NOTE: Like a few others I’ve seen, this is the tweaked version of Christine’s!

ENG1101

Final Reflection

 We are now at our final writing assignment of a challenging semester. I am so proud of you all for making it to this point. Now it is time for you, as the title suggests, reflect on your work over the semester. For this final assignment, reflect upon the following questions:

• 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?

The Reflection is due with your Final Portfolio and should be a minimum of X words.

As a way to begin your Final Reflection, look back through all your work for this class: the three major essays/projects, journal assignments, reflections, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

• How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now?
• What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
• What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
• What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
• How did you make decisions in your assignment about content and design in Unit 3?
• What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
• What was your experience revising assignments?
• Was there any peer 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)?

Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection; they are just meant to help you brainstorm ideas. 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:

• Attention to audience. This essay will be the first item any reader will see in your Final Portfolio. This essay will set a “tone” for all the work that follows. Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write about what you’ve learned. Prepare the reader for what they’ll see in your Portfolio. This Portfolio will not just be read by me—perfect strangers may read it, and you want them to be impressed!
• Attention to organization. This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1,000 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. PLEASE NOTE: All reflections should have at least three 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?”
• 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.
• It’s gotta be on time. Make sure to post it for the Peer Review session! (The Rough Draft’s due date is X.) You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback! The final draft of the Final Portfolio (including this Reflection) are due on the last day of this class and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in.

This is tweaked version of the one Christine shared with us.

Final Reflection 1101

Congratulations! You’ve completed a substantial body of work. Now it is time for you, as the title suggests, reflect on your work over the semester. For this final assignment, reflect upon the following questions:

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?

The Reflection should be a 1000 words.

As a way to begin your Reflection, look back through your compendium of work: in-class writing exercises, homework assignments, earlier reflections, essays/projects, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

• How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now?
• What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
• What are some notable lessons or discussion posts that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
• What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
• How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and genre?
• What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
• What was your experience revising assignments?
• Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you and why?

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 essays 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.  Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing.

You are also open to write this reflection in another genre. For instance, you can write this reflection as a guide, a how-to essay, instructions for succeeding in 1101, etc. If you do choose to write in another genre, you must still address the questions listed above and quote from each of the papers you are including in the writing portfolio. Think of this reflection as an introduction to your portfolio and take the reader on a journey focusing on your academic growth in this class. Don’t be afraid to be honest, if you didn’t find yourself liking a particular assignment, let the reader know.

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

• 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 1000 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 three 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?”
• Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisionsabout your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.
• It’s gotta be on time. The reflection is due TBA and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in. Make sure to post it by then! You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback before you submit it with the final portfolio due on TBA (no late portfolios will be accepted)

ENG1101 Unit 4
Drafts from Josh B.

• Unit 4. Reflective Essay & Portfolio: Looking Back & Looking Forward.

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