Problem with PayPal

The Problem With PayPal

Many of the payment service's users are dissatisfied, but alternatives are few.

ASK KRIS SLEVENS what he thinks of PayPal, and you won't hear too many friendly words. Slevens, who used PayPal to accept payments for his Web hosting firm, HostMerit, in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, was one of thousands of merchants caught when the online payment company's site was sporadically unavailable for nearly a week last October.

PayPal officials blamed the problem on a faulty software upgrade; it locked some customers out of their accounts and scotched a number of transactions (go to find.pcworld.com/45774 for details).

As if losing potential clients and revenue weren't enough, PayPal's system failure also caused Slevens to lose out on a used car he had planned to purchase that week. For four days, he was unable to access his PayPal debit/ATM account, despite dozens of calls to customer support. By the time he did access his funds, the seller's deadline had passed.
ONCE BURNED

THE EXPERIENCE PROMPTED Slevens to sign on with several alternative payment services to avoid being burned again. "I've used PayPal as my main payment processor since I started my business, and it's often had random glitches here and there," he says, "But this shows that it's not a bank. With all the money that runs through its servers, it needs a disaster recovery plan, system backups, and better communication with customers. Basically, [PayPal] needs to reassure me of why I should let my business depend on it."

It's a reasonable request, especially for users like Slevens whose livelihood depends on the system's integrity. But even casual PayPal users might understandably be feeling a little wary these days. Last fall's system outage happened on the heels of a class-action lawsuit settlement in which PayPal--while denying any wrongdoing--agreed to pay more than $9 million to customers who felt that the company had unfairly and improperly restricted their accounts. (PayPal, which attributed the account restrictions to fraud prevention measures, reports that it has changed its procedures.)
SHOW ME THE MONEY

PAYPAL SPOKESPERSON Amanda Pires admits that the site had "intermittent issues" in October. "We know that these issues caused an inconvenience to our customers, and for that we apologize,"

Problems notwithstanding, PayPal sets the standard when it comes to person-to-person online payments. The company, which was acquired by EBay in 2002, boasts over 56 million accounts and processes more than 27 million transactions a month. About 70 percent of PayPal's total payment volume comes from auctions, most of them on EBay.One of its few major competitors. Yahoo's PayDirect, shut down its servers last November due to a lack of users.

And frankly, if you're just trying to send a quick 50 bucks to some stranger in St. Louis who's selling vintage baseball cards, PayPal fits the bill perfectly: It's a fast, easy way to send cash to someone you don't know without compromising your personal information.

Basically, it works like this: The buyer goes to the PayPal site (or to a site with PayPal integration, such as EBay) and enters the seller's e-mail address and the amount to pay. The seller receives the email message, goes to PayPal, and collects the payment in his or her PayPal account.

PayPal solves a simple but important problem in online commerce, by allowing people to exchange money electronically rather than having to rely on writing checks, according to Penny Gillespie, a senior analyst at Forrester Research.

While PayPal may sometimes act like a bank, it isn't. The company itself is "subject to very strict consumer policies and regulations, but it's licensed as a money transmitter, not a bank," Pires says.

Though money transmittal services such as PayPal are regulated in many states, they're considered "nonbank financial institutions" and aren't FDIC insured, which means that their customers aren't covered by federal banking protections. That's important for consumers to understand before they enter into a service agreement with a money transmitter, according to Jeffrey Taft, a partner at the Washington. D.C.-based law firm of Mayer, Brown, Rowe, and Maw, who specializes in consumer financial services. "Because banks are subject to so many rules, regulations, and disclosures, they're much more accountable for consumer complaints. Consumers should understand that their transactions on a service such as PayPal are largely governed by their agreement with PayPal, and there's no omnibus regulator overseeing the company's activities,"

Many PayPal competitors have closed, but a few are left. BidPay (www.bidpay, com), for example, a subsidiary of Western Union, is intended only for online auctions. It lets buyers complete transactions by direct deposit into a seller's checking account or by money order.

Another option is IKobo (www.ikobo.com), a general-purpose money transfer service that operates in over 170 countries. Buyers and sellers send and receive money by using an I-Kard--a special, reloadable Visa debit card issued by the IKobo company; users can access their cash via participating ATM machines.

Chances are that your online payments will go through without a hitch. But just in case, here are a few tips:

• Look for specific information on error and conflict resolution to learn how the service handles disputes. Review the company's policy on fraud prevention, too.

• Avoid leaving large sums in any money transfer service account.

• Try to limit your use of money transfer services like PayPal to smaller purchases (transactions under $500 or so). Consider an escrow service for larger purchases.

• When possible, use a credit card for purchases to protect yourself against fraud or unauthorized charges.

• Finally, diversify. If you run an online business, consider using more than one payment service. If you're a buyer, use PayPal or another service when that method makes sense, but don't forget that sometimes even a good old-fashioned paper check may be a better option.









Sources:
How to obey on eBay. (2005, June 11). Economist, Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Hof, R. (2003, August 18). THE eBAY ECONOMY. Business Week, Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Time Management

I feel that I need to make more time on focusing on my paper. I feel that I need to maybe use a few days of the week for a few hours to write my paper. I always tend to find myself researching or writing the paper all at once in multiple hours. I don't think that is a good idea because my brain is so busy and it could only take so much at once. I think this weekend I am really going to look over things and make sure I have everything up to date and hopefully organized. I will try to put it in order and most likely I will be messing around with the ordering and format of it. I will most likely have some errors but they can be corrected. Since the first draft is due in a couple weeks, I feel that I really need to hop on the bandwagon, because I do not want to stay up all night stressing about a paper that is due within' the next day or hours. I do not want to procrastinate on this paper because it has to be a certain length and I do not want to take the responsibility of trying to come up with 12 pages the day before it's due. That would deff. not be a good paper.

Overall, I need to set a certain amount of time either each day or how many times a week and how many hours I should work on my paper.

A Topical Outline

For the most part I feel like I have made a pretty good decision on my topic. Considering it is eBay, and many people do not know everything about it, I believe that I made a good decision about my topic. There are a little minor ends about if I still want to include a certain part of to the paper. For example, I am still undecided if I want to include a topic that falls under the eBay category. I know for sure that I will be including eBay it's self in my topic and PayPal. eBay owns PayPal and they both work together successfully.

I think that I would write and explain what eBay and PayPal is and go into detail about the good and bad things. What people use it for. Why it's a good thing to use. etc... Same for PayPal. I would also explain that PayPal is not just for eBay, it could be for anything such as sending money and money transfers. After explaining all of that I think I would go into talking about my personal experience about the companies. Or perhaps maybe tell a good/bad story about what happen. Hopefully both stories could be good?

