Final Reflection

FINAL REFLECTION

Congratulations on finishing English 1101! I am so proud of you all for making it to this point.  Your final portfolio is a chance for you to gather, share, and celebrate all of the work you have completed over the course of this year!

YOUR FINAL REFLECTION:

Now, it is time for you to reflect on all that you have learned this semester!  You are going to write a reflection that is at least 250 words as an introduction to your final portfolio. You should reflect on all you have learned through each of the different pieces of writing that you crafted over the course of the year from informal jots, notes in class, to short writing and formal projects. What type of writing has felt most comfortable? Familiar? Which has felt most interesting?

These two questions should guide your thinking as you write your final reflection:

What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer and scholar this semester?

How will you be able to use what you have learned this semester and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community? 

Here are some questions you may wish to consider.  You do not need to answer them all. Use them as a guide. Here is what is KEY!  QUOTE from YOURSELF! Use quotes from your different pieces, at least 2 to support your thinking!!

• Introduce yourself to the reader. Put in any relevant background information that the reader might want to know about you before reading your portfolio.
• What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
• What is included in your portfolio? Describe the choices. Describe what you might have left out. Or wish you could include.
• What discoveries have you made about yourself as a writer (or a reader)?
• How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now?
• Point out something you want to make sure the reader does not miss.
• What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
• What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed? (from literacy narrative, to rhetorical analysis to writing in a new genre)
• Point out some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
• What was your experience revising assignments?
• What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?
• How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
• Looking back, what would you have done differently? What would you do the same? Why do you think you made the particular choices that you did? Do you think these were the right choices?
• What are your thoughts on the experience in general? Was it a useful learning experience? What specific skills or perspectives did you acquire as a result?

Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection; they are just meant to help you brainstorm ideas. Think about all of the texts we’ve read about writing this semester—some of them certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not.  The ones that did were well-written, they had a point, the writer had a voice that you felt was worth listening to.  Try to do that in your own writing here.  You can also quote from them, use them in this reflection! Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected author: you are someone with something to say.

Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on in your reflection!):

• • Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).
  • Attention to organization.  This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 250 word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!
  • Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, show me proof!  By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least two quotes from your own writing this semester. And, as usual, don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”
  • Care. Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisions about your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.

Your final reflection has to be on TIME. The final portfolios are due Monday, December 20th  and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in.