've faced that has made you become a stronger person. When I read this I knew exactly what to write about, the passing of my stepfather. I put my heart and soul into that essay, telling a the story through the eyes of a girl whose grown so much through such a tragic experience. It must have paid off because I now attend the only college I've ever wanted to go to.
2. Another very important essay that helped my writing life flourish was my first story ever posted in my high school yearbook. This essay was all about the different fashion trends throughout the school year. My editor revised it over and over again, making me feel defeated. My determination shined through though, and after a lot of hard work and effort it was finally good enough to be published for everyone to read.
3. My junior year of high school all english teachers were forced to assign a huge research paper that would count as 50% percent of our grade. Just hearing those words I knew this whole experience would be dreadful. Fortunately, we were allowed to pick our topics, so I chose something I cared a whole lot about, animal testing. I worked on that essay day after day, perfecting every little detail. I had my friends and family read it and revise it. In the long run all the hard work paid off because I received an A and couldn't have been more proud.
4. When I was little I would love to write stories about everything and anything. I would beg my mom to let me on her old-school computer just so I could type up a fairy-tale or mystery. It was that love of writing that led me to enter my elementary school's narrative essay contest. I remember spending weeks on a story all about aliens and monsters, I had a very vivid imagination. Surprisingly, I ended up coming in second place out of the whole grade. I was so happy that I ran home to begin another one.
5. I was never a big fan of my seventh grade science class, it could have been the fact that I was never so good at looking under a microscope or the fact that my teacher's lectures always put me asleep but when my teacher had assigned a lap report about an endangered species I could cry. It was the first big paper I was ever assigned and I was so scared it would jeopardize the B grade I was just barely achieving. I tried not to let the fear get to me and did weeks of research on the Florida Manatee. Once I started reading I actually started to become interested in the subject. I found it much easier to write about something I actually enjoyed. Although I only received a B on a paper I thought was A worthy,  I learned to try and be interested in the work I'm writing.

My Writing Timeline

August 24, 1992: I was born

July 1994: I began to scribble on paper, that my mom would hang up on the refrigerator.

June 1995: My parents taught me how to write my name.

August 1997: I began to learn more about letters.

August 1998: I started first grade and began to be able to write the alphabet. 

October 1999: Writing stories became a hobby of mine. 

January 2002: My first story was entered into a school contest and won second place out of the whole grade.

March 2004: I received my first 100% on a book report I had written.

August 2006: My first essay was assigned. I struggled a lot to get it done but it was worth all the hard work because I had received an A at the end.

November 2007: My teacher has assigned an essay on a book that I could not get through. I was bored and unmotivated so I had received my first D on a writing assignment.

December 2008: My junior year of high school we were all assigned a huge research paper. Fortunately, we were able to pick the topic so I picked one that interested me and did a lot of research. I was so happy when  I got my paper back and received an A.

August 2009: I had to start applying for colleges, which meant I had to began writing my college essays. They obviously paid off because I got into my first school of choice. GO KNIGHTS!

August 2010: I wrote my first college paper, it was a totally different format that I was used to but it was refreshing trying something new.

My Reading Timeline

•             August 24, 1992: I was born.
•     1997: I read my first book Angelina Ballerina. When I was little I was obsessed with ballet, so my mom help teach me how to read it.
•          August, 1997: Used my imagination to create my first book report poster on the Berenstein Bears in Kindergarden
•      2002: Started reading for fun around the age of ten.  I would go through one book a week, reading novels written by Judy Blume and J.K Rowling.
•      2006: I read Catcher in the Rye my freshman year of high school. This book had a positive impact on my love for reading. It taught me how to find the inner meaning of a novel and write about that.
•  =     2006: Brave New World, a book I read my freshman year of high school, was one of the few books I actually did not enjoy writing. The author’s style of writing immediately turned me off and made the reading miserable     
•      2007: The end of freshman year we read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This was another book that I did not enjoy reading at all. It bored me to death and was really hard for me to understand.
•      2007: Sophomore year I had an amazing teacher who finally helped me understand literary concepts and how to break down the novels I read.
•         2009: My best friend had let me borrow a book that she said changed her life, Nineteen Minutes. It soon became my favorite book. It’s a story about an everyday high school and the problems teenagers face daily.
• 2010: After reading Nineteen Minutes I decided to read more Jodi Picoult novels. She is now my favorite author. Since January I have read about eight of her novels including Change of Heart and My Sister's Keeper.
• 2010: I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. I read all the classics that became movies like The Notebook and Dear John. They keep me reading.
•     2010: I still very much enjoy reading. I read at least two novels a month.

All the "Writing Rules" I've Ever Learned

• Make every essay five paragraphs.
• No sentence fragments.
• Never use I.
• Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
• Don't use double negatives.
• Always hook the reader in during the introduction.
• Every introduction has to have a thesis statement.
• Establish your topic.
• Organize your ideas.
• Write a first draft.
• Proofread the final draft.
• Use an introduction, three main body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Use transitions.
• Write a bibliography.
• Use good sentence structure.
• Stay on topic.
• Avoid being redundant.
• Use complete sentences.
• Use appropriate punctuation. 

Most of these rules I learned from my high school english teachers.