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Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
August 26, 2015
Earliest memory of reading and writing
The earliest memory I have of how I learned to read or write was before I started
kindergarten at the age of three or four. Since I started kindergarten when I was four years old,
my mom would read me stories and teach me how to write my name so I could start kindergarten
early and be able to make pictures and t-shirts for my family members. Books that were
significant in my early life were The Cat in the Hat, all the Dr. Seuss books, Winnie the Pooh,
Charlottes Web, Curious George, and as I got older I read the Junie B. Jones series and the
Magic Tree House series. There wasnt really an event that contributed to my literacy narrative
except in kindergarten and first grade we used to do show and tell and a lot of kids in my class
brought in books that they have read and I would be interested in the books covers so I would
read them after that. I never liked reading or writing but I would go through phases where I
would sit and read a whole book series because I was so interested in it. If I found a book series
that I liked, I would read the whole series and when I was a child, many of the books I read were
part of a popular book series.
I am an only child in my household so my parents would help me read and write if I was
having trouble or had a difficult project. I have to step sisters and they are much older than me
but they would help me with a book project or something that I needed to do if I had a difficulty
with it. I have been the youngest person in my class every year since I started in kindergarten.

Demarest 2

Because of this, I had to mature quicker and read what my classmates were reading even if I
didnt understand it completely. For the most part, I was able to understand what the book was
about and was able to write about it if I had too. I feel like I wasnt behind in my reading even
though I was younger than all of my friends. My personal experience has helped me grow as a
reader and writer.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 2, 2015
Event that changed my literacy narrative
An important event that happened in my life that helped shape me as the literate person I
am today is when my dad brought me to my first NASCAR race at Dover International
Speedway in Dover, Delaware in September 2009 when I was in the 7th grade. Before this race, I
had no idea what NASCAR even was or what I was supposed to know about it. After the race, I
became hooked on NASCAR and would follow every race. I choose my major of mechanical
engineering because I want to work for NASCAR and build the engines or the cars. NASCAR
consists of a lot of moving parts and difficult to figure out situations. Since I am a freshman, I
am not in the motorsports program yet, but I plan to apply for the program during my sophomore
year. I can figure out most situations in NASCAR and can tell why something happened and how
to fix it. NASCAR is not an easy sport to comprehend and be able to read articles about
NASCAR that arent generalized. My favorite drivers are Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson who
both race for Hendrick Motorsports, which is where I want to work when I graduate college.
Knowing a lot about NASCAR teaches you to think in a different way and figure out why
something happened when all you know is one little detail about it.
This event influenced my literacy learning by allowing me to read about things I never
knew were possible before and now I feel like I can read difficult things better because of all the
research and time I have put into NASCAR and all the technicalities that go along with it. I am

Demarest 2

now able to think ahead of a situation and be able to choose what is right and what will make
something more difficult and could be wrong. NASCAR is a major part of my life and since this
event happened, I feel that I have become a better reader and writer.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 4, 2015
Technological challenges
There have been many challenges, recently and in the past, that have affected my literacy
narrative. Some of these challenges include social media networks such as Twitter, Instagram,
Snapchat, e-mail and my cell phone. When I write things on Twitter, it is hard for me to find the
right words to get the message across since you are only allowed to use one hundred and forty
characters including spaces and punctuation. Using less characters to get a detailed message
across is hard to do on Twitter but I somehow make it work without the proper use of grammar
and spelling. On Instagram and Twitter alike, I use a lot of emojis to express how I feel about a
picture or a post so it doesnt let my writing skills improve. On Instagram, I usually use full
sentences to describe the picture I post and I always try to use correct grammar and spelling
because it is easier to do and you dont have a character limit on Instagram. On Snapchat, after I
take a picture or video I usually use emojis to describe how Im feeling or try to write a
complete sentence but since Snapchat only lets you write a certain amount I usually have to text
the rest of what I wanted to write on the picture so the person receiving it understands what I am
trying to say. Social media has played a big role in my literacy narrative and I believe that it will
continue to play a big role since I use it on a daily basis.
The use of the computer and e-mail has helped me gain experience in writing a
professional e-mail to my professors and to my family and friends. I always use full sentences

