Outline

1. The subject I am reviwing is Entertainment Weekly. The source of my information is my own personal experience.

2. My thesis statement will state how Entertainment Weekly, for enjoyment purposes, is a well rounded magazine.

3. The criteria are:

Organization: this magazine has a well developed Table of Content, it is very similar in structure every week, and has clearly labeled page numbers.

Content: TV, movie, music and book reviews every week. Plus it has additional articles and week to week editiorials.

Advertisments: While it is no fun to have any ads at all, realistically all magaiznes need them. And EW at least has ads that appeal to their audience. Usually they are car ads or graphic art for known proucts, like Gain (now with Febreeze).

Relevance: The movies, TV shows, music and books are all brand new releases. The articles they focus on are for new rising stars or stars in new movies. They have Stephen King writing an editorial, and spoliers for popular shows every week.

4. Counter arguements: this magazine is a fluff piece, there is no hard hitting articles about wars or the economy. But in times like we have, it is nice to read through a well designed magazine purely for enjoyment. While they do only offer one opinion on movies, they show other reviewers opinions in a graph showing other scores a movie recieved. The magazine does focus on more popular TV shows, but that is because thats what people are watching. They may majorly review the movies people are lining up to see, but they do offer reviews for indie films as well.

Template B

The four relevant criteria to base a good magazine of this kind is organization, content, advertisements, and relevance.

The organization of a magazine is important to enjoyment. It must have a good table of content with clearly marked page numbers. It drives me insane to read a magazine where there are multiple pages right next to each other with no page numbers. I hate having to count to find the page I want. The organization from article to article must also be set up so there is a comfortable flow to how the magazine is read.

The content is also important. For EW, the content is superficial and fun. But every week they must come up with more than just reviews. While the reviews are important, the articles about specific TV shows or movie stars are emmensly interesting to read. It is a great treat when you expect to get one thing from a magazine and get a lot extra. Different opinions, that are well written, are necesary for the magazine of this type to be good.

The advertisements have to relate to the audience. intrusive, multiple page ads are just annoying. In a magazine like EW, editorial type ads wouldn't fit. A magazine like EW should be more about content than selling you stuff.

And finally, the magazine must be relevant. It must know more about the culture than the reader. It isn't interesting to read what you already know, but it also can't only tell you what you don't. There has to be a mix between well known information everyone knows, and off beat info that is intriguing to learn from this magazine.

Readers

The specific audience for my review is the readers of Entertainment Weekly (EW). These readers are looking for a magazine that gives different viewpoints about TV shows, movies, books, and even video games. They are interested in hearing about the entertainment world, from a realatively non-gossip view. One thing that is almost entirely absent from Entertainment Weekly is celebrity gossip, which is not a value held by readers of EW. The readers are more interested in plot lones and the acting abilities of actors, than who is dating who. While the last page does feature a "bullseye," where the writers humorously place culturally significant events from the week around a bullseye, this is not for gossip but more for a quick overview of what happened recently in the entertainment industry. The magazine is focused more on superficial topics than political ones, so a political viewpoint one way or the other doesn't much matter while reading EW. The political views don't effect the enjoyment level. They value a well written opinion above all else.

The friends of a reader of EW is probably interested in the same things. I know my best friends read EW and we discuss it every week. It would hurt a reader of EW to have no idea what happened in our culture in the week. Some allusions made in articles wouldn't make sense to someone who doesn't know what happened. So to keep up with EW, readers have to keep up with American culture.

They consider learning more about TV shows, movies and music to be the best benefits. There are pages of movie reviews, a whole section dedicated to music and tons of TV show reviews. Every week there is even reviews for books. There is a weekly section dedicated to spoliers of popular TV shows. My favorite page is the one where they tell you where you can purchase something worn in a TV show or music video. The movie reviews are in depth with out giving away too much. They base their reviews on an A+ to F- scale, giving the reader a better read than a four star system. They even include an overview of the grades given by mulitple reviewers so you can see an average score given to new movies. With so many different opinions given, a reader is better able to know what to expect when they pay ten dollars to go see a movie. This magazine is more of a fluff magazine. They are no life changing articles, so reading EW doesn't change who you are. The most it can effect is your decisions on what TV show to tune into or what movie to pay to go see.

