Amber Booth W/R: 3 (TA: Kate) COMM 231 0301 Oct.

3, 2013 A#A Slice of Life Introduction Introduction A. This story is about University of Maryland cuts womens acrobatics and tumbling team. Briana Murphy, a former member of the womens acrobatics and tumbling team, tells her story of how she overcame an unfortunate turn of events by keeping her scholarship and joining the cheerleading team. Focus: The womans acrobatics and tumbling team, cut June 2012, forced many girls to decide whether to stay at the university, join another team or stop doing sports period. B. So what? The reader should care because Womans acrobatics and tumbling team won the 2012 NCA Nationals This unfortunate circumstance affected many girls on the team who depended on the sport for scholarships Briana and many other team members were able to keep their scholarships and join the universitys cheerleading team. Tell-a-friend Approach: This story features Briana Murphy, a former member of the cut acrobatics and tumbling team, and how she overcame this situation for the better. C. Target Audiences Students on campus that follow sports and support the acro and tumbling team. Students on the sport teams that did not get cut and how this effected them Prospective students who want to come to UMD specifically to join the acro and tumbling team

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D. News Values Impact- the decision on which sports teams to cut impacts campus life and the lives of the students on those teams. Prominence- the womans acrobatics and tumbling teams won the NCA Nationals, yet they were still cut. Many students couldnt believe a winning team would be cut.

Lead/Middle/End/LORI Soft lead type: anecdotal -Grabs readers attention because it created an emotional connection 5Ws/H: Who, What, Where, How Middle/Transition techniques: Using transitional phrases in order to reduce reader confusion. Type of ending: A quote kicker F. Readability Statistics Word Count: 210 Grade level: 10.2 Words per sentence: 16.9 Sentences per paragraph: 2.3 Passive voice: 14 percent SEO chr ct. 54 ###

Amber Booth W/R: 3 (TA: Kate) COMM 231 0301 Oct. 3, 2013 A#A Slice of Life Background Background A. Sources: Briana Murphy (339) 223-4558 brianamurphy377@yahoo.com Brittany Burkhard bburk19@yahoo.com B. References: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z8YhBWoTbA - I referenced this site to view Brianas acrobatics and tumbling audition tape. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151621070821095 &set=pb.628876094.-2207520000.1380758363.&type=3&theater https://twitter. - I referenced this site for the picture I used in my article. C. Interview Techniques: I interviewed my primary source, Briana Murphy, in person at Stamp Student Union. Interviewing her face to face allowed me to see and hear her verbal and nonverbal nuances. I also gained a better connection because I was able to look her in the eye. In the beginning of the interview I asked her basic openended question to warm up the interview. I interviewed my primary source through email because it was more convenient for the both of us. I asked her three questions to further support what Briana said. The interview techniques I used are the following: observation, critical listening, eye contact and coming prepared (KMcD 103-105). These techniques allowed me to have a good interview and strong support for the story. (more)

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D. Flag Challenges: I had to use my AP Stylebook constantly to make sure I am shortening words correctly and using words correctly. Capitalizing different sport titles and knowing when to write out numbers is a challenge I constantly had to check. I also used Diamondback Stylebook when it came to referencing the university and knowing not to capitalize it. E. Mapping my writing process: Doing my research: I knew Briana was already a cheerleader, therefore I took it upon myself to look up come facts about the team. This helped while I was interviewing because I knew the different cheer terminology she used. Gathering Evidence: I typed my notes using a Google document in order to type information quickly and reference when I needed to spell check different names. Locating my Focus: Locating my focus was easy because Briana is so passionate about acrobatics and tumbling. I knew the focus had to be those two things. Establishing an order: I wrote my story in a narrative style but kept the events in a chronological order. Revise: I tried my best to avoid using weak verbs like was and is. I found this very challenging because I often could not find a different verb to use. F. Writing Tools: Writer Tool #10-Cut Big, Then Small: I did not have a lot of information in my story, but I noticed that I had to cut a lot of unnecessary words. I also had to improve my transition words. Writer Tool #15-Pay Attention to Names: Briana prefers to be called Bri but for the purposes of this story I had to change it back to Briana many times. Writer Tool #23-Tune Your Voice: I had one of my roommates read my story and I read it out loud. (more)

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G: Tips: A lot of the tips I took into consideration came from the AP stylebook and the lecture slides. I struggle writing leads and the slides helped clarify how I need to write my lead. H: Tweet Tweet: Check out Briana Murphy at next years NCA Nationals #UMDCheer Character Count: 61

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Amber Booth W/R: 3 (TA: Kate) COMM 231 0301 Oct. 3, 2013 A#A Slice of Life

SEO: University cuts acrobatics and tumbling team June 2012 Student reaffirms passion after tragedy

Tears streamed down her face. Within a matter of seconds her college athletic dreams dangled by a thread. Briana Murphy, a member of the acrobatics and tumbling team, feared for her scholarship when she found out the university cut her sport program from the athletic department in June 2012. Although Murphy feared for her scholarship after her team was cut, she persevered by joining the cheerleading team. Ultimately she was able to keep the scholarship she proudly earned doing another sport.
The National Cheerleaders Association National Championship was held in Daytona, Fla. Photo Source Facebook via: https://www.facebook.com/photo.ph p?fbid=10151621070821095&set=t.6 28876094&type=3&theater

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Despite integrating into a new team, Murphy used the cheerleading skills she learned in high school to her advantage. All-star cheerleading, tumbling and working as a marketing liaison at a local gym, all contributed to her comprehension of cheerleading on a college level. Through all of the pain and disappoint she experienced when acrobatics and tumbling was cut Murphy came out on top in the end. Many of her other teammates had a harder decision to make when the team was cut. Former tumbling and acrobatics member, Brittany Burkhard agreed that keeping her scholarship was a huge factor that ultimately helped her stay at the university. Furthermore, Murphy is looking forward to defending the 2013 NCA National title they won this year. When asked if she would trade cheerleading for anything she said, Its all worth it despite a couple sprained ankles and concussions, but thats another story. ### Meet Briana Hometown: Boston, Mass. Favorite color: Black Favorite Movie: The Town Favorite Song: All the small things Blink 182 Favorite social media outlet: Twitter Horoscope sign: Virgo How would you describe yourself: A dedicated, fun-loving, hardworking person