Demarest 2

when I write an e-mail and I make sure that what I am writing makes sense so that the person
receiving it understands what I want them to know. The e-mail used to play a big part in my life
when I was in elementary and middle school since none of my friends, including myself, had cell
phones at the time so the only way to communicate quickly with each other and in a group
message was using e-mail. I believe that the e-mail will be used less in the future as technology
is advancing. The computer also helped me gain experience writing essays and writing in
different styles and being able to research the different styles to know what I like best.
My cell phone has played a big role in my life since I use it daily and for hours. I usually
use full sentences when I text somebody unless its my best friend and I can abbreviate things
and she will know what I mean. Text messaging has helped me learn to write a little better but it
has also had disadvantages to it that make my writing become worse. By not having a cell phone
when I was very young like kids today have, I had to learn to communicate through a telephone,
computer (e-mail), and writing letters and cards to send to people who lived far away. I learned
that since I have had a cell phone, I can just send someone a text message who lives far away and
they will usually give me and answer quickly instead of waiting for a reply a week later. The
advancements that technology has made so far has helped improve life and the way I write and
communicate with people.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 27, 2015
The Spaces between Us Keep Getting Deeper
I am very close with my grandmother, which I call Mim, who lives in New York. Her
name is Martha Demarest and she was born in August of 1936 in Stillwater, New York. She
grew up in Waterford and Green Island, New York and still lives in Green Island. My Mim is
about 59, has glasses, and short gray hair. My Mim is my fathers mother and has had four
children, one boy and three girls, including my dad. I am very interested in my Mims family
history.
My Mims father, Maurice Collins, came over to America from Ireland to find work and
to let his family have a better life. His job when he came over was to fix organs. Her father was
in the Navy and her brother was in the Marines. Since my Mims father and brother werent
around she had to clean her house, babysit her kids and she would listen to the radio because she
had no T.V.. During the time my Mim was growing up, the economy was bad and her family was
poor. My Mim never got to finish school because her mother pulled her out of school so she
could work at the age of sixteen. The school that my Mim went to was a great private school
except for the fact that there was no kindergarten. The schools name was Saint Josephs in
Green Island, New York. The school was a one room schoolhouse with different classrooms for
different grades. The grades were from 1-8th grade and 9-12th grade. My Mim had to walk to

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school every day which was two blocks from her house. In addition to my Mims family history,
her family had many traditions.
Some of these family traditions were at Christmas her grandmother would make a dress
for her doll every year. At Easter, her and her family would look for eggs and would go get ice
cream and get some for her dog named Bum, who was a German Sheppard. My Mim also had a
purple chicken and her brothers and sisters would get to pick a colored chick for Easter and my
grandmother chose a purple one. None of these traditions are kept today. Interesting facts about
my Mim when she was growing up was that she loves air raids, she lived by the railroad, she
would go ice fishing in the Hudson River and she never graduated from school. Also during my
Mims childhood, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman were the presidents. Political leaders
during that time were also Churchill, Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. There were many interesting
things about my grandmother and these were only a few of them.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
August 26, 2015
Earliest memory of reading and writing
The earliest memory I have of how I learned to read or write was before I started
kindergarten at the age of three or four. Since I started kindergarten when I was four years old,
my mom would read me stories and teach me how to write my name so I could start kindergarten
early and be able to make pictures and t-shirts for my family members. Books that were
significant in my early life were The Cat in the Hat, all the Dr. Seuss books, Winnie the Pooh,
Charlottes Web, Curious George, and as I got older I read the Junie B. Jones series and the
Magic Tree House series. There wasnt really an event that contributed to my literacy narrative
except in kindergarten and first grade we used to do show and tell and a lot of kids in my class
brought in books that they have read and I would be interested in the books covers so I would
read them after that. I never liked reading or writing but I would go through phases where I
would sit and read a whole book series because I was so interested in it. If I found a book series
that I liked, I would read the whole series and when I was a child, many of the books I read were
part of a popular book series.
I am an only child in my household so my parents would help me read and write if I was
having trouble or had a difficult project. I have to step sisters and they are much older than me
but they would help me with a book project or something that I needed to do if I had a difficulty
with it. I have been the youngest person in my class every year since I started in kindergarten.

