Post 8

 During the semester I have learned the importance of properly managing my time when it comes to work, school and my personal life. Although this is something I still struggle with I feel that I'm learning key skills to help me become better at it. I was genuinely overwhelmed this semester because of my school load, work, and being a full-time parent. I'm proud of myself for still pushing through the difficult times and seeing the semester through.  My least favorite thing about the class was the fact that we had to check in so many days out of the week. I felt like this was a lot especially for a non-traditional student. Nonetheless i was able to show up and do the work. Thank you, Mr. Hamon, for forcing us to show up multiple times throughout the week and become better readers and writers.

Post 7

 In high school I was always told when writing an academic essay to stay away from first person point of view, whereas in college you're taught the complete opposite. "The main reason most teachers give for the discipline of I-less-ness is that it keeps your writing “objective.” They want to make sure that you don’t rely on personal experiences or perspectives where you should be providing concrete, researched support for your arguments" (Maddalena 181).

The idea that your academic paper should always be five paragraphs was also instilled in me during high school, but in college you're taught that writing five paragraphs doesn't necessarily give you a successful academic paper.

Post 6: Boyd's Rhetorical Strategies

 While reading Boyd's essay "Murder! Rhetorically Speaking" I was genuinely intrigued by the phase "Learning How to Say Goodbye" on page 94. In this part of the essay Boyd went on to explain how saying goodbye is like writing a eulogy for a funeral. She stated how most people usually feel compelled to use all five facts but an actual eulogy you wouldn't. I learned that each of the five facts all bring a different perspective to the audience when it comes to the reader. In order to be a good writer, you must observe, recognize, and provide proof of your point when it comes to reading and writing. You asked if I find Boyd persuasive? The answer is yes because she explains what is needed to become a good writer but in a away the grabs and keeps the reader's attention. 

Work Cited

Boyd, Janet. “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking).” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press and WAC Clearinghouse, 2011, pp. 101-113. Writing Spaces, http://writingspaces.org/essays. 

Post 5: Logical Argument

One of the most compelling reasons to major in psychology is the personal growth you’ll experience. Studying psychology encourages self-reflection and provides valuable insights into your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It also teaches you how to understand and empathize with others, which is a crucial skill in both personal and professional life. "When you study humanity, nothing is certain. When observing or making inductive arguments, it is important to get your evidence from many different areas, to judge it carefully, and acknowledge the flaws. Inductive arguments must be judged by the quality of the evidence since the conclusions are drawn directly from a body of compiled work" (Jones, 166). This statement explains to us the importance of having evidence to back up your logic to better sway the reader to agree with your stance. I plan to not only inform my reader of the pros of majoring in psychology but also providing the reader with evidence from various sources to further prove my argument.

Post 3: Importance of Outside Sources

 In Mike Bunn's "How to Read Like a Writer," he breaks down to us the process of how to read like a writer. Bunn first introduced himself to his readers and gave them a brief background of who he was and the struggles he faced with reading in theatre environment. Bunn said, ". As I struggled to read in this environment, I began to realize that the way I was reading—one word at a time—was exactly the same way that the author had written the text." (pg. 72) It was in that moment that Bunn realized that reading was a process of a string of choices. He went on to explain why it is important to not only read like a but also how different it is from normal reading. Bunn told us that using outside sources serves as evidence to the author's story and help make the writing more creditable.

Post 2: My Rhetorical Situation

 The four parts of the communication triangle taught us the importance of understanding the writer, reader, subject and text. From the video I learned that in order to be a successful writer you must first understand yourself and the message you want your audience to receive which in turn helped me pick my topic for our essay. I know that time management is something that almost all college students may currently or have struggled with in the past. So, I'm hoping that from my research and understanding of the topic I can help some of my fellow classmates and myself. I know firsthand how important time management is and how easily one can fail victim to procrastination and missing deadlines. I plan to keep my paper very light, informative but also very personable and relatable. 

Post 01: Introduction

 Good evening, everyone! My name is Aquilla Johnson and a sophomore at Middle Georgia. I am from Atlanta, Ga and graduated from the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School in 2015. Upon graduating, I enlisted into the service. I went on to start my freshman year of college at MGA and then took my spring semester off for my military training. After completing my military training, I came back to MGA to finish school. After starting my sophomore year, I became pregnant with my daughter and ended up leaving school to be a mom. Here I am almost 7 years later, picking up where I left off. 

Besides being a mother full time, and working, I enjoy everything beauty related. I spend most of my free time binge watching my favorite tv shows, trying new foods or trying new beauty products. Any time I get some free time I try to do things that brings me peace and enjoy slow mornings. I'm excited to see what I will learn from this class and experience.