Final Reflection English 1101
Due with final portfolio
1000 words

Assignment
For the final assignment of the semester, you will be reflecting on the progress that you made as a writer during the class. Essentially, your paper will answer:

1. What have you learned about yourself as a reader and writer this semester?
2. How will you be able to transfer the knowledge that you have gained in the class to other writing situations?

To begin this assignment, look back through everything you have written so far in the semester and arrange it from beginning to end. This will allow you to see the progress that you have made as a writer. I then want you to consider the following questions to help you brainstorm your writing:

• 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 discussions that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
• What has changed in your writing, reading, and critical thinking as you composed in different genres?
• How has your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing changed over the semester?
• What has revision taught you?

You do not have to answer every one of these questions. These are simply meant to help you shake loose some ideas. I do not want your papers to just be a list of answers to these questions, but a fully formed essay. Think about what are the strongest points you want to develop in the reflection. What is most important to tell your reader about your progress?

Grading
I will use the rubric that I have used throughout the semester however these are the main things that I will be looking for:

1. That it is the correct length: The Reflection should be at least 1000 words and you will have points taken off if it does not reach the word limit.

2. That you are conscious of the audience that you are writing towards: Make sure that you write an article about what you’ve learned. It should be written and organized in a way that speaks to an audience like we have talked about in class.

3. That you have supporting evidence and thorough 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, make sure you explain why that passage is important to your readers

**Note** No late paper will be accepted and I will not give extensions since it is the end of the semester.

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.

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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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