Demarest 2

Because of this, I had to mature quicker and read what my classmates were reading even if I
didnt understand it completely. For the most part, I was able to understand what the book was
about and was able to write about it if I had too. I feel like I wasnt behind in my reading even
though I was younger than all of my friends. My personal experience has helped me grow as a
reader and writer.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 2, 2015
Event that changed my literacy narrative
An important event that happened in my life that helped shape me as the literate person I
am today is when my dad brought me to my first NASCAR race at Dover International
Speedway in Dover, Delaware in September 2009 when I was in the 7th grade. Before this race, I
had no idea what NASCAR even was or what I was supposed to know about it. After the race, I
became hooked on NASCAR and would follow every race. I choose my major of mechanical
engineering because I want to work for NASCAR and build the engines or the cars. NASCAR
consists of a lot of moving parts and difficult to figure out situations. Since I am a freshman, I
am not in the motorsports program yet, but I plan to apply for the program during my sophomore
year. I can figure out most situations in NASCAR and can tell why something happened and how
to fix it. NASCAR is not an easy sport to comprehend and be able to read articles about
NASCAR that arent generalized. My favorite drivers are Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson who
both race for Hendrick Motorsports, which is where I want to work when I graduate college.
Knowing a lot about NASCAR teaches you to think in a different way and figure out why
something happened when all you know is one little detail about it.
This event influenced my literacy learning by allowing me to read about things I never
knew were possible before and now I feel like I can read difficult things better because of all the
research and time I have put into NASCAR and all the technicalities that go along with it. I am

Demarest 2

now able to think ahead of a situation and be able to choose what is right and what will make
something more difficult and could be wrong. NASCAR is a major part of my life and since this
event happened, I feel that I have become a better reader and writer.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 4, 2015
Technological challenges
There have been many challenges, recently and in the past, that have affected my literacy
narrative. Some of these challenges include social media networks such as Twitter, Instagram,
Snapchat, e-mail and my cell phone. When I write things on Twitter, it is hard for me to find the
right words to get the message across since you are only allowed to use one hundred and forty
characters including spaces and punctuation. Using less characters to get a detailed message
across is hard to do on Twitter but I somehow make it work without the proper use of grammar
and spelling. On Instagram and Twitter alike, I use a lot of emojis to express how I feel about a
picture or a post so it doesnt let my writing skills improve. On Instagram, I usually use full
sentences to describe the picture I post and I always try to use correct grammar and spelling
because it is easier to do and you dont have a character limit on Instagram. On Snapchat, after I
take a picture or video I usually use emojis to describe how Im feeling or try to write a
complete sentence but since Snapchat only lets you write a certain amount I usually have to text
the rest of what I wanted to write on the picture so the person receiving it understands what I am
trying to say. Social media has played a big role in my literacy narrative and I believe that it will
continue to play a big role since I use it on a daily basis.
The use of the computer and e-mail has helped me gain experience in writing a
professional e-mail to my professors and to my family and friends. I always use full sentences

Demarest 2

when I write an e-mail and I make sure that what I am writing makes sense so that the person
receiving it understands what I want them to know. The e-mail used to play a big part in my life
when I was in elementary and middle school since none of my friends, including myself, had cell
phones at the time so the only way to communicate quickly with each other and in a group
message was using e-mail. I believe that the e-mail will be used less in the future as technology
is advancing. The computer also helped me gain experience writing essays and writing in
different styles and being able to research the different styles to know what I like best.
My cell phone has played a big role in my life since I use it daily and for hours. I usually
use full sentences when I text somebody unless its my best friend and I can abbreviate things
and she will know what I mean. Text messaging has helped me learn to write a little better but it
has also had disadvantages to it that make my writing become worse. By not having a cell phone
when I was very young like kids today have, I had to learn to communicate through a telephone,
computer (e-mail), and writing letters and cards to send to people who lived far away. I learned
that since I have had a cell phone, I can just send someone a text message who lives far away and
they will usually give me and answer quickly instead of waiting for a reply a week later. The
advancements that technology has made so far has helped improve life and the way I write and
communicate with people.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
September 27, 2015
The Spaces between Us Keep Getting Deeper
I am very close with my grandmother, which I call Mim, who lives in New York. Her
name is Martha Demarest and she was born in August of 1936 in Stillwater, New York. She
grew up in Waterford and Green Island, New York and still lives in Green Island. My Mim is
about 59, has glasses, and short gray hair. My Mim is my fathers mother and has had four
children, one boy and three girls, including my dad. I am very interested in my Mims family
history.
My Mims father, Maurice Collins, came over to America from Ireland to find work and
to let his family have a better life. His job when he came over was to fix organs. Her father was
in the Navy and her brother was in the Marines. Since my Mims father and brother werent
around she had to clean her house, babysit her kids and she would listen to the radio because she
had no T.V..During the time my Mim was growing up, the economy was bad and her family was
poor. My Mim never got to finish school because her mother pulled her out of school so she
could work at the age of sixteen. The school that my Mim went to was a great private school
except for the fact that there was no kindergarten. The schools name was Saint Josephs in
Green Island, New York. The school was a one room schoolhouse with different classrooms for
different grades. The grades were from 1-8th grade and 9-12th grade. My Mim had to walk to

