As noted by others, I used a great deal from the final reflection sent out a few weeks ago!

This assignment will ask you to reflect on your work over the semester, but it must be written in the genre of a “how-to” or self-help. Check out our page for samples! This guide has two drafts. The first one is due on _____ and the final draft is due on _____, with your complete final portfolio. The total word count for this should be around 1000. The main questions are:

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? Most importantly, what would you tell others about this experience as a way to help them on their own educational journeys!

As a way to begin this reflection, look back through your work (classwork, blogs, homework assignments, other reflections, and unit projects) and ask yourself the following questions. TAKE NOTES because I expect to see some quotes (at least 3) from your writing assignments. You are not meant to answer all of these point by point throughout the report; they are just to help you brainstorm ideas:

What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? How have they changed? Explain.

What differences did you see in your writing between the first unit and the last two units? Why?

How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now?

What was your least favorite assignment and why?

What was your least favorite genre and why?

What was your favorite assignment and why?

What was your favorite genre and why?

What are some lessons that stuck with you after completing certain assignments?

What changed in your writing, reading, and thinking as genres changed? *** (I’m looking for you to dig deep here. We have spent a great deal of time studying different genres)

How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?

What was your experience revising assignments?

Was there any peer or instructor feedback that stands out to you and why?

What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?

What have you used/might you use in other writing courses? In life?

What will I be looking for and grading you on:

• Attention to the audience, which includes me, but others as well! I don’t want to see just a list of answers. This should look like a “how-to” or self-help guide. Think about it like an interview of yourself as an example of completing the steps in the guide.
• There should be an organization for this guide. You should have paragraphs and an order that makes sense. It doesn’t have to be the order of the questions.
• You will need evidence and analysis. The evidence here are quotes from your own writing. If you learned something, show me proof. I need at least three quotes from your own writing, along with the proper set-up and explanations of why those quotes are there.
• Please proofread. Make sure it is long enough. Make decisions about the words that you choose. Remember that “how-to” guides have a certain tone and language style. ALSO, YOU MUST HAVE A TITLE!!! All successful books do!
• It must be on time. I expect a rough draft by ______ (so I can give you feedback) and a final draft by _______, along with a complete portfolio.