Audience

I believe to choose my audience among the people that are into shopping and business. Perhaps along young adults to the mid 30's ish. I feel that this would be a great audience because I know that many young adults shop and buy things on eBay. I know that many students such as young adults are able to find good deals on school textbooks and other useful things they may need. I also think that people up until the mid 30's could used this too. I know many adults have their own business on here or they sell things for extra money to help out their family. I don't want to say this is for everyone because it's not. A lot of the older crowd and young crowd do not know much about this because I feel that they don't either understand computers or maybe they just don't understand all the terms and conditions that eBay provides.

Personal vs. More Third Person

The more and more I think about this paper, I feel that I will be writing about both Personal and Third Person. I feel that my topic has to use both because I could explain both about the topic and my personal experience. I feel that I will have more of my personal experience because I have used eBay for 4 years and have learned a lot throughout the years. I also feel that I could explain and explain about the topic non stop. I feel that writing both personal and third person views would be great in my paper. It would make more sense. It would help others understand what eBay really is and how it operates.

In Class Self-Assessment

1. Amount of research/sources?
I have been doing some research and looking up some sources to use for my paper. I feel like everything is going pretty smooth. My biggest concern is how do I put things all together. I do not want to jump to one topic to another. I do not know how I should put it all together and make sense. Also, majority of the things I have researched, I already know and there is very little information/things that I would be able to research about. I feel that I may have to dig into an area where I completely know nothing and I could explain it in my paper? I have also looked up some sources about my paper, some of it I already know and other information I don't. I am not sure about the information I don't know would be a great idea to go into detail.

2. Notes taken on sources
I honestly haven't been taking much notes. My notes are more of jotting down things as I go along with the paper or what I want to write about.

3. Decision making
For the most part I feel like I have made a pretty good decision on my topic. Considering it is eBay, and many people do not know everything about it, I believe that I made a good decision about my topic. There are a little minor ends about if I still want to include a certain part of to the paper. For example, I am still undecided if I want to include a topic that falls under the eBay category.

4. Readiness to write
I feel that for the most part, I am not 100% ready to write quit yet, only because I am still undecided and need help on what order I should put all of my ideas in all at once. Other then that, I believe that I could just write along everything. I also feel that my paper is not going to be long enough of it might be too long. I haven't typed out everything yet, so I am still not sure.

Reporting Fraud with eBay and PayPal should be Easy

This article focuses on the problems caused by phishing e-mail messages from PayPal Inc. An Internet user who, by trying to do a good turn for PayPal, ended up spending several minutes of his time trying to figure out how to report a phishing e-mail message. PayPal was injured by the phishing scam in three ways. First, the phishers fraudulently took PayPal's name and masqueraded as a legitimate recipient, and likely succeeded in fooling at least a few unsuspecting users. The second cut was that PayPal incurred insurance costs when the phishers succeeded. And finally, the company churned up unearned ill will on the part of a good Samaritan who felt unnecessarily burdened by PayPal's fraud-reporting system.

eBay Interview

During my interview, I felt prepared upon the questions that were coming at me. I felt this way because I have experienced eBay for the past 4 years. I was being asked what I have sold/bought on the site. I also was asked if everything went well in transaction.

I felt that I can talk hours and hours about the topic and I knew everything and every answer that was being targeted at me. I felt like nothing was new to me and that I was basically explaining to someone the ideas that they can do and think about. The person that was interviewing me knew what eBay was but had no clue what all the rules and such were. I, myself still do not know the rules, therefore I have to do some research. The only reason why I felt like I could talk hours about it was because the person that interviewed me didn't know too much about it. I was basically filling him in on the information.

more references

Garver, R. (2005, November 15). eBay and Banking: Is PayPal a Serious Rival? (cover story). American Banker, 170(219), 10-13. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Kingson, J. (2004, March 24). eBay CEO on What PayPal Is and Isn't. (cover story). American Banker, 169(57), 1. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Turner, M. (2006, November). eBay Made Easy. (cover story). Entrepreneur, 34(11), 124-131. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Sellers, P. (2004, October 18). eBay's Secret. (Cover story). Fortune, 150(8), 160-178. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Bills, S. (2004, May 10). PayPal Steps Up Its Efforts To Woo Mass Merchants. (cover story). American Banker, 169(89), 1-19. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Wolfe, D. (2007, February 23). PayPal, Skype Link a Play for Remittances. (cover story). American Banker, 172(37), 1-9. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Conlin, M., & Hof, R. (2004, November 29). THE eBAY WAY. (Cover story). Business Week, Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Barret, V. (2008, October 27). Too Smart For Its Own Good. Forbes, 182(8), 110-114. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Working Biblography

book found: SILNET, SWIC LIB
Online auctions at eBay : bid with confidence, sell with success
by Prince, Dennis L.
PRIMA TECH, c1999.


eBay the smart way : selling, buying, and profiting on the Web's #1 auction site
by Sinclair, Joseph T.
AMACOM, c2007.
Add to my list
Add to my list

References

Garver, R. (2005, November 15). eBay and Banking: Is PayPal a Serious Rival? (cover story). American Banker, 170(219), 10-13. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Kingson, J. (2004, March 24). eBay CEO on What PayPal Is and Isn't. (cover story). American Banker, 169(57), 1. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Turner, M. (2006, November). eBay Made Easy. (cover story). Entrepreneur, 34(11), 124-131. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Sellers, P. (2004, October 18). eBay's Secret. (Cover story). Fortune, 150(8), 160-178. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Bills, S. (2004, May 10). PayPal Steps Up Its Efforts To Woo Mass Merchants. (cover story). American Banker, 169(89), 1-19. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Wolfe, D. (2007, February 23). PayPal, Skype Link a Play for Remittances. (cover story). American Banker, 172(37), 1-9. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Business Source Elite database.

Conlin, M., & Hof, R. (2004, November 29). THE eBAY WAY. (Cover story). Business Week, Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Barret, V. (2008, October 27). Too Smart For Its Own Good. Forbes, 182(8), 110-114. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.










book found: EBSCO Host "ebay"

How to obey on eBay.Preview Economist, 6/11/2005, Vol. 375 Issue 8430, p66-66, 1/4p; (AN 17320307)

Secrets of Selling On eBay.Preview By: Karp, David A.. PC Magazine, 2/7/2006, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p72-75, 3p, 5 color; (AN 19382144)

Exercise 1.8

The most important thing about reading for a research paper is...

it provides a lot of information to the paper. It makes us learn about new and old things.