To Entertain or Not?

I plan on writing my review on the magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Thesis Paragraph: Commentary

In our world today, we can connect with other people in far off countries in mere seconds, and all it takes is a click of a button. A text or an email can get sent and be received in the blink of an eye. And now that it is easier to stay connected, people are using that to their advantage. Online social networking is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Sites like match.com and eharmony claim to have connected millions of happy couples. College students, like the students at UCF, are continually using the website Facebook. And while it has many positive attributes, it appears to have negative effects as well. Here at UCF, Facebbok is used as a way to meet friends, to keep friends, and to bring groups together. In theory, Facebook is a great tool, but have we begun to overuse it in ways that are unhealthy for our social lives?

Outline

1. Opening paragraph:
A. Introduction
B. Thesis
So what? In this opening paragraph, I am going to introduce the reader to the issue of Facebook use on college campus. Is it a friend or foe to everyday relationships? It does have it's positives, but it also has its drawbacks. I will put a thesis in my opening thoughts addressing the question as to whether or not our use now of Facebook is a problem.

2. Amount of use Facebook gets by people my age.
A. Who do students talk to on Facebook?
B. How much is said through Facebook that should be done in person?
C. How long are students online, and how often?
So what? I am going to (hopefully) find statistics on use of Facebook. It is important to see how often students use Facebook. One negative of Facebook is the fact that people interact so much on the internet with their close friends, and sometimes more so. I need to address the issue of whether or not this has an effect on the relationships.

3. Effect Facebook has on everyday relationships.
A. How is Facebook being used?
a. Are people using it as a social networking site?
b. Or is it being misused?
B. It does have positives
a. It helps people connect with out of state or far off friends.
So what? I will pull in examples of how people use Facebook (i.e. Wedding announcements, or angry post) as well as staying connected. While it is a great place to find people, should it be used fior such important conversations as well?

4. UCF Students use
A. Clubs?
B. Advertising?
So what? Here I will find examples of clubs that are groups on Facebook. And i will discuss advertising and being a "fan" of a company on Facebook.

5. Facebook as an marketing tool
A. Opinions?
B. Specialized Ad campaigns to each individual user.
So what? Facebook has Ads all down ther sides of our walls. I am going to do research and see if any major corporations have ever discussed using Facebook specifically as a marketing tool. Does this trend bother users? Or do most people ignore the Ads either way.

6. Conclusion
So what? Here I will conclude my thoughts. While I like Facebook in theory, I feel that it is being misused.

Letter to Nicole

So how often do you get on Facebook? It is really common to be on Facebook on campus here. I see so many students messing around on Facebook in class or at the computer labs. I wonder if it is the same everywhere. My guess is that it is.

Students our age really like Facebook. I know you have an account; even I am in contact with you through Facebook. But doesn't it seem like our society is kind of overdoing it? So many companies want you to join them on Facebook. The radio station I listen to offers contests where they give away concert tickets to their "fans" on Facebook. What does that even mean, to be a fan on Facebook? I know how you become one, but what does it achieve? Do more people buy products if there are more fans of it on Facebook? That would make Facebook more than just a social networking site. That would also make it a marketing tool.

It also amazes me how detailed the advertisements are per each account user. My friend, Sadie, just got engaged. She posted a comment on her wall about how all the advertisements on her page are now for wedding diets, wedding dresses, or otherwise wedding related! It is really crazy how the world can now create advertisements around each individual person.

Speaking of Sadie, she announced her wedding date through Facebook. Her wedding date! And sadly enough, it seems a natural place to post an important date like that now. While she probably will still send out official save-the-dates, it is a good place to start letting everyone know. But we now use this site for more than just connecting with people we have lost touch with, one of the number one reasons people claim they use Facebook.

I know hear stories about people who were dumped through Facebook. A fellow student, Jessica, posted the other day “Jessica… is sad how her boyfriend doesn’t put her first anymore. She wanted to go to his house just to say hey, but he wouldn’t let her because he had friends over.” I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem like anyone else’s business but Jessica and her boyfriend’s. How can that help, telling the world you are unhappy with someone close to you? It goes well beyond discussing your problems with one or two friends, just to get a trusted opinion on the matter. I get it; sometimes you need to talk your thoughts over with a third party. But to openly tell the world: I’m pissed off at so-and-so, and here’s why. That seems like a recipe for disaster to me.

