Eleventh Entry: Final Project: TCU Brochure

My argument essay was about the new meal plan that TCU is going to institute next year. The benefits of the new meal plan heavily outweigh the cost of it, and I think that students are going to be happy with the change. Many students are against the new meal plan simply because they don’t know very much about it. My essay was also a way of informing students about the changes that are going to take place.
I have decided that the best way to explain the new meal plan would be to create a brochure that students could read and learn about the most important changes that are going to take place. A brochure is a good way for any one who is interested to lean about the meal plan, but especially TCU students. In a brochure I can talk about the pros and cons of the new meal plan and explain the biggest misconceptions that TCU students have. It will also give students the chance to take the brochure any where and show whoever they want. This will be a great way to inform students who want to know more.
Images: I have decided to use images of the new Union building that I found on line, and I plan on having individual eating together, (they are suppose to be at Market Square). Word art might also help express some of the topics that I am going to write about.
Color: I plan to use bright colors like red and yellow to catch the attention of the readers and to highlight important facts.
Font: Casual font will help my brochure because it will make the reader feel more at ease and hopefully it will draw the readers into the brochure.
A brochure is a great way to utilize the rhetorical process. My general audience for the new meal plan is TCU students. By placing brochures in the Main, all TCU students will have access to them. All most all TCU students go to the Main at least once a day, so anyone who wanted to know more about the meal plan could pick a brochure and read about it. I plan to have a few pictures to help explain my points, and a few bullet points naming important information. Overall, I am going to try to make the brochure have the most information I can, without having too many words/paragraphs that students need to read. Less is better, especially if I can get the information I want to communicate to students in a logical way.

Tenth Essay: Essay #4: Argument Essay Topic

For my argument essay, I choose to write about the new dining plan that will be instituted next year at TCU. As a current student, I was apprehensive when I found out that I was being forced to submit to a meal plan change without any input of my own. Many students on campus argued against the plan and even wrote petitions to the dean.

The meal plan is a topic that affects every TCU student. There are many differing opinions about whether the new meal plan is a good idea or whether everything more difficult for TCU students.

Many students are disagreeing about the new meal plan. Some students think that the all you can eat style is a great idea, especially if you have as many swipes on your card as you want. Other students are upset that they have to pay a significant amount more for the new plan, and they won’t even be able to take their food to go. The topic has seen a lot of discussion so it will be interesting to see how opinionated individuals are.

There are many different sources I can derive information from. First, the TCU Skiff has reported multiple articles on the new food plan. Interviews with students, teachers, and the staff would be very useful as well. Craig Allen, the director of Residential Services would also be a knowledgeable and reliable source. He is one of the people at TCU who wanted to institute the new dining plan, and he did a lot of research so that he could make the plan suitable for TCU.

There are many great questions and discussions that could be derived from this controversial topic, both from the students and the teachers. Why did TCU decide to change the meal plan? How did they get enough votes to do so? What are the differences between the new meal plan and the old one? How do students feel about the new plan? How do teachers feel about the new plan? What makes this issue so important? Many insightful questions can come from this topic.

Ninth Entry: #3 Ethographic Essay Topic

I have chosen to write my ethnography paper on the subculture of professional advertisers because I am an advertising/public relations major. I am interesting in studying and learning about the distinct traits and cultures that makes an advertising agency or agent so distinct.
Advertising is a select profession that has been increasing over that last couple of years. Advertising is also unique because most of the time, decisions are made by team members who have to work together and settle their differences. Agencies work as a team, rather than individuals so that they can keep their clients happy and become successful.
Many advertising agencies share common beliefs and behaviors. They are generally pretty good at knowing what a client wants. A lot of advertisers often may have their ethics challenged and most people who work in the industry know what is right and what is inappropriate. Certain behaviors are also present among many advertisers. They tend to follow the same formats, such as researching, organizing, and presenting information, and they also can become very competitive if they are working for a high profile client.
Most advertisers have their own language, or phrases to describe certain things. One common word that can compromise an agency’s integrity is “puffery.” Puffery is a small lie that makes an advertisement more entertaining than it might otherwise be. For example, the phrase, “whiter than white,” is a good use of puffery. Many other words that are significant to an advertiser’s vocabulary are Image, perception, and repetition.
Unlike other subcultures, advertisers don’t have an extremely specific style of clothing. They tend to wear business attire so that they can appeal to the professional industry. Advertisers do share interests over certain ads on TV, radio, in magazines, and in print.
Advertising is a very competitive and creative industry that contributes billions of dollars to the economy every year. The subculture is unique because it involves individuals who contribute their creativity and opinions to a group, in order to create an incredible finished product.

