Well no news on the paper yet. I am starting to get anxious, i really want to see how i did. Right now I am just finishing up my draft for my portfolio from tomorrows peer review. I will let you know how it goes. I cannot believe it is the end of the semester already. Where did all the time go? I really enjoyed blogging my whole semester though, i know i talked about it last post too but i really do feel that it is great to read after a semester and see where there has been growth and how things change. I do not think i will keep up with this blog, but i have made my own Tumblr site (http://tarayray.tumblr.com) so you can catch me there if you want, I know that some of you already know that but for those of you who do not there you go. I hope that my peer review goes well tomorrow, i feel like this draft is not quite up to par, just for the fact that I do not have my final grade on my essay, and that is something I would like to touch on in my self evaluation essay. Hopefully I will have that back in time to add it before my final draft is due. Well I better get back to my draft I will let you know how it goes and update you on what grade I received on my essay if I get it back.

Wow, So I just read over my older posts and it it crazy to see where I started on this project and how it turned out. I started off want to do a paper on the connection between music and teen substance abuse, which I obviously didn't stick with. It is funny to see how the paper just grew from there. To be honest for a while I didn't think that keeping a journal about my project was worth doing, and I was just doing it because it was required and is counted as a project for the class. Now looking at it though it is really a great thing. Even though it has only been 13 weeks it still feels like looking at an old year book. To see how this project has grown and how I have grown over this project. I have done research and really gained knowledge on the topic of the media. My essay was on how magazines use manipulation on make women feel that they need to change themselves. At the end of the essay I state that a change need to be made and women need to be educated on this issue. I feel like doing this research has educated me on this topic and I now know what the media is doing and I feel that I am less susceptible to their tricks after doing this project. I think that anyone who reads my essay will be educated as well, and may too be less susceptible to the tricks of the media, and if I can get anyone to feel this way it will truly be a rewarding feeling. I have sent my paper to couple friends to get their feedback on it and while they are not experts in the field they thought that the essay was easy to read and understand. This was also a great feeling to have. Well I have to go get ready then turn in my final draft. What an exciting day!!! This post may have been a bit scatter brained , but that is just because I have so many things buzzing around in my head right now.

I'll write to you all later! Goodbye !

Well it is finally done. I have gone over it, made revisions and can only hope for the best at this point. I feel a large weight off my shoulders, but there is still the anticipation of the grade to wait for. I really feel like I have put all the effort I could into this paper and hope that the grade I get on it reflects that. Looking at my final paper and at the draft I can see many differences. The major one is that my draft that i turned in for review was not even an argumentative essay. I really messed up and after looking back cannot believe that I turned that draft in thinking it resembled an argumentative essay. That is all over and done with though, my final essay has an argument and a thesis (essential parts I was missing in my draft). I am overall very proud of my final draft and am very excited to turn it in. That will probably be the best part of my day tomorrow. Now that I have finished my essay, I can now go back and revise my project 1. I received a 78 (C+) on that assignment and am not pleased with that, so I intend to make revisions to it. After that all I will have left to do is the portfolio. Where did the semester go? I cannot believe the end is so near. Well I am off to watch a little television and then get some sleep so i will be well rested to turn in my essay tomorrow. haha ! Goodnight all !

Hello there

I am sitting here on the computer doing some more revisions. I really hope I am not totally off with these revisions, I mean I know I ma much closer to what the project is actually suppose to be than I did on my draft but i am still a bit nervous. As everyone can tell by now though and for those of you who actually know me, being nervous about writing is a usual thing for me. I just have a hard time understanding how I can sit here and in five minutes write over 100 words, but when it comes to this paper I am completely stumped. Well okay when i typed that out and read it I suppose it makes sense, but frustrating none the less. I just need to get this done and have pride in it too. I feel like I am too hard on myself when it comes to writing and that is why I am having so much trouble. Today in class we got our assignment for our final portfolio and on it, it said don't put yourself down in our self evaluation, I think that is going to be the hardest part of the assignment for me. It's not that I don't have pride in my work, i really do I just lack some confidence. I really feel like my high school teachers did not prepare me enough for college level writing. I'm not making excuses that is just how I honestly feel, but i suppose if they had tried and pushed harder I probably would have complained, but hey at least I could have thanked them for pushing me. I do not really have much to thank them for now though. I do not mean to sounds so bitter and cynical i promise, it just comes off that way over the internet but it is not my intent.

Well I have been distracted from my revisions for far to long so I must get back to them.

Goodbye for now !

Good morning!

Here to update everyone on my paper progress. On Wednesday I met with Dr. Lorde and I truly think I am on track now. I have once again changed my thesis to : Fashion Magazines manipulate women into feeling inadequate about themselves so they will buy their magazines to better themselves. I think this is going to be my final thesis and my paper is on it's way to being done. I now have a thesis and actually an argument this time around, so this paper should be much better than my draft. I still think i may go in on Monday and have Dr. Lorde look over my paper to make sure that I am indeed on the right track. The end is in sight ! I will be so relived when this project is finally over. Of course it won't be over for me till I have a graded paper in my hand. I have put so much time and effort into this paper. I have had some slip ups and have gone in some wrong directions, but I feel that i have gotten it all together now and really hope that my grade reflects my effort.

Goodbye for now !

Good Morning all!