Demarest 2

school every day which was two blocks from her house. In addition to my Mims family history,
her family had many traditions.
Some of these family traditions were at Christmas her grandmother would make a dress
for her doll every year. At Easter, her and her family would look for eggs and would go get ice
cream and get some for her dog named Bum, who was a German Sheppard. My Mim also had a
purple chicken and her brothers and sisters would get to pick a colored chick for Easter and my
grandmother chose a purple one. None of these traditions are kept today. Interesting facts about
my Mim when she was growing up was that she loves air raids, she lived by the railroad, she
would go ice fishing in the Hudson River and she never graduated from school. Also during my
Mims childhood, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman were the presidents. Political leaders
during that time were also Churchill, Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. There were many interesting
things about my grandmother and these were only a few of them.

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
October 5, 2015
What is the Meaning behind Names?
Names have many different meanings and are very important in some cultures. Some
cultures around the world use first names as a way of identifying someones personality or just
have a first name and not a last name. Middle names are usually the grandparents name, or
parents name depending on the culture and how important that person is to their parents or if the
person influenced their life in any way. Last names are usually passed down from the father
through generations and are lost when the daughter gets married. Many kids are named after
someone who was important in their parents life or someone who has passed away and they
want to remember them through the child. Families are impacted a lot by having certain names
be the childs names. An agreement might not be reached between family members but this is a
big challenge in many cultures.
My family doesnt have a naming practice that I know of. I know that my parents
had chosen a few names for me but when I was born, my mom named me a name they never
talked about. My name isnt a combination of any family members name it was just a name my
mom thought of once I was born and has no idea where it came. My name also has many
different spellings so my parents had to decide how to spell my name. I know that my first name,
Melissa, means honeybee and was originated from Greece. My family just names kids with
names that they like and sound good. There is no real tradition with names in my family.

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Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
October 26, 2015
France
The country I choose to research was from my dads side of the family and that country is
France. The flag of France has three vertical stripes of blue, white and red. The flag was created
in 1790 and was in reverse of what they are today, red, white, and blue. The flag was changed in
1794. The flag was not in use during Napolon Is defeat at Waterloo and it was brought back by
Lafayette in 1830. The colors of the flag were the colors of the coat of arms the militia used. The
color blue is the color of Saint Martin and is a symbol of care. The color white if the color of
Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc and is a symbol of Royalty. The color red if the color of Saint
Denis. On February 15, 1794, The French National Convention adopted this flag with the three
colors of blue, white and red. The flag of France has been used since and has not been changed
(France).
France allows for people of a different nationality to become citizens but there are
requirements that need to be completed. If I wanted to become a citizen of France, I would have
to choose between having a French citizenship or a French permanent residence after I have
lived in France for five years prior. A permanent residence permit in France allows you to stay in
France for ten years, is renewable and allows you to have the same rights as French citizens
except for the fact that you cannot vote in elections or hold public office. By becoming a French
citizen, you also become a citizen of the EU and would be allowed to move throughout the

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Union without giving up your own nationality. You would have a dual citizenship. If you are
joining a family member who already has permanent residence, your requirement is reduced
down to two years and if you have been married to a French national for more than three years,
you can apply for permeant residence immediately. In order to live in France, you must be 18
years old or older and must have the required documents such as passport and birth certificate
(A Guide to French Citizenship and Permanent Residence). Becoming a citizen of France is a
long process but is not a hard one.
In the years 1337-1453, France defeated England during the Hundred Years War.
Between 1643-1715, Louis XIV ruled France and had absolute authority and in 1792 the First
Republic was established. Napoleon seized control of France in 1799 and in 1815, Napoleon was
defeated at Waterloo and Louis XVII came to power. During World War I, France fought on the
Allied side until they were defeated by Germany (Important Dates in French History). France
had a lot of events that happened but these were some of the most important in Frances history.