I don’t know. I see the great positives to Facebook. I know I’m in contact with people I wouldn’t be if not for Facebook. And I do appreciate it for that aspect. Clubs for UCF are started and kept up through Facebook. People can stay in contact easily without having to arrange rendezvous times around students messy schedules .But I still think we over use it here. I don’t think it should be used to stay in contact with those we see everyday, that we live with, that we are close to. I don’t think it breeds for healthy relationships. And I think there is too much temptation to tell the world what you think, when sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.

10 Questions

1. Who do you primarily interact with on facebook?
A: Friends on campus and from home, and family.

2. How much information about yourself do you feel safe posting on facebook?
A: Only things about himself like hobbies. Not political views or religious ones. He posts candid photos, not home address or even where he lives.

3. How often do you get online and for how long?
A: A couple times a week. And for 30 minutes to and hour and a half.

4. How much of the interaction that you do online could be done face to face, or even over the telephone?
A: He doesn't initiate chatting on facebook, or check who is online. Prefers to talk on the phone. Keeps in touch with aquantinces on facebook, more than real friends.

5. Has any relationship been ruined because of facebook? Or any really been helped?
A: no, no.

6. How does he know what he knows?
A: Because he has a facebokk account.

7. Who is he to the subject?
A: Someone who owns a facebook page. A passive user.

8. How is this event connected to another event?
A: Lots of these go on through facebook. Connects you to the world.

9. What if things were different?
A: Probably wouldn't keep in touch with as many people.

10. Why is this important?
A: Facebook is the leading networking site.

Facebook: Friend or Foe?

I am a little biased towards facebook. I have never really understood the pull of the trend. I would rather talk face to face with someone then constantly through a computer. But on the other hand, I do understand its great appeal towards keeping in touch with people who live far away. Clubs are started for school through facebook; fellow students become friends by interacting in this virtual way. There is a great deal of appeal for students. This feels like a safer environment to address someone you barely know. If you want to befriend the kid that sits next to you in Spanish, it is easier to request it through facebook than it is in class. If they deny your request in this passive environment, the rejection is less painful than it would have been face to face. Most of the time a request is accepted because a friend on facebook isn’t necessarily a friend in real life. But it is a start, a way into to someone else’s life.

This social networking trend started with myspace. I will admit I used myspace addictively for a few months. But then I lost interest. Most of the people in my generation have moved on to facebook and get on it many times a week. I am different in this respect. But I also don't really understand facebook, all of the groups and page requests. However, I suppose I don’t interact with others as much as I could. I find it weird to page through someone else’s pictures, even though they were posted with the intent for everyone to look at. It feels too personal to me to peek into these people’s lives, people I haven’t really spoken to in years, and flip through their friends and activities.

Brainstorming!

1. The rise in tuition costs. This year, tuition went up. And we pay the lump sum without realizing the different fees in the tuition. 12 dollars of the 150 dollars per credit hour goes to sports. I have never even been to a game, yet I paid $168 this semester alone in sports fees. Should we be paying for other students extracurriculars? Or should only those participating in each part of college life pay for them?

2. The effect facebook (or other social networking sites) has on relationships. We, as college students especially, interact with one another a lot on facebook. While it is good for staying connected with out-of-state friends of friends back home, it is also exessively used for staying in touch with people you see on a daily basis. We learn of life changing instances, not through face-to-face communiacation, but through wall-to-wall. UCF students use facebook as a way to start clubs, or form study groups. Many people post way to much on their pages as well. Instead of talking trough arguements, angry comments get posted. Are these social networking sites a great new way to stay connected, or unhealthy for our relationships?

3. PARKING! I hate the parking situation. It has gotten to be so bad, I now get stressed leaving my house because I'm worried I won't find a spot. WHY did they get RID of parking to build ANOTHER building?!?!?

The Problem With Ants...

