Coggins 1

Erin Coggins
Dr. Rieman
UWRT 1103
November 17th, 2014
Mind Map Link: http://prezi.com/-rgsvs-mazcy/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Blog Link: http://stayenchantedandbeautiful.tumblr.com/

Inquiry Project Self-Assessment

This project has allowed me to not only explore the process of inquiry, but to also
research Taylor Swift, my favorite artist and role model. I absolutely loved conducting
research, watching interviews, and reading articles about Taylor Swift and turning my
findings into a Tumblr blog that fans and critics alike can read and re-blog. My research
process also included talking with other students and creating a mind map, both of which
helped me find direction in my audience and information presentation. Our peer
workshop and revisions also allowed me to make corrections to better communicate with
my online audience. There are definitely aspects of my project that enhance my purpose
and other branches of inquiry that I would love to continue. Overall, the inquiry process
has given me ample opportunity to explore articles and interviews, conduct my own
research, and write and post creatively within the online blog genre.
In brainstorming for my original inquiry topic, how food and culture affects the
identity of Charlotte, NC, I created a mind map in my UWRT daybook. However, on
September 28th, at 11:15 p.m., Taylor Swift released her new album 1989. I was
completely floored by her new sound and continued to listen to her new album for the
next week. This occurrence led me to question why Taylor Swift is such a cultural
phenomenon and switch my inquiry project topic completely. She has extremely loyal

Coggins 2
fans, compelling music, and increasing popularity with each new Instagram post and
released single. Taylor Swift has been my role model since 2008, when she released her
2nd album Fearless, and I still blast her music and dance around my room in my pajamas.
I am interested in this topic because I am shamelessly obsessed with Taylor Swift, so
inquiry allows me to turn my pastime preoccupation into productive research. This
inquiry project enabled me to look at her increasing popularity and specific qualities that
have made our society fall in love with her. In class the next day, I began a new mind
map concerning Taylor Swift and the different aspects of her fame. I began to research
her awards, record sales, interviews, song writing process, and genre, all while listening
to her new album, 1989. As I found new sources, I placed them on my mind map,
finding new connections and starting new inquiry branch topics. My friend, Kevin
Caldwell, mentioned that he had previously written a 21-page dissertation about Taylor
Swift. He told me about a book by John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture:
An Introduction. Storeys definition of popular culture helped tie all of my points
together and make my inquiry trails clearer. My mind map allowed me to discover and
organize my branches of inquiry.
Throughout my inquiry process, I was contemplating how I could effectively
communicate my research. At first, I was set on writing a letter to Taylor Swift proving
her own overwhelming stardom and fame to her, but then, I began to think about the
context of the ongoing pop culture conversation. I realized that most of the pop culture
talk wasnt coming from Taylor Swift herself, but instead, from her fans on social media.
Therefore, it would be completely ineffective and unnecessary to report my findings to
Taylor Swift, when the entire discussion surrounding her is carried out through her fans

Coggins 3
and critics. I decided to create a Tumblr blog to report my research to the Internet world.
In addition, Taylor Swift has been known to interact with fans on Tumblr by re-blogging
and responding to posts. This way, Taylor Swift can still potentially appreciate my
research, and enthusiasts and criticizers can respond to my findings and connections as
well. Within my blog titled Is Taylor Swift a Cultural Phenomenon? You Shouldnt
Have Said No., I chose to cite my sources with hyperlinks. Adding in-text citations and
a works cited page would clutter up the webpage and make it less aesthetically appealing,
possibly turning readers away from reading my blog. If I were to use in text citations, it
would look similar to this: John Storey describes the second definition of popular
culture as the culture that is left over after high culture has been distinguished (Storey
6). I found that hyperlinks connect my audience to my sources and allow them to find
further information without taking up a lot of space on the page. I learned about the
conventions and convenience of hyperlinks after completing the WTE Prompt that
included an article about using hyperlinks. The hyperlinks used to cite sources and
Tumblr blog format allows me to convey my inquiry information in an effective and
entertaining way.
Peer workshop was an important step in the revision of my Tumblr blog
discussing the relevancy of Taylor Swift as a cultural phenomenon in todays society.
Whitney offered me advice concerning the titles of my blog posts. Although I did not
take her suggestions, her comments made me more conscious of my titles and the effect
they have on the reader. She also mentioned that the hyperlinks were a practical and
sufficient way to display my sources. Kyle wrote that my passion for my inquiry topic
was very obvious, which added to my writing style and enthusiasm. He also suggested

Coggins 4
that I try to restate my main purpose throughout my blogs in order to remind the readers
of the point of my blog. I got so involved and carried away in my line of inquiry that I
forgot to mention why this research was important. Lemon also looked over my blog,
encouraging me to break up the large paragraphs of information with bullet points or
paragraph breaks. She also recommended posting pictures in between text. Taking both
pieces of criticism into account, I revised my blog posts to be more Tumblr friendly. The
peer workshop helped me solidify my ideas as well as improve my blogs consistency
and effectiveness.
Personally, I truly enjoyed researching and creating this inquiry project. Taylor
Swift continuously captivates my attention, turning this assignment from a chore into a
thrill. I think that my genre works well with my topic considering the overwhelming
presence of Taylor Swift fans on Tumbr. I am also extremely proud of my blog post
titles that include a spin on Taylor Swift lyrics. Even though they are a trivial part of my
inquiry project, I think they are clever and I am very excited about them. If I had more
time, I would research ticket sales from the 1989: World Tour. I could not find any
statistics on this tour because ticket sales are still happening currently. I would also
inquire about Taylor Swifts cat, Meredith, and her media presence. Please read for the
appropriateness of my tone and conventions in my blog posts. I am working on changing
my writing style for each different genre. Thank you so much for letting me switch my
inquiry topic in them middle of this inquiry process; I adored researching Taylor Swift as
a cultural phenomenon.
Throughout the inquiry process, I developed my skills in mapping out my ideas,
discerning which topics were worth pursuing, finding effective ways to communicate my

Coggins 5
ideas, and applying constructive feedback. I sincerely enjoyed the curious and engaging
process of inquiring about Taylor Swift as a cultural phenomenon, as well as creating a
Tumbr blog of which I am proud.