I am Emmanual “Manny” Johnson. I am a sophomore in chemical engineering at the University of Alabama. I plan to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering so that I can work on the development of prosthetics. To achieve this goal I will need to plan out how I want to get there the smartest and most efficient way. I know that I will have to write research papers and long lab reports. I hope that this English 103 course will help me hone my skills as a writer and critical thinker.
A Hero’s Wisdom(updated About Me)
Dear Peter,
This semester in English 103 has taught me several concepts that refined my writing ability. There have been projects that were very easy to me and others that made me rake my brain for content. However, I feel that I have matured extensively throughout this course. The mains aspects that have improved in are my habits that have to be broken, understanding discourse and, using rhetoric to bolster my credibility.
At the beginning of this course, I was clueless about what rhetoric is and how to utilize it in my own writing. Sure I had to use it in high school but never understand it in real-world applications. After the various side quests and main quests, I have a better grasp of the rhetorical appeals as well as the different types of arguments. This understanding helps the effectiveness of my own writing.
I struggled throughout high school with writing my introduction and conclusion paragraphs. To make sure I hit the right points when fleshing those out, I usually write my body before anything else. The problem I run into is that the conclusion sounds repetitive and the introduction is short. However, after reading your advice on my discourse analysis, I have a few things to keep in mind when I am writing them now. I have to set up my introduction to compliment my conclusion as well as ‘introduce’ the argument. Reiterating the thesis and presenting the takeaway points are the important parts of the last paragraph. A bad habit of mine is using conjunctive adverbs in most of my writing. My first draft of my discourse analysis used them in a majority of the sentences. I am appreciative that you pointed it out and it is something I watch for when writing essays now.
The main quests helped me hone different aspects of my writing ability. World One helps set the stage for what I was capable of before the course and introduce me to argumentation. World Two brought in discourse and how the involved groups utilize it to promote an agenda. Before this course, I understood what discourse is, however, my knowledge only went as far as being able to point it out when I saw it and defining it. Now, I know how to spot it and investigate why it is being used the way it is. The third World put a spin on the idea of what an English course should be. Having to build a game that compliments the argument from World Two is one of the most challenging tasks because it is so far from what is expected in a typical class. Finally, this Final Boss is the culmination of my advancement as a writer to this point. I only hope that it reflects the hard work I have put in throughout this course
Sincerely,
Emmanual Johnson
