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Reflection Essay: identifying & explaining your growth in ENGL-099 Introduction: The purpose of a reflection essay is for you to think about something from a new, changed perspective

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Introduction:

The purpose of a reflection essay is for you to think about something from a new, changed perspective. In this case, you’ll be reflecting on the full semester of ENGL099.  Think of this as a way to highlight both what you’ve learned in this class and what you now recognize that you still need to work on for future college writing assignments.

 

Assignment:

Your task is to compose an essay in which you explain what you have learned this semester, how you’ve developed, and where you still need to develop.  This essay is kind of like a letter: it should be personal, detailed, and honest.  You’re writing to me, your teacher, but you’re also writing to yourself.  I ask students to think of it this way—if you don’t have another writing assignment for six months, what would you want to remember from this class?  What should you include in this essay to help you cement what you’ve learned and help you prepare for future writing assignments?

 

You have a few requirements to cover in this essay.

 

For this assignment you will:

• Define and carefully discuss the following:
  • 3 course objectives (of your choosing). Two of these should be objectives you feel you’ve met or exceeded; one should be an objective you feel you still need to work on. Objective #9 is off limits.
  • What do I mean by “carefully discuss”?
    • Carefully discuss = take time to explain, elaborate, and analyze

 

• Use SPECIFICS: refer to specific assignments, activities, or essays to illustrate what you learned and how you learned it. As you discuss the objectives, I will be looking for proof and evidence. Here are some ways to do this:
  • I want you to quote and cite your own work
  • Use examples from exercises or activities we did as a class or that you did as homework

  • ENGL-099 Course Objectives Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:   Apply metacognition and critical thinking strategies to complete reading and writing tasks Implement the writing process, including pre-writing, drafting, and revising Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship among writer, audience, and purpose Organize essays logically and appropriately for a variety of purposes Compose grammatically correct and varied sentences in academic English Implement the reading process, including pre-reading strategies, active reading, textual annotations, and inferences based on information from the text Make connections between reading and writing by finding, using, and referencing specific, relevant textual evidence to support ideas Find, integrate, reference, and evaluate appropriate sources of information logically and ethically Expand vocabulary using a variety of strategies

    Discuss the various units and their goals as they relate to what you’ve learned/how you’ve developed

Rhetorical Situation:

Audience: your teacher/ your future self  

Purpose: to reflect on the semester

Organization:

Aim to make your introduction compelling to your readers. Start with an interesting observation or a story. This is a personal reflection, so feel free to write in a personal tone. Think about something from this semester that sticks out to you—an epiphany?  Your initial thoughts about ENGL099?  Previous writing experiences?

 

Otherwise, your introduction should also introduce your topic: a claim about what you have learned or how you have grown this semester.  This claim is like an informal thesis statement.

 

Note: for this assignment, your introduction and conclusion may be quite brief. What I’ll be looking for is thoughtful, detailed, developed, and focused body paragraphs that convince me.

 

Your body paragraphs should prove your claim—they should show how you’ve developed/what you’ve learned.

 

Don’t forget: you must reflect on the significance of what you’ve learned.  These paragraphs may vary in length.  Remember: you should reflect on your thoughts with some depth. Don’t just focus on grades; instead, look at what you’ve accomplished.

 

The conclusion of the essay should wrap up everything you have discussed within the introduction and body of your work. Remember, it must “echo” the introduction. Think of the conclusion as having a conversation with the intro.  Here, you bring your reflection to a close by readdressing whatever you used to grab your readers’ attention – a quote, a question, an anecdote, or an interesting observation. Or you might consider what you’ll be writing next semester by answering the question: how will these new skills and your new knowledge transfer to writing in other courses?

 

 

Essay Requirements

All passing essays must:

• discuss three objectives
• meet the expectations outlined on this assignment sheet
  • have focused, developed paragraphs
  • refer back to your work throughout the semester – with details and specific evidence
  • have developed ideas that you carefully discuss
• be edited