The Writing Reflection Essay AN OVERVIEW

Writing Reflection Essay Prompt The county curriculum guide for the writing reflection essay gives the following prompt: After carefully reviewing the writing and assessments you have completed over the course of the year, write a reflection essay that demonstrates your understanding of your strengths as a writer, reader, and thinker and the areas in which you have grown as a writer, reader, and thinker this year. Your essay should be structured as an argument, and as such, it should include a thesis statement and specific textual evidence (quotes) from your work throughout the year to support that thesis. An exemplary essay will be deeply and honestly reflective, will explicitly analyze the ways in which the student’s growth has led to a change in behavior, and will demonstrate an awareness of an area for future growth as a reader, writer, and/or thinker.

So what does that mean?  Your writing reflection essay will be a reflection on the specific ways you have grown this year as a writer. Your essay should focus on the following areas:  Your strengths as a writer, and how you have been consistently strong in those specific areas and why those are important skills to have.  The areas in which you have grown as a writer, and how you have improved in those areas as well as why these are important skills to develop.  The skills you need to continue to work on in the fourth quarter and beyond, with suggestions/ideas on how you can improve in those areas as well as why they are important skills to develop.  You will use specific examples and direct quotations from at least three different pieces of writing you have written this year.  You will need to analyze your areas of strength/improvement/growth on a deeper level. That means going beyond just stating the obvious and honestly and deeply reflecting on these skills and why they are important.

What will I need to include in my essay?  All the elements of a good essay (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion)  A clearly worded thesis that clearly states the areas you will be reflecting on in your paper.  “Specific textual evidence (quotes) from your work throughout the year to support your thesis.” A truly exemplary paper will have a quote from each of the three pieces you analyze in your paper.  Deep, honest reflection and explicit analysis of the ways you have grown as a writer, as well as areas for future growth.  A minimum of 3 pieces of your writing that you analyze/reference in your paper. These will be labeled “Source A”, “Source B”, “Source C”, etc and cited that way in your paper. You will also attach these three pieces to your final paper.

Ok that’s great, but what about the important stuff?  How long does it have to be?  As always, it needs to be as long as it needs to be to thoroughly and effectively answer the question. Remember-the key words are “deeply and explicitly reflecting on and analyzing your growth as a writer”. So-probably at least two pages, double spaced. In normal font.  How will it affect my grade?  This will count as a “major fourth quarter grade”. So basically it’ll be the biggest grade you have 4 th quarter. So do your best. And turn it in on time.  Do I have to do this?  Yes.

The Process 1.We will go through your writing folders and begin to think about the specific skills you will write about in your paper and the actual quotes you will use. 2.We will do a preliminary reflection on the big ideas you will include in your paper. 3.We will look at and discuss the rubric 4.We will write a rough draft in class. You will submit this draft to turnitin.com for me to review and give feedback. 5.We will write your final draft in class. Your final paper will be submitted on turnitin.com (and also probably a hard copy, because you know-technology).