When I was little, my sister and I would play games in our backyard. We’d experiment with the basic principles of physics, completely unaware of what we were doing. We would take a bucket of dirt, swing it over our heads, and not a speck of dirt would fall out. Our childhood brains could not comprehend any explanation, other than magic, that kept that dirt in the open bucket—upside-down. I knew, however, that I wanted more of an explanation than mere fantasy. At this age, my mind was closed to exploring more than one solution to a problem, and it took one horrifying experience with ants to change that.

I spent my elementary school years living in Monument, Colorado. We lived on an acre of land up the side of a hill. Our driveway up to our house was a quarter of a mile long. In the summers, my sister and I would play outside in the dirt. We would fill buckets with water from the hose and then add dirt and weeds until we created our own special “soup.” We’d map out spaces between the trees where our houses were, and we’d play neighbors. The yard around our house was natural. It wasn’t a perfectly cut lawn, or neatly manicured shrubbery, which made it an optimal playground for little kids. Anything could happen in that forest. One day we’d be mothers, the next explorers. On the weekends, we’d hear our dad working outside, cutting down dead trees or planting new ones.

One memorable morning, my sister and I were playing with our buckets. The bucket I was using was from the past Halloween. As I played, a smiling orange face would whiz over my head and laugh with me. Every swing, every successful attempt, filled me with an odd sense of accomplishment. We’d test our experiment out on different soils, we’d add grass and weeds, and (if we were feeling really daring) we’d even add water.

I found a cluster of small rocks up against the house, left over from one of my dad’s yard projects. I grabbed a handful and listened to the satisfying plunk, plunk, plunk as each pebble slipped through my fingers and hit the bottom of my bucket. “Erin, do you think these pebbles would stay in?” I asked my sister. I looked at Erin and she shrugged her shoulders. But before I could hold her attention, I had already lost it. As I was collecting the pebbles, she had noticed something up the hill behind me. My eyes followed her as she ran up the hill to what had diverted her interest. She stopped suddenly and called out, “Over here, Lindsey! What about this dirt? It’s practically sand. Do you think it will still stay in?”

I went up the hill to meet her, my bucket swinging loudly beside me. And she was right, a new type of soil to test! Would these heavier grains of sand stay in as well? Or would the magic not work for this shinier, more slippery dirt? I stood and pondered the ground before me, the bucket of pebbles forgotten at my side. My sister stooped over and scooped the sand into her Little Mermaid bucket. I held very still and I watched as my sister stood up straight, secured her grip on the handle, and gracefully swung the bucket in a perfect arc over her head. Not a grain of sand fell out. Another successful attempt! I was about to leap for joy, when I felt something crawling up my leg.

I looked down, and was frozen in horror. As I had stood still with anticipation and watched my sister, I’d been standing on an ant hill. These ants, angry at the intrusion, began crawling up my legs. I couldn’t even see my shoes, the swarm of ants covered them completely. But what was I to do? Thinking quickly, I realized I needed someone else to brush the ants off.

Regaining my sense of self, I helplessly looked to my sister. “Erin! I’m covered in ants! Please! Get them off, get them off, get them OFF!” I pleaded, and screamed.

My sister—my loving, beautiful, caring sister—was forever an indoor girl. It took hours of pleading some days just to get her out of the house with me. And here, in my moment of need, she clearly gave me a look the said “you want me to do what?!?”

Now all I felt was panic. The ants continued to crawl up and down my legs, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I certainly was not going to touch them. That meant I still needed someone else’s help. But who? My sister had already refused. Through my panic I remembered: my dad. He was outside planting trees today, he could help!

I took off running up the hill, in absolute terror. My dad heard me coming and turned around to see a very small, hysterical girl tearing through the woods to meet him. I had difficulty explaining to him what the situation was. Initially, I wasn’t even able to finish a whole sentence through my hysteria. But I finally calmed enough to exclaim, “Daddy, my legs are covered in ants. Please! Get them off of me! Erin wouldn’t help! Please!” Now understanding the problem, my father bent down to brush the insects of my legs.

But there were no ants left.

Ironically, the act of me running up the hill to my father knocked all the pesky ants off my legs. I had helped myself, completely unaware of it. In that moment, looking into the laughing eyes of my father, I realized that there was more than one way to solve a problem. My seven year old mind was opened to a completely different way of approaching a problem. In this situation, I saw ants on my legs, and my only solution was to have a third party brush them off. I didn’t see the other solution that had ended up working. With every conundrum I now face, I see a web of solutions beyond what is intrinsically obvious. Without the help of that ant community, and even my sister, I may have never learned to always keep an open, unbiased mind when faced with a problem. And, of course, I always avoid ant hills.