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Works Citied
"France." France. Crwflags.com. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.
"A Guide to French Citizenship and Permanent Residence." A Guide to French Citizenship and
Permanent Residence. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.
"Important Dates in French History." AsapFrance.info / Zoom France / The Thread of Time /
Important Dates. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

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Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
October 28, 2015
Investigating Information
There have been many writing projects I have completed in the past weeks. One project
that pushed me to find out more information was the family tree project. The information I
wanted to know wasnt required for the project but pushed me to find out because I became
curious of what outcome was. I have always been curious about my family history so this project
was good for me to do because it answered many of the questions I have always been asking my
parents about.
My semester long project has allowed me to investigate one of my favorite types of
music further and to find more information that I did not know. I am very into country music and
know that country music has changed dramatically through the years and has also combined with
other genres of music along the way. Knowing about the changes in a genre of music allows me
to understand the beat and type of music that was created during that time. It also lets me
understand the true meaning of a song that was written during a certain period of time and if any
events in history have affected the genre in any way. I have done some research on my topic so I
just need to investigate the websites further to get more information that is fully related to my
topic for the semester long project. I have an idea about the changes in country music but am not
certain about the specific changes and how it has affected country music today. Many historical
events have happened in the past year and I am curious if any have affected country music.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
November 16, 2015
Semester Long Presentation Visuals
One visual I will use during my digital presentation is music and music videos. By using
songs, I will be able to explain how the changes in country music have affected how the artist
creates a song and how the music style has changed throughout the years. Using music videos,
will allow me to explain what the true meaning of a song is about through the artists eyes and
how artists from different decades have similar songs but with opposite meanings. By breaking
down a song or music video, I am able to help my audience see the changes throughout the years
of country music and how the artists have changed throughout the decades that country music
has been popular. It will allow me to explain how country music has combined with other genres
and how the songs sound when combined together. An example is using a music video called
Fly by Maddie and Tae to show how todays artist use music videos to tell a story about the
song. I can compare it to Johnny Cashs I Walk the Line. It compares a song from 1958 to a
song from 2015 and how the beat in the music is different and the way the artists sing. This
music video comparison is shown on slide 2.
Another visual I will use is photographs. Using photographs will allow me to explain
how albums looked and how the artists dressed for occasions. I will be able to compare the
photographs and explain why the change is so significant to country music. Photographs are a
very important part to my presentation because I will be able to compare photographs to

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determine how each artist from different decades made their music and how it impacted society
if at all. Explaining the photographs with comments by the pictures will help me tell why I am
using photographs. Two examples of album covers I used are Carrie Underwoods 2012 album,
Blown Away and Kenny Rogerss 1980 album Lady. I can compare these by showing that Carrie
Underwood tells the meaning of her album by using a dark background with a tornado showing
that her album is going to be heartbreaking and sad songs. Kenny Rogers doesnt tell us much
about what his album is going to be. His album cover says what the track list is but doesnt give
us any clue about the meaning of his album. This comparison of album covers is shown in slide
1.
Another visual I will use is line graphs and maps. I can use line graphs to show the
popularity of country music through the years and how many people listen to country music
regularly. Using a map, will allow me to show and explain where country music is popular and
how the geography of that location has affected the type of country music that has been invented
through the decades. Also, I will be able to find out if any important events have taken place in
that location to affect the way country music was created and if the songs created had any
meaning to understanding why that event happened and how it was significant. Captioning the
graphs and maps will help my audience be able to keep track of where I am when I am
explaining how the location has affected country music. An example is a map that shows
Americas preference in music genre across the country. The map shows that the opposite of the
stereotype that country music is popular in the south. This music popularity map is shown on
slide 3.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDr_7LN-Ew

Maddie and Taes Fly 2015: about growing up and how times change and to cherish
the moment even if it is bad that it will get better and push through it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq0fUa0vW_E

Johnny Cashs I Walk the Line 1956: about loving someone so much and no matter
what they do you will always be there for them and will do anything for them

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Figure 1: Carrie Underwood 2012 Blown Away album cover. Source: Brides, Carrie Underwood
Wears Irina Shabayeva for New Blown Away Album Cover

Shows her album will be about heartache and disaster

Shows meaning of album on cover and location

Figure 2: Kenny Rogers 1980 Lady album cover. Source: CBS Local Media, Kenny Rogers
Likes To Throw Things at His Audience.