Exercise 1.7

Research Proposal

1. Focusing Question
Who is Jimmy Choo?
2. Primary Sources
Why is he so famous?
Has anyone ever heard of him?
What is he known for?
Why is he so wealthy?
Why are his products so expensive?
-such as $900 shoes
-$3,000 purses
Are his items bad out of cheap material?
Why does it look so nice?
What made him become famous.
How long has he been around?
What will happen when he dies?
Argue:
What makes his products popular?
Analyze:
His famousness
3. What personal expensiveness may have shape the way you feel?
I feel that since I am very well into designer brands, I would like to know why Jimmy Choo's products are so expensive due to his style is not as great as other high end brands.

sources

Nguyen, Kimmy
English 102-011
September 12, 2008
Annotated Bibliography
If you are in need of writing a research paper, the internet is not always the answer. It could be used to find information but everything you read or look at is not always accurate. “Google, the largest search database on the planet, currently has around eight billion web pages indexed.” (Anonymous, 2006). Google is one of the most popular search engines that people use, but the question is do all people actually use it? I have heard of many different websites where you can do your research at. For example, Consumer Reports, I am aware that it is at least 98% of the time accurate. My family and I have been using this for awhile now and have not had a problem with it. It tells you reviews for cars, electronics, practically any product you are looking for, it almost answers most of your questions you have. LexisNexis is well known and used in a lot of businesses such as law firms, hospitals, any doctor’s office, the government, and much more. I am familiar with this because I work in a law office that uses the online database. LexisNexis was mainly built to focus on legal documents but it has expanded for us to find recent information such as events that recently happened and also provides any issues that are going on, especially legal subjects. You could also research in magazines, journals, newspaper, and live radio news stations. Internet Archive seems pretty interesting because you can access your live music, contributions, jobs, etc…It could be used like the Google search engine, but it very well different. Google does not provide live music and jobs as one of the search tabs but you can still find that stuff easily by just typing it in the search box. I think that research beyond Google is not a bad thing, it’s better to get sources from different reliable places and also textbooks in a library. Some people like to use Google to do some research, but others prefer Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and many other search engines. Everyone has their own preferences on how they want to do their research, weather it is online, from newspapers, magazine articles, or the library.

Research Beyond Google. (2006). Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources Retrieved October 26, 2006, from http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/research-beyond-google




















Google Scholar was launched November 17, 2004 and it is a gadget that people could use to find sources, peer-reviewed papers, and useful materials that cannot be found in a library. This would be a great use to students when they are doing a research paper. Anurag Acharya thought of this idea because people would have free access to sources and it is suppose to help them do their research a lot better and easier. “Google executives declined to say how many additional documents and books had been indexed and made searchable through the service. While the great majority of recent scholarly papers and periodicals are indexed on the Web, many have not been easily accessible to the public” (John Markoff, 2004). A student had gone to the library to try to find some sorces and it did not work out because the source has been outdated. Google Scholar is supposed to have the most recent updated information for people to use. This is also something very useful and free that people should take advantage of while writing a paper.

John Markoff. (2004d). Google Plans New Service for Scientists and Scholars. San Francisco,CA:
Author. Available from The New York Times Web site, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/technology/18google.html?ex=1258520400&en=9f52b8bd48d9815c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

Google Project - iGoogle

Nguyen, Kimmy

English 102-011

September 12, 2008

Google Project #1—iGoogle

There are many ends to iGoogle, the good and the bad things. Many applications that are provided by iGoogle are very useful and others are not. When you are adding themes to your iGoogle homepage, you have the option to look over the reviews and see how many people have added that particular application. The good things about iGoogle would be that there are many useful gadgets that could pertain to us. For example, we all could use the dictionary, look up what the weather is like, and/or even be on top of what’s going on in the world of news. One great thing is that you can organize everything by tabs. You will automatically have your own homepage where you can customize everything and anything you want on it. The next tab usually would be the “news” tab; it will have all the news stations you can think of. If there is some news that you do not care for, you can easily remove it. You can also add another tab and customize however you want; you can have a section full of games and the next tab could be a section full of financial things, such as stocks. On each tab, you can also have a different theme then what your original homepage was. You can coordinate the themes along with what you have on the page, it’s your homepage, and you can do whatever you want to it. There are not too many bad things about iGoogle, but there are some odds to it. All applications do not always work, you can find out if it works by actually trying it out or just simply reading the reviews. There may be bad links that lead to other websites that does not pertain to the application or it could contain a virus. Also people who do not know how to operate a computer should not use iGoogle, it would be overly complicated for them. Another good but bad thing is that you can use iGoogle anywhere in the world. People that use it could access their local news and other things that go on in their own country. They could also access news from other countries also, such as, we are in the United States, and we can easily pull up some news from China. The bad thing about this is that iGoogle does not necessary always work for everyone, meaning people in China may not have access to everything the United States has and vice versa.

Why do we exactly need or use iGoogle? People use this for many reasons, and more people need to use it to know how great of a gadget it can become. iGoogle is not your typical homepage, it’s nothing like AOL, MSN, Yahoo, etc… It is more of a homepage that you can customize yourself. You can add things such as the dictionary, weather, news, stocks, youtube, horoscopes, and much more. iGoogle is a homepage where it takes time to understand and enjoy.

Google Product

-igoogle,
-finance
-shopping
-goog-411

I personally LOVE igoogle. I know that igoogle can be used as your homepage. I know that you can put all kinds of things on it such as news, youtube, games, whether, dictionary, fitness tips, horoscope, etc...it's basically a homepage where you can personalize anything or however you want. You can select your own theme's, layouts and such, you can also chose from a big variety of over 100 things to add that interest you. It's basically like google.com but with lots and lots of more features.
I would like to know if all applications actually work, and how many gagets you are allowed to have on your homepage.
I believe that this would be a great topic because it basically has everything else google has provided.

I also like using finance, only because I am very well addicted to stock markets to who's going bankrupted, what company is falling, to what's going on in our economy. I have liked this feature very much lately as all of us know the economy is doing poorly. I also would like to know what's going on with products and such. I also like it because it has direct news from cnnmoney.com, business week, and such for news.
I would like to know if it's an actual good source. Is it always accurate?
I think this would be a good topic to write about because not everyone thinks the economy is at a fall right now. No one knows what really goes on in life...financially. Majority of people only know that gas prices are jumping up and down, that's pretty much it.

Shopping is a great feature to use if you are an online shopper. I personally prefer online shopping then actually going to the mall all the time. What I love about shopping is that google compares prices with other places, for example if you wanted to purchase a digital camera, google will find other websites and compare the prices, it will tell you what's the cheapest you can get to what's the most expensive one. It also categorizes the items from new, used, refurbished.
I would like to know...is every online store that google provides is safe, could paypal be used from every transaction?
I think this would be a good topic because not everyone does online shopping. They ask their self if it's safe. You'll be surprised that there are many people that do their shopping online.