Eighth Entry: #2 Research Essay Glossing Activity

The general theme of my paper is how romantic comedies affect many women’s perception of a relationship. One central theme I could see was how I kept reefing to how women look at situations, and base the outcome on romantic comedies. Many women go into relationships believing certain fabrications from romantic comedies, such as drama is always present in a relationship, and no matter what happens prince charming will sweep you off your feet. Although sometimes these situations may occur, it is very rare and most women will probably never experience anything to that degree.

One idea in my paper that I was surprised by was the reasoning that it is someone’s job to formulate the romantic comedy premises. I made a good point in saying that there are multiple people who can come up with ideas and dialogue, probably using their imagination and not experience. I think I need to elaborate on this topic more and discuss how the situations many women see on the screen are paid to create elaborate plots that will engage the audience and want them to feel what the characters are feeling.

I feel like my paper does not go into enough detail on how some women are being affected. I think I need to put an example of someone, other than myself in my paper so that readers can see how much of an effect romantic comedies, such as “When Harry Met Sally”, have on society. I think more elaboration and specific situations will engage my readers more thoroughly and allow them to connect with my topic.

Seventh Entry: #2 Research Essay Sources

I found it pretty hard to find any information on my topic because it is very broad, and movie reviews are the only things that came up. I had to change my approach several times on each database. I usually started with “Romantic Comedies in Reality” and when nothing came up I used “romantic comedies perception of reality”, “Romantic comedies effects on women”, “the reality of romantic comedies”, and “how romantic comedies effect women’s emotions”. It was difficult to find anything because I don’t think the topic is generally considered academic, and most of the databases dealt with academic information. When information did show up, it was usually from newspapers and it was hard to distinguish whether it would be a reliable source versus an opinion column. When I tried to narrow my search with certain films such as “the Holiday”, or “When Harry Met Sally”, I found it hard to get anything but praise for the actors and their parts. The realization of my search was that I believe the technology that gave us movies impact the way we look at life in every way. I can’t find how movies have changed our perception or outlook on a certain aspect of our life, such as romance; because romantic movies and movies in general have become such a huge part of our society that it is hard to distinguish what reality is. Most of the databases provided by the library did help me find a few pieces that help support my topic. The search engines were less helpful, especially Google, which was surprising. Doing research for my topic has actually made me more interested in how a woman’s ideal romance has evolved through film and how technology has played a huge impact modern day culture.

Sixth Entry: #2 Research Essay Topic

My topic is how specific movies can alter someone's perception of reality; specifically romantic comedies that alter a woman’s understanding of relationships. Most women have preconceived notions of what the perfect relationship is suppose to be and most of them got their ideas from movies. Although movies can have some truths, they are rarely fact. Technology has influenced our society to believe that relationships should focus on the pleasant or romantic side of a relationship, and not the problems that are encountered. Film alters our perception of reality and glorifies romantic endeavors that are solemn and fundamental. By watching films that idolize romance, some women may be disappointed in their romantic adventures, and look for a relationship that is only exists in movies.
I can narrow down my topic and focus on a few movies that I think alter perception of romance. By giving specific examples, my paper will have more credibility.
Experts have addressed this topic somewhat in magazines, but movie critics have a more in-depth focus on perception and the way society deals with a movie’s message.
By exploring why romantic comedies alter a woman’s understanding of a relationship, women may be better able to evaluate what they are looking for in a relationship, and how to approach one.
I want to pursue this topic because film has the ability to influence every part of our life and sometimes this influence may not be as visible as we think. By examining the affects of film on a society, specifically women, will be able to examine their own lives and see how film has affected their romantic endeavors and the people they love.

Fifth Entry: Personal Essay Revisions

While I was looking over the peer review sheet, I realized that some of the examples and situations I encounter in my paper needed more explanation for the reader. During peer review, the people in my group pointed out some confusing points in my paper that any reader might have had trouble with. I had to remember that I was writing for an audience that doesn’t know how my family interacts and they have little to no background outside of what they read in my paper. I also got feedback that I needed to do more showing, or elaborate on certain events that could have a greater impact on my topic. The feedback was very helpful because after I read over the comments, I could see exactly where my audiences might get confused. I had to re-read my paper as if I didn’t know anything about Bar Harbor so I could avoid assumptions I might have made about my audience. By elaborating certain events in my story, the audience would be able to relate to me and the situations I encounter. I would also have the ability to draw my reader in and make the topic more interesting so that I can keep their attention. For example, I should expand on the topic of the lobster races. Most people probably don’t know what they are, and the more my reader knows, the more invested they may become in my paper. Most of the revisions I make will help clarify significant events that can support and develop the overall message of my story.