Reflective essay

English 1302: Final Reflective Essay

This assignment asks you (the writer) to reflect on the work you’ve done this semester.

Your essay should have two sections and should be about 3 typed pages. Direct it to me and any potential readers of your work.

Section One (about 1 page). Discuss yourself as a writer. Some questions you may want to consider include but are not limited to:

· Where did you begin the semester?

· Which aspects of the course did you struggle with?

· Where did you make the most improvement?

· Where is your writing headed now?

Section Two (about 2 pages). This section asks you to demonstrate your understanding of key outcomes defining the course and how those outcomes play out in the papers you’ve done this term. You may choose to discuss ANY of your writing projects as evidence.

Choose TWO of the outcomes listed below to discuss:

1. Understand how genres shape reading and writing;

2. Integrate their own ideas with those of others;

3. Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading;

4. Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work;

5. Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes;

6. Learn to critique their own and others' works;

7. Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences;

8. Develop knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics;

9. Locate, evaluate, organize, and use research material collected from electronic sources, including scholarly library databases; other official databases (e.g., federal government databases); and informal electronic networks and internet sources;

For each outcome, you must follow the three steps outlined below. Your answers for EACH outcome should be about one-two paragraphs long.

· STEP ONE: Define/describe the outcome you’ve selected for an audience who is completely unfamiliar with the concept. If you’re not sure how to explain an outcome, you may look online for help, but be sure the definition is in your own words (or you cite your source).

· STEP TWO: Point the reader to a specific place in your paperswhere the outcome is evident OR you are trying to address the outcome.

· STEP THREE: Explain why the example you point to is such a good (or fairly good) illustration of the outcome.

Please note: You are not trying to convince the reader your writing samples are perfect or that you’ve completely learned everything we’ve discussed this semester. Your goal is to show the reader you can critically respond to your own work.