GOOG-411 is FREE that's right, it's FREE! Goog-411 is like dialing 411. But when you dial regular 411 from your phone, it usually cost about $1.50. What I like about this is that whenever you are saying the city/state and/or business, they would not just give you one phone number, they will provide you the closest (5) locations of what you are looking for.
What I would like to know is will all stores/places, always be accurate. If a business is not in business will GOOG-411 omit that location?
I think that this would be a good topic because no one has heard of this gadget and also many people would/could start using it!

pg. 17- question 1

When writing my research essay, what techniques or methods could I use to keep the essay interesting to readers even if it is fact-based?

Whenever I write my researcher paper, I will be sure to keep my facts very interesting, readable, and very understanding. I will try my best to give many examples and opinions that could relate to myself or others. I would have to think to myself upon what to write about to make my paper catchy and make the audience not bored of my paper. I want to make it to the point where they started reading the first 2 pages and they are so anxious that they want to continue and not put down the paper. I can also put a little humor in my research paper, as long as I don't go off topic I should be perfectly fine. I could state my opinions and also other people. I could possibly have some questions where it would make the reader think about my paper and such. I should also make my conversation in my researcher paper catchy and going long.

Step 1 && Step 2

Step 1
It is okay to say things the instructor might disagree with. --- I believe that this is possible, only because if you are writing a paper, you are not trying to impress the teacher. You are not suppose to say things you "think" the teacher wants to hear. It's better to write about something that is more describing yourself. It's better to write about your own opinion. Just pretend that you are writing to impress yourself and not any other. Who cares what people think.

You have to know a thesis before you start. --- I think it's better to know what your thesis is because it may make your paper a lot easier on you. It helps you with ideas throughout your paper. Also if you did not star with a thesis, how would you know what to talk about?

You can't use the pronoun I. --- I think that in a research paper, you should not use the word "I" unless you are stating an opinion. I just think that using "I" in a research paper sounds a little odd. But then again, I think you can use it???

You can use your own voice. --- In a researcher paper, I believe that you can use your own voice to a certain extent. I believe that you should be allow to write about thinks as if you are stating an opinion but it should go to far.

The information should come from books. --- Not all information comes from books...they can come from the internet, newspaper articles, news channels, etc... Information should come from books though.

Step 2

Pretty much everything you read in textbooks is true.--- Yes, and no. You basically cannot believe everything that is in textbooks. You can to a certain extent. They may be 98% of the time right but there's always that 2% that they can be wrong. For example, in a history book, there could be some facts that are stated, but later in years it could change. Just for saying how they say history does not repeat it's self. I'm pretty sure it does, or will somehow down the line. Also, another thing in textbooks, for example Science...there may be different diseases or illnesses that were once called something or scientists thought is was something but really it was called something else.

Writing is the most disciplined form of thinking. - Donald Murray

I believe that writing is the most disciplined form of thinking. This is true, well for me it is. I know that whenever people are upset they usually talk to people about their problems. But I bet you anything that there are also many people that write their problems on the computer or a note book. Writing does discipline us, it makes us explore our own thoughts and let everything out. It makes us more clam and not so angry or upset and whatever has or had happened. I know sometimes whenever I am upset; I usually talk things out with someone that is close to me, or someone I could talk to. I have never really experienced writing about things that bother me on a note book. Well I lie and take that back. Everyone has...haven't they? But the question could be turned around and asked us why does writing disciplines us while we are thinking? I guess everything we think of can't always be expressed among others. I believe it is better to express it while writing. I think we would understand it more when it is in writing because we can always look back at it. And when we do, we think to ourselves...were we going crazy or just expressing ourselves? Also the way we write and such we look back and we could sometimes be glad that we did not share this kind of information with someone else. It is almost like...whenever you want to tell someone something and you end up telling them and moments later, you think to yourself, "man I should have told so and so that". We all make this mistake and it will keep on going throughout our lives. It is just better to write about it and keep it to yourself, and if it is really bothering you, then that is when you should share your feelings and thoughts with people who understand you. How else does writing discipline our thinking? It is kind of also like a way of getting away and escaping reality. Wouldn't you think so? I think writing does discipline our thinking. So if you are ever dealing with something, think about it. Think if you really want to tell someone or you just want to write about it. This method will discipline us from our thinking and such things. Just try it…it would not hurt!

Just get it down on a paper, and then we'll see what to do abou it. - Maxwell Perkins

I do not think I have ever gone to some type of writing class and never heard this being told to me. Yet, I have experienced this many times in many English, Writing or even regular classes. It may be easy for some people just to jot things down on a piece of paper and write from there. So what is the solution for the people that can't do that? Who knows? Many people may think it is a waste of time and such. They think whenever jotting down ideas and such may waste their valuable writing time. In my opinion, I think that if you jot ideas down, your are more likely to do better on your paper, you can easily write your paper too. I think that jotting down ideas is a great idea and all teachers should require it. If all teachers require this method, students would have a better grade on their paper. Whenever I first started to write I never had an outline or jot ideas down on a paper. I always knew what I was going to write about. I knew that papers were going to be a breeze to me whenever they were assigned. So all that I just babbled about...was in grade school and high school. Now that I am in college, it's a lot harder and I actually do have to jot things down or else my paper will be no good. It is also a good idea to do this because you will have things fresh in your mind. You will have references to go back to and look at. You will not be stuck somewhere or you will not waste your time. I believe that you waste your time more on just writing and thinking about what to write about then going back and looking at information. If you have always started your paper without using any notes or without jotting down information before time, you should try it…it actually works. I thought it would not but it actually does. It saves you so much time. You have no idea. Some D writers can become C or maybe even B writers. I think that the teachers should make this a requirement and they would definitely see improvement in writing. I know that ever since I have started college…I have improved on my writing. I am still not the best writer but I will slowly work my way up there.

Reflections About Icons

I believe that in the real world of life, this happens a lot. Not just with celebrities but also regular everyday people. I wonder why celebrities would be target with this kind of stuff, especially when this could happen to anyone of all different ages. I also think that some people may do this for attention and want the public to get involved or they could just be literally messed up. I also wonder why people do this because they are only known and talked about for so long until everyone forgets about them. We don’t talk about Princess Diana on a daily bases but we can with Elvis. Now why is that? Who knows, everyone has their different opinions. I also think that majority of the "big people" do start out in proverty and then they become well known and the person that everyone wants to meet. and when the turning point of their life hits, everything is done for them. like i said before, i think they do this for the attention or just because they're literally messed up in the head.