After revisiting the stasis theory I think that my essay is an argument of fact. I was able to answer all of the questions included in the area of fact leading me to my conclusion that it is indeed an argument of fact. This morning I am once again attempting do to revisions on my final essay. I want to at least have something to show Dr. Lorde. I do not want her to think I have just been sitting around not looking at my essay, because I have. My issue still is that I don't know what my argument is and if I am creating new knowledge. I think I have created my new thesis. It is: Fashion magazines have damaging effects on womens psyche by telling them how to look and live their lives. I think that this is a thesis that some people could agree with and others could disagree with. I could be still going about this wrong, but that is exactly why I am going to see Dr. Lorde today to hopefully get right on track and finally get this paper over and done with. If you can't tell already I am pretty frustrated with this project at the moment, or maybe I'm just frustrated with myself and the fact that I can't seem to make any strides in revision. I'll let you know how my meeting goes.

Bye for now!

One of the prompts this week asks us to explain what additional research we need to do for our revision. For my essay I do not think I need to do any additional research. My essay was mainly research, which is something I needed to cut back on and but more of my argument and own words into my essay. I am still having a great deal of trouble with my revisions on my essay. I plan to go in tomorrow during Dr. Lorde's office hours and have another talk with her about my paper. I don't want to go in, in tears but it is down to the wire and I need to get my butt moving on this final revision. I am just short of freaking out and I hope to get things worked out tomorrow. I just have to push myself through this stress I am feeling and get through this project so that I can go back to project 1 and get that out of the way too.

Well I'm off to bed,

Goodnight.

Hello again,

I have again tried to do revisions to my paper, but am having a very difficult time doing so. I began by writing an outline of my draft as Dr. Lorde suggested. I found that I need to make some big changes. My next step was taking a draft and cutting out each paragraph to have all my reasearch out in front of me so when I begin to do my revision I could write about the magazine covers and just stick the research I have done into the areas where it will fit. I am having a bit of trouble with the revision. I am not sure if it is my approach or if it is my nerves getting to me. It is getting down to the wire so I NEED to get this revision done with, at least so I can meet with Dr. Lorde to see if I am on the right track this time. I sure hope this works out, I'll let you know how it goes.

Good Morning !

So after reading my past post I realized I mentioned the magazine covers without giving much detail about them. I have three cover in total and they are Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Allure. They are going to be the focus of my final draft. I will analyze them on their pictures and on the headlines they have on them.

I chose multiple fashion magazines to prove that though they are different magazines, they all have something in common. One of those things being the ability to play on womens insecurities and provoke them to want to change their life style or buy a product. It is this idea that brought me to my thesis.

Well I have to get to class so sorry for the short post I will update you later on my revisions tonight.

Well I had my conference the other day, and it was interesting to say the least. I mean it wasn't terrible, but of course not what I was expecting. As in my previous posts I mentioned how I was having a very difficult time writing my 'final' draft for review and it showed i suppose. My introduction was not up to par, I did not state my thesis as I should have, and I had other errors within my introduction as well. Overall the paper needs MAJOR revisions as well. Dr. Lorde said that I should focus more on the magazine covers. My plan is to write more on the magazine covers and as I am analyzing them take paragraphs from my draft and place them where and if they fit in to my analysis. I am very nervous to begin the revisions process because I am terrified that it will turn out worse than my draft. As usual I will update you all on how my revisions are coming. Also I got my bibliography back and got an 85% on it which I am very pleased with.

Bye for now !

As everyone knows today is Wednesday, meaning today is my conference. I am very nervous and excited about this at the same time. I hope some of my essay can be salvaged for my final revision. Some of the questions I am going to ask Dr. Lorde include:

-What can I change about my thesis to have it better connect to my paper?

-What ares can I expand on/ shorten?

-Can I end my introduction with a quote like I did?

Oh man I have so many questions I hope she doesn't become annoyed with me. I signed up for the last conference of the day so I would not be taking up other peoples conference time, but I also have a chemistry exam today so i hope I am not late to that or that I have to cut my conference short. The goal I have today for my conference is to leave it feeling very confident about my essay and the direction it is going in so I can work on finishing it up this weekend. I will let you all know how my conference goes later, but now I must go continue to study for chemistry.

Hey just stoppin' by to leave a quick post !

I had my mother read over my essay today, and she thought it sounded alright. She suggested that I review my organization and possibly better explain in some areas. I know it is hard to read this not be able to see my essay, so you have no idea really what I'm talking about. I see an area to ass video and pictures, but I have no idea how to attach my paper, It must be very simple I'm sure, but unfortunately I lack heavily in computer skills. I am sure I can get someone to help me, and if you are reading this and you'd like to help me out by all means send something my way. I think I will do further review of my paper tomorrow, but again as I said in my last post I do not plan on making many changes till I have had my conference with Dr. Lorde, that is when the major revisions will happen.

Well that's it for now.

toodles.

I'm Back ! It's been a while I know but because of Easter weekend it's been busy.

Alright well It's done, not my final but the draft anyway. It may not seem like a huge stride, but as you guys can see from my last posts I was having a pretty tough time with it. I feel like I have to do some major revisions which I might work on tomorrow because I don't have class due to conferences, but I also just want to meet with Dr. Lorde see what she has to say so I can go from there. So maybe I'll just do some minor changes for now. I am going to be so excited for this final to be turned in and done with it, but I am also sooo nervous ! I feel like I have put in the work, but is it up to par? I sure hope it is. I will try to keep you guy updated on changes that go on. I think i might post my final up here for all of you to see if you are interested (My guess is no one will be, but hey why not right?)

Alright well I'll probably be back soon.

bye for now