The Problem With Ants... (Draft)

I remember being a kid and not understanding the science of our world. It was impossible for my young brain to understand the explanations behind everyday occurrences. Something as simple as a light turning on by the flip of a switch baffled and fascinated me. When you are an infant, you are oblivious to such a cause and effect. As you grow up some, you are more interested in the cause than the effect. And then you hit a certain age, and you find yourself curious about the process of the cause. For instance, my sister and I would play in our backyard with the basic principles of physics, and not even know it. We used to take a bucket of dirt, swing it over our heads, and not a speck would fall out. I couldn’t comprehend an explanation, other than magic, that kept that dirt in the open bucket—upside-down. But I knew I wanted more of an explanation than fantasy.

I spent my elementary school years living in Monument, Colorado. We lived on an acre of land up the side of a hill. Our driveway up to our house was a quarter of a mile long. In the summers, my sister and I would play outside in the dirt. We would fill buckets with water from the hose and then add dirt and weeds until we created our own special “soup.” We’d map out spaces between the trees where our houses were, and we’d play neighbors. The yard around our house was natural. It wasn’t a perfectly cut lawn, or neatly manicured shrubbery, which made it an optimal playground for little kids. Anything could happen in that forest. One day we’d be mothers, the next explorers. On the weekends, we’d hear my dad up and behind our house planting trees.

One memorable morning when I was seven, my sister and I were playing with our buckets. The bucket I was using was from the past Halloween. A smiling orange face would whiz over my head, and laugh with me. Every swing, every successful attempt, filled me with an odd sense of accomplishment. We’d test our experiment out on different soils, we’d add grass and weeds, and (if we were feeling really daring) we’d even add water.

Running up the hill from me, I heard my sister call out, “Over here, Lindsey! This dirt is practically sand. Do you think it will still stay in?”

I went up the hill to meet her. And she was right, a new type of soil to test! Would these heavier grains of sand stay in as well? Or would the magic not work for this shiner, slippery dirt? I sat and pondered the ground before me, as my sister began scooping some into her little mermaid bucket. Holding very still, I watched as my sister stood up straight, secured her grip on the handle, and gracefully swung the bucket in a perfect arc over her head. And not a grain of sand fell out. Another successful attempt! I was about to leap for joy, when I felt something crawling up my leg.

I looked down, and was frozen in horror. As I had stood still with anticipation and watched my sister, I had been standing on an ant hill. The ants, angry at the intrusion, began crawling up my legs. My legs looked black from all the ants crawling on them.

Regaining my sense of self, I helplessly looked to my sister. “Erin! I’m covered in ants! Get them off, get them off, get them OFF!” I pleaded, and screamed.

My sister—my loving, beautiful, caring sister—was forever an indoor girl. It took hours of pleading some days just to get her out of the house with me. And here, in my moment of need, she clearly gave me a look the said “you want me to do what?!?”

Now all I felt was panic. The ants were crawling up and down my legs, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I certainly was not going to touch them. So I needed someone else’s help. And then I remembered: my dad.

I took off running up the hill, in absolute terror. He heard me coming and turned around to see a very small, hysterical girl tearing through the woods to meet him. I had difficulty explaining to him what the situation was. Initially, I wasn’t able to talk to him because of how hard I was crying. But I finally exclaimed, “Daddy, my legs are covered in ants. Please! Get them off of me!” Now understanding the problem, my father bent down to brush the insects of my legs.

But there were no ants left.

Ironically, the act of me running up the hill to my father knocked all the pesky ants off my legs. I had helped myself, complete unaware of what I was achieving. In that moment, I realized that there was more than one way to solve a problem. My mind was opened to a completely different way of thinking. In this situation, I saw ants on my legs, and my only solution was to have a third party brush them off. I didn’t see the other solution that had ended up working.

It took a few years, and a lot of classrooms, before I learned what kept the sand in those buckets time and time again: centripetal force. The force keeping the dirt in those buckets was not magic, the only solution I could see at the time, but a natural scientific occurrence.