What is a "Rockstar"?

A true definition of a rockstar is a rockstar is someone famous that is into rock music. I actually believe that and can agree with it. i believe that some rockstars start out dirt poor and have a crappy childhood. some start out being bored around their house listening to music, wanting to create their own and work their way up to the top from there. A rockstar is someone famous, someone who struggles all their life to complete what they want to do.

American Dream

Kim Yen Nguyen
Professor Hancock
English 101-002
March 26, 2008

American Dream

Have you ever heard of the phrase "money can't buy you happiness but it'll brighten up your day?” Some Americans think if you are rich and have all the money in the world, you are considered the happiest person alive. Today, in many cases, this is not always true. It doesn't matter how much money you have, you should still live your life to the fullest. People try their best to live up to their dreams, and when this happens, others tend to be jealous. What is going through your mind when you think of the word “wealthy”…money, luxury cars, celebrities, the rich? If you are thinking about one of those topics, you are wrong. All wealthiness does not have to do with money, nice cars, etc...it is something you have and achieve in life. I am aware that everyone in this country does not know what the true meaning of wealth is. There could be many explanations to this definition. It does not mainly have to do with having a lot of money, it is more likely if you try or not. If you want to become wealthy, it is possible, just succeed in life.
I believe that wealthy means succeeding and being happy in life. If you have worked all of your life to become better then what you were 10 years ago, then you are consider wealthy. I know that there are some families that are very well off and have all the money anyone could ask for and still be unhappy. I sometimes think to myself why it is like this, since they have everything and I mean everything they want. We all also know that there are some famous people that are very well off and end up over dosing on drugs and killing themselves. Becoming wealthy does not come to everyone so easily, you have to work your way up to the top. There may be a situation where you can inherit it but that is very seldom. It is very possible to become wealthy; it is that you have to try until you reach the top.
I hear so many people complaining about things they cannot afford, you can, you just have not worked your way up to it yet. For example, there are many people that want a Beamer, Lexus, or Mercedes, and when they have that, they feel wealthy. It is not that they are rich; it is because they have saved their money towards that luxury. Having a nice car is not a rich thing; it is more on the lines of saving. You can always dream big about something you want and eventually have it, just work on it and do not give up.
The American Dream of wealth is possible for the people who try. If you are not going to have any confidence in yourself, there is no way you can achieve the American Dream of wealth.

Have you ever heard of the phrase "money can't buy you happiness but it'll brighten up your day"? What is excatly going through your head whenever you hear this phrase? I believe that this is not 100% true. If you are the most wealthiest person alive, you are not necessarily the happiest person at all.



It is not the fact that you can't afford something, it is more on the lines of you can afford it, but just not yet.



you are never poor, you are just lazy and broke.

Argument about the American Dream

Step 1: I believe that the definition of American Dream is about wealth. I say this because not everyone in this country knows what the true meaning of wealth is. It could mean many different things. Such as, wealth as in money, job, style of living, fancy cars, designer brands, and the list keeps on going.

Step 2: I believe that the American Dream for wealth is possible for anyone and everyone. Being wealthy does not only mean having a lot of money. It could have multiple different meanings to it. It is possible for the people that actually try to successed in their life. The difference would be if they tried or not. The American Dream of wealth is possible for the people who try.

Step 3: When you hear the word "wealthy" what do you think about it? What comes to your mind? money, nice cars, stuck up people? If you are thinking about one of those topics, you are wrong. Being wealthy has many different meanings to it. All wealthiness does not have to do with money, nice cars, etc... Wealthy is something you have and achieve in life.

Step 4: The audience I would choose would be around the age group of 16-24, only because they do not know what being wealthy exactly means. What they would automatically think is that it would be having tons of money like a celebrity. If you look up the word wealthy in the dictionary, it would define it as someone rich, but really we all have our own opinions about it.

Thinking Critically About Analyzing Arguments pg. 166

In the title "Outlaw Classics" I think he is more on the lines of talking about criminals. The title of the songs seems a little harsh for the prison tunes. He seems like he is trying to express himself while he was being punished. It did not work so much, maybe he was about to go crazy.

pg. 39 --- Question 8

Who is the audience for this writing? Does the task imply that you will assume a particular readership besides your instructor? For some assignment, the writing is addressed to the professor. Other then that, essays could be addressed to classmates, business partners, or just to others in general. When I am writing a paper, I find myself writing it to everyone, not just one group. I have not experienced writing to a business partner yet but I believe I would write to them in the same way as I would to my professor or classmates. There may be a little bit of some changes but not too much. I do think about who I write to though. When my professor assigns me an assignment, I usually address it to everyone, or whoever is reading it. I am not just talking to one or two people, I am writing to whoever reads or hears my essay. I do believe that some writing is strictly directed to the professor, depending on what assignment is assigned and how the essay should come about.

American Dreams

What is exactly an American Dream? I believe that it has to do with wealth and how people see theirselves as in the future.

Many Americans would think of having the perfect life would have all the money they need. This is not exactly correct. I think that it doesn't matter how much money you have, you should still live your life to the fullest. Many people that want to live up to their dreams are very jealous of many others. Why is that? Who exactly knows...

If you wish to be a writer, write- Epictetus

If I wish to be a writer, heck yeah I would write. It is so easy to hear those words but actually hard to think and do it. but I do think I could write and babble on for days about anything and everything. I believe the way I talk…if I could change it all into writing…I think I would have a few books published already. lol. I seriously can talk a lot sometimes and if I asked people if I could turn my talking into a book. They may also agree. I think the way I talk to totally different from the way I write. When I talk, I can hear myself, and when I write, I write and have to read it over and over to make sure it makes sense. And when it doesn’t…I get so frustrated and it throws everything off. I feel like I have to rewrite my whole essay again. Sometimes I wish to be a writer, I wish I could write, and when I write, I could seriously write for hours and hours. As long as I have a catchy subject to talk about…I can just go on and on. I use to write letters all the time to old friends that moved away and such. That was whenever I was younger and did not have or was not allow being on the internet as much. Now I think since we have the internet, it’s a lot faster and better to type. But it doesn’t mean as much as writing. It also saves us postage, paper, and the fact of writing. In a way when I type on the internet, I rely on spell check and grammar check. Bad idea! It’s not always correct and sometimes I wouldn’t make any sense. I think that grammar check is not always 100% correct. But why do we all rely on it so much? Is it because we’re lazy? It’s either we’re lazy, in a hurry, or just don’t have time to reread everything over again. I wish I write as well as professional writers. I just wish that I had the ability of being an A++ writer. I find it easy when I hear the phrase, if I wish to write then write, does that mean just write whatever or be a great writer? I guess the more I have to write papers for school, the better I’ll get. And the better I will get will be a step closer on becoming an A+ writer.