Doesnt show anything about the meaning of his album

Lists track list

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Works Cited
Maddie&TaeVevo. "Maddie & Tae - Fly." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Feb. 2015. Web. 30 Oct.
2015.
Mare, White. "Johnny Cash I Walk the Line." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Oct.
2015.

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Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
November 9, 2015
Different Perspective of Country Music
I held a conversation about country music with some of my friends at lunch on campus.
This conversation was not really helpful to my project but I was able to get different perspectives
on country music from different people. Nothing really shocked me during this conversation
because I had a good idea going into the conversation that my friends didnt really listen to
country music as it wasnt their type of music to listen to.
I started off the conversation by asking my friends, Do you guys like to listen to country
music? Most of my friends answered by saying that listening to country music isnt their thing
but the majority of them said that there is one person that they like to listen to and thats the only
country music they listen to, if at all. I know that most people do not like country music because
its too slow or the beat is weird and they just dont like it. This didnt surprise me when they
answered what they did. Some of my friends answered that they like to listen to Taylor Swift.
Even though she is pop singer now, she was a country singer and thats how see was noticed and
got her career started. I asked them if they listened to Taylor Swift when she first came out and
they said yes because they heard a few of her songs on the pop radio station they were listening
to. That tells me that Taylor Swift made songs that were considered pop-country in her
beginnings and that many people liked her sound and wanted to hear more from her. This led me

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to investigate how pop-country songs have affected our society today and how it has changed the
music industry as a whole.
Another one of the questions I asked was, Did you ever listen to country music that was
from the 20th century? Most of the answers I got where yes but not from way back in the early
20th century, more from the 1980s-1990s. I have noticed through my personal experience of
listening to older country music that the music style was a lot different than it was now and that
kids in my generation arent interested in that type of music. Kids these days are more interested
in pop type music and want to have upbeat songs that dont sound weird and arent really
country.A lot of kids have listened to songs from the end of the 20th century because county
music was more like it is today and has appealed to many kids. Kids who have lived in the South
their whole life, didnt even listen to the real country-hick music. Kids are more interested in the
pop-country music if they are even into country music. One of my friends loves listening to
country music and loves the meaning behind every country music song. Most of the questions I
asked I already had an idea of what the answer was going to be and I asked them to see if the
answers were different than what I thought. This conversation allowed me to see the different
views kids my age have on country music and if it has affected their taste of music any.

Demarest 1

Melissa Demarest
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1103-E01
November 16, 2015
Proposal
I have taken a detour from the original ideas in my semester long proposal by narrowing
down my research ideas so that it would create a good presentation of specific topics instead of
doing a whole presentation on the general topic of country music. By doing this, I was able to cut
my research time in half and still present the same amount of information but just on certain
topics instead of on the genre of country music in general. We are still using a PowerPoint for
our presentation especially since our genre research has been cut in half. We will be able to
explain our genres clearly without having to crowd information on slides. Having half of the
information allows for our genres to be combined in a neat a clear way so that our audience
understands the message we are trying to get across.
I was led to many different research directions. Once I figured out the main important
information of the country music genre, I was able to go in depth in finding where country music
was popular and how many people actually like to listen to country music. I was not expecting to
go into this research topic, but once I had collected my main research, I was interested in finding
this new information out. As I was researching, I did go off the topic of just country music but I
did research how pop music has affected the country music genre and the pop-country genre. I
did research the pop-country genre because in todays music industry, it seems that pop-country
songs are very popular and appeal to a bigger audience than just regular country music. This

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research allowed me to find information that I did not know about country music and it allowed
me to become knowledgeable as to how country music has changed throughout the decades.