Overview & Purpose
Estimated Time: 3-4 hours
Process Step: Reflection
Learning Outcomes: Use composing processes and strategies as a means to invent, discover, and reconsider ideas; learn metacognitive strategies for reflecting on evolving composing practices to transfer knowledge to other situations.
Instructional Materials: Before beginning, review the following:
Course Learning Goals and the Habits of MindLinks to an external site.
One of our main course goals in this class is for you to be able to transfer the writing skills you learn here to future writing situations (no matter if they are academic, professional, or personal). Thinking and writing about your writing experiences – what we call “metacognitive reflective writing” – is essential to making your learning “stick” so you can use it again in the future.
In this class, you will write three reflective pieces on your writing experiences. Though each reflection will be a bit different, in general, the reflective writing assignments will help you accomplish the following:
Identify and set goals.
Make sense of and grow from learning experiences.
Use what you’ve learned in the past to inform and guide your future learning.
Instructions
Step 1: Reflect and Brainstorm
Consider your past writing experiences. Look back and think critically (carefully, deliberately, and methodically) about your past experiences composing and writing, and how you feel about writing as a result.
Brainstorm ideas for your reflection, keeping in mind that roughly half of your reflection should be spent both “Looking Back” and “Looking Forward.” Use the following questions to help you generate (invent) ideas. Choose the questions that resonate with you; you do not need to cover all of the questions but you should have a fairly equal balance between the two categories.
Looking Back
Looking Forward
How would you describe your writing process? What parts of the process are strengths? Where would you like to improve?
What kinds of writing do you have experience with? Describe those experiences.
What kinds of technology have you used for writing and research? What technologies are most helpful, and what impede your writing? What works well for you, and what are you challenged by?
What kinds of writing are part of your workplace? Your social life? Your academic life?
How confident do you feel about those types of writing? Why do you feel that way?
What kinds of writing habits have you developed? Which habits help you? Which habits hold you back?
How have the perceptions of others (such as teachers or peers) about your writing impacted your identity as a writer?
How do you feel about yourself as a writer? What is your current identity as a writer/composer?
What are your goals for developing your writing process?
What new media would you like to try composing in?
What new technologies would you like to learn to use in your writing?
What kinds of writing would you like to experiment with?
What writing practices and strategies do you want to strengthen?
What habits of mind do you want to practice and strengthen?
What type of writing identity would you like to have? How would you like to feel about yourself as a writer? How would you like others to see you as a writer?
What specific writing goals do you have in this class? What would you like to be able to accomplish as a writer after completing this class?
Step 2: Compose and Design
Compose the story of your writing experiences and goals as a short essay. Do not simply answer the questions above or use bullet points; use the questions as a brainstorming and planning tool to help you as you compose your reflective essay. Make sure to organize your ideas logically and structure your essay in a way that will make sense for your readers.
Discuss the following:
Your attitudes about what you’ve learned about writing up to this point.
The evolution of your writing.
Your perceptions about yourself as a writer.
Support your claims with evidence that explains why you feel the way you do. Include the following:
Detailed explanations.
Parts of texts you have written.
Visuals that support the message of the written text.
You can also use design features to draw your readers’ attention to key parts of your reflection:
Add section headings to guide your readers to the different parts of your reflection.
Use indentations and white space to separate paragraphs/sections.
Use colored and formatted text to highlight important words and phrases.
Step 3: Include Visual Examples
Include 1-2 visual examples (or evidence) of your experience with writing. Spend time selecting important examples that will show your readers something meaningful and make sure to explain them in your reflection. This might include the following:
Screenshots of your previous writing, which can include previous school work/feedback, writing from your professional life, social media posts, emails/text messages, and more.
Hyperlinks to your writing if it exists elsewhere on the web, such as on a personal blog or website.
Photos you have taken that reflect your reading and writing life (books you have read, your workspace, things that inspire you).
Engaging images found online that represent the ideas or concepts you are writing about.
Even video or audio content (YouTube videos, TED Talks, links to songs, etc.).
Make sure to engage with the visual examples you include in your reflection. Where should they be included within your reflection? Will you use text wrap and/or captions to help your readers?
Step 4: Revise and Proofread
Revise and proofread your reflection for overall organization and flow within each paragraph.
Submission Requirements
Genre: Reflective essay
Audience: External readers in this course (your classmates, instructor, and Writing Mentor)
Length: At least 500 words (around 250 each for “Looking Back” and “Looking Forward”)
Format: Either PDF or Microsoft Word-compatible
Multimodality: 1-2 visual examples