Writing Prompt #3

What audience do you usually write to (teachers, classmates, yourself, a thoroughly generic all=encompassing audience)? Is it always the same or does it vary sometimes? If so, when? What role do you think audience should play in your writing process?


When writing a paper, I would usually target my writing towards my classmates, teachers, or whoever I would read it. I really never thought about who I am writing my papers to…well I lied. Whenever I was little, I think I have pretend to write an essay to the president of the United States. lol. Other then that I don’t think I have ever really thought who I would write my essays to. Until now this question comes around, I have to really think about who I really write to. And i believe I would just write it to whomever would like to read it. Why do I think this way? It’s not that I care…because I do care about who is reading my writing. I would not want someone to finish my reading and then tell me that it was horrible and it needs a lot of work and they would disagree with everything I have to say. So I lied again, I think the people I would want to target my paper towards are the people that could complete agree with me or at least know what I am talking about. Or they could just be someone that actually understands my reading. I notice that when people are reading my essays, it does not make any sense to them until I actually read it a loud and explain myself on some parts. I have no idea why they do not think the same thing as I do but that is just how it is. We are all different and think different things. We also think differently so it is very hard for someone to proofread the essay and tell me it’s good or bad. I honestly do not like writing to a younger crowd, only because when they are reading my paper, they would tell me it’s good but really it’s horrible. For example, I had about 6 classmates read over my paper and made a little minor errors, and they told me it was really good. Were they telling the truth or were they just saying that so they could hurry up and get it done with? Who exactly knows…even whenever I ask a tutor for help…yeah they help but it seems that my writing is still not as great. Therefore, I really don’t know who to target my writing to. It’s very hard to decide. It's like you pick one crowd but then again you want to choose another crowd. I believe that I just focus my writing on whomever wants to read my paper. I know...bad idea, bad habbit, and I know I need to change it...but how?

Writing Prompt #8

What was the hardest thing for you to write and why was it so difficult? How did you overcome the difficulties? Looking back, what could you have done differently to improve the outcome of the assignment for yourself?

I think that my first essay I submitted in for class might have been my hardest paper to write. Although, we have not written many papers yet, but I do feel that it was the hardest one. I say this only because it was the first paper I turned in for this certain class and this certain professor. I did not know how she graded papers and such. At first, I thought to myself that this paper might be a difficult paper, only because I did not know what to exactly write about and I was struggling a bit. I asked questions and asked for help. I almost had a clear understanding of what the paper was suppose to be about. I started to write my paper, it took me awhile to think about some things but I just continue to write away. Everything came to me slowly but also a little easy, I found myself not struggling as much. It started to write away and had a good grip on what I was doing.

As I was writing this paper, I figured out that it was hard to write the middle body of the essay. I thought that the thesis statement would be more difficult to me, but came to figure out it really wasn’t. Writing the thesis statement and conclusion was the easiest of writing the whole essay. I believe that it is more difficult to write about the ideas of the paper. It is very hard for me to come up with ideas and I still have not figured out why. I always see myself repeating the same things over and over. I do not know how to get away from that. If it is not repeating myself, I would reword it but it would still sound like I am saying the same thing. My biggest problem is that and I have tried to substitute words and change the subject around a little bit.

I think that if I go to the success center every time I finish my paper. They can look it over and tell me what is wrong with the paper. I know when I am having problems writing my paper, I could also turn to them. They have helped me so much in my writing along with my teacher. They are people that actually want to help me and it makes me become and feel to be a better writer. I know that if I continue doing this, I will really become a better writer.

Writing Prompt #7

What do you like and/or dislike about the portfolio style of class? How does it change the way you view your assignments? What may it require of you as a writer that the traditional way of turning in several final drafts throughout the semester does not?

I honestly like everything about my English class. I like how the teacher teaches everything; I have no problems with the teaching at all. I absolutely understand majority of the things she is teaching, and if not, of course I ask questions. I actually like getting into groups and having class seminars, it is very helpful toward me writing my essays. Surprisingly, it actually makes me understand how to write my essay. At first, I thought to myself, what does having seminars have to do with writing class? What did reviewing song lyrics have to do with writing? I did not quit understand until it actually happened. We got into groups and discussed about song lyrics and went about on them. We wrote essays on the kind of songs. For example, music appreciation and identity. Everything that we had a seminar about so far actual relates to our writing assignment. I like how this method is being taught to me. It is something new and very different, something I am not use to but defiantly like it and have no problem the way the teaching is being performed. Having this procedure, does not change my view entirely, I feel that I am learning to view my assignments better then before.

I feel that if the teacher does not make me turn in rough drafts of essays over and over again, I may become a failure. I believe that it is a good idea that we turn in multiple rough drafts, it helps me become a better writer. I know that I learn from my mistakes and will not make them so often. I know when the teacher reviews the essay and makes many markings on it…she/he is not doing this to hurt you; they are doing this to make you become a better writer. At first I thought it was a matter of “oh I’m a failure at writing and cannot write for anything”, but really there are many people that help me out. What helps out the most is that I have to turn in so many rough drafts and having them proofread by classmates and such. I know that I learn from my mistakes of writing and people help me become a better writer. If the professor did not require to turn in rough drafts, that means I would have to have other people proofread it before turning it in. I have to have other people’s opinions and suggestions on my paper before I submit it for a final grade. I find that when I don’t have anyone looking over my paper, I end up with a grade I am unhappy with. Whenever I have the success center or peers that are good in writing proofread it, I am guarantee having a satisfied grade.

I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I write and I understand. - Chinese Proverb

When I hear things, I really tend to forget. It is just how my brain works, but whenever I hear something important, I will never forget. Why does this exactly take place? Who will ever know? Not to sound ignorant or anything but I feel like I have my own self to worry about and not others. When I hear someone gossiping, I will forget. That is just something that I feel does not have my time for. I feel like when I hear certain things that do not pertain to me, I would not care and I will forget. I hear the important things and I forget the irrelevant things. Some words I hear will never be forgetful. When someone is explaining something to you, you should not forget. The method they are trying to tell you could lead you to become successful in life. It’s something important you would want to remember.