My seven year old brain was suddenly enlightened to a new analytical way of thinking. My eyes were opened to millions of possibilities beyond what was everyday apparent. Every conundrum I now face, I see a web of solutions beyond what is intrinsically obvious. Without the help of that ant community, and even my sister, I may have never learned to always keep an open, unbiased mind when faced with a problem. And, of course, I learned never to stand on ant hills.

Memo to Ms. Moody

To: Ms. Moody
From: Lindsey Pratt
Date: Wednesday September 16th, 2009
RE: Memo Assignment

The feedback I was given was very helpful. I am going to listen to what advice I was given, mainly in connecting the story completely. So far I have yet to make a real point, and to connect the ideas I have presented cohesively. I need to include dialogue as well. I need to look through my first paragraphs and be sure I have enough variance between sentence structures. I do not believe I have yet to perfect the flow of my writing yet either. My peer reader believed my theme seemed to be heading to a story of my love of science, which isn’t my point at all. I will have to work to make my real theme apparent.

My biggest challenge for finishing my memoir is smoothing out my vision into one understandable story. I can visualize in my head how I want the story to read, but it will be a challenge making all my ideas come across clearly in my paper. My story is going to continue on to tell of one morning where, playing in the dirt, I was covered in ants. I ran to my dad for help, but knocked all the ants off in the process. The insightful significance (my true point) of this memory is that this was the first time I realized that every solution is not black and white. There are solutions in the grey areas too.

Opening Scene of my Memory

I remember being a kid and not understanding the science of our world. It was impossible for my young brain to understand the explanations behind everyday occurrences. Something as simple as a light turning on by the flip of a switch baffled and fascinated me. When you are an infant, you are oblivious to such a cause and effect. As you grow up some, you are more interested in the cause than the effect. And then you hit a certain age, and you find yourself curious about the process of the cause. For instance, my sister and I would play in our backyard with the basic principles of physics, and not even know it. We used to take a bucket of dirt, swing it over our heads, and not a speck would fall out. I couldn’t comprehend an explanation, other than magic, that kept that dirt in the open bucket—upside-down. But I knew I wanted more of an explanation than fantasy.

I spent my elementary school years living in Monument, Colorado. We lived on an acre of land up the side of a hill. Our driveway up to our house was a quarter of a mile long. In the summers, my sister and I would play outside in the dirt. We would fill buckets with water from the hose and then add dirt and weeds until we created our own special “soup.” We’d map out spaces between the trees where our houses were, and we’d play neighbors. The yard around our house was natural. It wasn’t a perfectly cut lawn, or neatly manicured shrubbery, which made it an optimal playground for little kids. Anything could happen in that forest. One day we’d be mothers, the next explorers. On the weekends, we’d hear my dad up and behind our house planting trees.

Three Events

Event One (what it is about): I was a competitive dancer when I was younger. Once I realized I had forgotten to put on my gloves for my costume before heading backstage. I realized this 30 seconds before our group number was about to start. I missed the first half of my dance routine running to get my gloves.

So what? This experience taught me that a mistake, no matter how huge it feels in the moment, isn’t a big a deal in the long run.

Event Two (what it is about): I grew up in Colorado. There was this huge hill in my neighborhood that was turned into a park. It’s called Toboggan Hill. When I was a kid, we would sled (or snow tube!) down this hill in the winter. Older kids used to build small jumps out of snow so they could practice snowboard tricks. We would snow tube over these jumps once the bigger kids had vacated them. The first time I got the courage to go over one my tube flipped mid-air and threw me down the hill.

So what? I learned you don’t always succeed at what you try.

Event Three (what it is about): In the summer, my siblings and I would play out in our yard. We had an acre of land on a wooded hill. I remember vividly playing in the dirt with my sister, when I noticed ants crawling up and down my legs. I remember hundreds of ants—though realistically it was probably closer to twenty. My sister refused to help me so I frantically ran up the hill to my dad, who was planting trees. By the time I reached my father—absolutely hysterical—I realized I had already knocked all the ants off myself just by running.

So what? I learned that they are other solutions to how one can achieve a goal—and that I don’t always need others help to achieve it. Not to mention I learned how to get ants off my legs. That’s an important life lesson right there.