Reflection Paper

Description: 3-4 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt.-font, plus MLA formatted citations page

Sources: Murray, “The Maker’s Eye”, Major Revision of a Course Essay; your writing & revision practice

Due Date: 12/15 Sunday 11:59pm Canvas

The Assignment Write a personal, reflective essay about your writing & revision practice this semester using 1) Murray, “The Maker’s Eye” as a lens for your reflection and 2) your Major Revision of a Course Essay as support for your claims. A successful reflection will provide:

• a thesis that offers a clear message about your developing writing practice; • support for the thesis through detailed examples from your own work; • reference to the source-as-lens (Murray, “The Maker’s Eye”) • careful attention to academic language, grammar, and form

Getting started

As you continue to revise a major course essay, it’s time to step back and critically analyze the process. Write a reflective essay in which you explain in detail the changes you made in your revised essay and why you made them.

Step One:

Identify a major course essay to revise and gather all supporting documents related to that essay (e.g. class notes, drafts, peer feedback, instructor feedback, etc.). Craft an evolving thesis statement that argues clearly and cogently for what kind of writing knowledge or experience you have had over the course of the semester.

Step Two:

Consider all your major choices and their impact. Why did you make these choices? Did you re-read the assignment sheet? Speak to your instructor again? Did you have doubts making these changes? Wrestle with your most important cognitive decisions, and let your readers see and understand your thinking process.

English W131 ML Reading, Writing, & Inquiry I

2

For evidence, quote lines from both the original and revised essay. When analyzing language mistakes, look for patterns of error. Quote Rules for Writers to explain rules you had not learned before. Give yourself credit for things that went well in the original paper and should not be changed.

To incorporate the lens text, consider in what ways your experience of writing and revising is corroborated by Murray’s message. In what ways is your writing knowledge and experience different from Murray’s message? You might consider reviewing your Writing Experience Essay for inspiration.

Step Three:

Towards the end of your reflection essay, think back to the writing goals you set at the beginning of the semester. Have you met your goals? Use evidence from your re-written essay to help you answer this question. Have your writing priorities changed over the course of the semester? And, most importantly, how will the skills you have learned in this course help you in your future writing?

As a final step, proofread your reflection essay, observing the rules of Standard Written English.