When I see things, I sometimes remember. Same goes for when I see things, I tend to forget. If it is an important image or something is taking place, I will remember. I will always remember going to school, I see it as an everyday basics. If I see something over and over, for example my home, I will remember my home. Also, going to school, what school I go to and what classroom I am suppose to be in. If I see myself doing this everyday, I will remember where I am supposed to be. It is almost like you see a car driving into a school bus. That’s something you will never forget. It’s just the image inside your mind that would never escape. I notice that I tend to forget where I place my keys; this is bad because I see my keys every single day when I drive. I feel them and I hear them. Once I walk into the house, I forget where I place them. I can never remember. Same goes for my cellular phone, I have it on me when I leave the house, but I would always have to have someone call it because I would misplace it. It is not that I am a forgetful person, because I am not. I do not know what it exactly is but I am breaking the habbit.

I write and I understand. Not exactly correct to many people…when I write, I do understand. I know my own writing and it will 90% of the time make sense to me. I write a paper, I know what I am talking about; I know what I am trying to explain. When teachers read my paper, they think of something differently, they do not think the same perspective as I do. Now why is that? I feel that if a teacher and I had a sat down and had a conversation about my paper, she/he would understand what I am trying to explain. My words can differ among others. I know other people have the same feeling as I do. When I revise someone’s paper, I may not understand what the writer is exactly talking about. To me it would not make any sense, but when I ask the writer what they are trying to state then I would reread the paper again and understand it. Whenever I write my paper, I understand it. The writer will always understand what they write no matter what.

Writing Prompt #5

In what ways do your high school and college writing experiences differ? Explain.

In high school, I believe that writing was a lot easier. I say this only because I feel like in high school writing I knew what I was exactly doing. I had good grades on every single one of my papers. It was nothing less then a B. I also enjoyed writing so much in high school because we had more of open topics. We were able to choose what to write about, for example, school uniforms, keeping or lowing the drinking/driving age, etc…they were fun topics that I could really relate to and enjoy writing about. It seems that every topic clicked into my head just like that. I love writing essays in high school, I felt like I was meant to write well/good. I felt like teachers in high school were trying to prepare me for college life. Since high school was high school and college was/is the real deal. After all, that was their job, right? Well now that I think about it, they didn’t really do such of a good job. Also I believe that teachers were more laid back and did not care as much as they should of.

Now in college, writing seems to be difficult but not as much. Teachers throw topics at you to the point where you would have to sit down and think for quite a while. I feel like I do not understand topics fully. I have to ask the teacher over and over again to make sure I am doing things right. It is like I would think of the topic this way, but really the teacher is meaning the topic should sound like something totally different from what I was thinking. In college, I actually read about writing, for example, I have to read about how to start a paper, end one, etc… from what I recall in high school, the teacher would just explain information to us. In college, we have an actual text book that explains every aspect of writing. After reading assignments, I feel like I could combine my new and old information and know what the author is talking about. I had turned in my first English paper; I thought to myself I do a pretty good job. I know I struggled with the paper a little bit but figured out what I need to do and get done. I turned in my paper know for sure it wouldn’t be lower then a B. I had received a C and it almost brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I did spend a lot of time on the paper and I also know I was having problems writing it. I did seek for help and thought help would make me become a better writer. The more and more I read through my English writing textbook, the more I feel like I will have a better understanding in writing. I feel that college writing will help me a lot more throughout life more then high school. I believe that high school was just preparing you for the little things and not the major writing things. Teachers in college do not give you a bad grade because they do not like you, I guess they are doing this to make you become a better writer. Who knows...

Writing Prompt #6

Describe how you choose your topics and then begin to develop them. How does this process impact the final product? What might be some other ways of developing topics?


When writing an essay, I usually do not get to choose a topic. Lately, I have not written an essay just for the fun of it. It has always been assigned to me by my teachers. But if I got to choose a topic, it would be something I am very well interested in. For example, if my teacher assigned me to write about lowering the drinking age or keeping it where it was at…that would be an easy subject to write about. Considering I am not 21 yet, I could defiantly fight that concept. I think that subjects like this are a lot better and more interesting to write about. I say this because it’s almost like current events and up to date information about our society in general. How I would start this paper…I would ask myself that question, and I would come to about and wanting to choose to write about both, but if all falls and I have to choose one topic, one option, I would go around asking people my age if the drinking age should be lower or if it should be set at 21. I would take the final results of that and start deciding what topic I want to write about. With this topic, it would be very hard to pick what I would want to talk about. For example, I would want to lower the drinking age to 18. I say this because if teenagers can drive at the age of 16 and purchase tobacco and lottery tickets at the age of 18…why waits until 21 to consume alcohol? Also why wait until 21 to gamble? I think that whatever they make legal at the age of 18 should be pushed off to the age of 21 or everything that is legal for the age of 21 should be lower to 18. Around the age of 18, there are so many students that are in college by now. Shouldn’t they be responsible for what’s going on? I mean they’re in college. Any who, I think that it should be like that. And if they get in trouble or whatever, that’s there fault. They should have been a responsible adult. After all, entering and going to college is a total different atmosphere and they are required to become more of a responsible person. That’s just my assumption. Well this is how I would choose a topic and I would develop it very well because I am into this kind of writing and it involves my age group.

How do I feel About the First Draft of Paper 1

At first I thought it was going to be easy but found out that it was a rather bit difficult. I had to ask myself over and over what music appreciation is really all about or what the actual definition is. Over all, it took me about 3 hours to write about it. I literally sat at my computer trying to brainstorm ideas and what to write about for at least 40 minutes. What I had the most problems with was thinking of a thesis statement to write. It is very strange…I have struggle before on a thesis statement but never as much as I did last night. I know how to write a thesis statement but am not really sure. I looked online and in writinig books on how to write one. It tell me to ask questions and state ideas. I have already done that. The question I am asking now is...how long does the introduction have to be? Could it just be 5 sentences or should it be longer? I have two choppy sentences that I know would count only because they are asking questions. Other then that I know that it should be a little longer. I guess I struggled so much because I was not in class whenever the assignment was assigned. I feel that I struggled through this whole paper. I believe that my second draft will be a lot better after I have people review it.

We just got into groups of five and we all read each others papers. My group members told me my paper sounded good. I hope it really does and they're not just saying that. As they were reading over my paper, I notice I repeated a few things that I know for sure I will need to omit.

Writing Prompt #2

When I do my homework, I usually have to do it in a like desk style atmosphere kind of thing. This may sound pretty weird but in order to concentrate fully, I have to have a desk/table and a chair. I tend to lose concentration whenever there are loud noises around. I cannot have people talking or making any little sounds at all. When this all happens, I tend to get off track and it is very hard to start up the process again. I have to actually sit in a chair and have a desk/table in front of me because I feel like I'm in school and this assignment is something I have to do...it's almost like a requirements! Most of the time, I do my homework at home, school, or work, I concentrate the best at school and work. I believe this is the case because sometimes at home you have things that can or would get in the way. For example, if I was doing homework and the computer was in front of me (which it is most of the time), I would get off track and want to check my email, myspace, facebook, etc...or I somebody would instant message me and I would end up talking them for a while. One thing I could control myself about is my cellular phone, if someone calls me, I would love to pick up the phone and start a conversation with them. But I am afraid because I know it could or would last for hours. Now, I put my cellular phone on silent and it has help me choose doing my homework first and then talk later kind of thing. I would also go to St. Louis Bread Company or Borders. I find it hard when there are many people around me talking about random things, such as gossiping and things that tend to be disturbing. I definitely get thrown off track but will still continue doing my homework.
I think I came to a conclusion for doing my homework. What happen was I had the TV on and was obviously watching some shows. When it came around to commercials, I would turn down the volume of the TV and start doing some homework. I tell myself that I am not able to turn the volume back up or watch the show until I have complete a certain portion. There would also be times I would literally watch the show and do homework at the same time. Believe it or not I think it actually worked...I felt like I could concentrate very well. I always thought I would not be able to do but I can...I am going to continue doing this for some assignments but not all. I do not want to get into that habit, only because I am afraid I will get carried away and not be able to focus well. I also tried to sit on the floor but that failed. I can feel that I am not supporting any kind of posture and it also hurts my back. I usually do my homework at home when I am home alone. I am on task more whenever it is like this. I tired doing my homework when my family was home and it did not work out so great either. I get carried away wanting to spend time with my family, I am like this because we only get to spend time with them once a week. There were a couple different ways I tired to do my homework and some failed but others worked out great.

Exercise 2.1

• How do you typically go about preparing for a writing assignment? I know this is a bad habit but I usually sit in front of my computer for a good half an hour just thinking about what to write about, or depending on the topic, I may do some research or ask people's opinions.
  

• When and where do your best ideas often come to you? My best ideas often come to me whenever I ask people for help or what they think of the topic. I would jot down random ideas and would put them all together on my own.

• Where do you usually write? Are you usually alone and in a quiet place, or is there music, conversation, or other sound in the background? I usually write in a like desk atmosphere area, I do this because it helps me concentrate a lot better then sitting on the couch or floor. I am usually alone and in a quiet place while writing, I get distracted too easily by little things. There is an exception for music though, the music in the background has to be relaxing and clam, more on the lines of classical music.

• What materials do you use? What do you find most and least helpful about your materials? I usually just use my computer, paper, pencil, resources, MLA, etc... What I find very useful is of course the computer. Sometimes I tend just to type away and it eventually makes sense and all my ideas come to me. ........
  
  
• What audience do most assignments ask you to address? How much thought do you typically give to your audience? Most audience would ask you what the main point is, what is exactly going on, for example: who, what, where, when, and why? I try to give the audience as much relevant information as I can.

• What strategies do you typically use to explore a topic? I collect ideas and put them all down on paper. I try to rearrange things around to make sense.

• How do you usually write a first draft? Do you finish in one sitting, or do you prefer to work in sections? On the first draft, I have to take breaks from time to time. I usually do this when I am stuck and cannot think of anything to write about or how to word what I am thinking about. Sometimes I would take a 15 minute break and go back to the writing. I feel that when I do this, I can focus more instead of cramming everything at a time.

• How do you typically revise, and what do you pay most attention to as you revise? If I was writing the paper with a pencil, I get an ink pen and read through the paper and make my marks where it is needed. If I am typing it on the computer, I would just read it through and correct my mistakes as I go. I pay attention to if the paper actually makes any sense. I make sure there are no run on sentences and misspelled words like if it is suppose to be effect but I typed affect.
  

• If you usually get stuck writing, what do you usually do to get moving again? Honestly? I would just stare into space and think of what to write about and it usually comes back to me. I also would reread my paragraph to see if I am on the right topic.

• What is the most effective about your writing and your writing process? I feel that I am able to write a paper if I have all the information and ideas that is needed. Also, with my writing process, I can keep on writing away.
  

• What about your writing and your writing process worries you? What specific steps can you take to address these worries? What worries me the most is how to actually start writing the paper. I don't know how the introduction would sound like or if it would make any sense at all. My overcoming this, I would just write whatever and have somebody read it and tell me if it makes sense.
  

• What is your favorite part of your writing process and why? My favorite part would be the conclusion paragraph. I think it is easier because you already got the hard part down, not it is just a matter of summing up the paper.
  

Top Ten

Top Ten Artist/Band - Songs

1. Chris Brown - With You
2. Stevie Hoang - Before You Go
3. Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting
4. Natalie ft. Baby Bash - Energy
5. Rosette - Crushed
6. J. Roman ft. Soluna - Where is She
7. Natasha Beningfield - Love Like This
8. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
9. Neyo - We Can Chill
10. T-Pain - Bartender

How is both music magic and math?

I believe that music is both magic and math for many reasons. Music has to be magic, only because it takes a lot of talent to create it. Most people that create music have experienced music lessons of some kind. It could be instrumental or vocal, they are both music and it is both magic. The sounds instruments make can be magical because they produce different kind of pitches. Some pitches can be very high like the piccolo or it could be as low as a bassoon. In the voice, magical sounds could produce as high as a high soprano or as a low bass. Musicians take years creating songs, writing them, and putting it all together to make sense. They have to figure out what makes sense to what and what sounds and instruments can go together. They have to know how beats would sound and if it sounds good or not. The lyrics in music should make sense and should be focus on one topic and not millions. Some people are born with the ability to make music and others are not. Many could take years and some could just take months. Depending on whom you are or what kind of background you are from, or if you were raised with music and ancestors being involved in music could reflect you. Basically, music is magic because it requires so many things anyone could imagine.

Music also requires math because you have to count beats and time your rhythms. There is no way you can write a song without counting or using any type of calculations. You are needed to use keys and related keys to form the math in music. Music also needs math because when records are made and need to be published; artists need to know how many copies of the CD they will be distributing. It would also be a good idea if they can keep track of how many will sell in a month so they will know how many people are actually buying their CD's. Artists and Bands also need music in their math because it would make them money. In other words, they can become millionaires or some maybe to the top already. Some music sheets have numbers and you have to follow them by using math. Also, when playing or singing a musical piece, you need to count whole notes or half beats while singing or playing the song. Math is important in music because artists do not always sing all in one breathe. They take breaks, count, sometimes pause for a few seconds and continue on again. People believe that music is math!