This semester, you have learned and practiced close and critical reading, become familiar with new types of literacy, and begun to use outside sources in order to create a focused argument. In this assignment, you will look at all you have accomplished, and then consider how you might continue improving as a writer. 

Purpose:   

In this assignment, you will reflect on what you have learned this semester, the skills you have gained, and how you might apply that knowledge and skills to your work in the next level of composition. You will also support your reflection using examples from this semester, including discussion, rough draft assignments, lectures, workshop, your process work, or final drafts. 

Audience:   

Your audience for this paper is your classmates and your instructor. Your audience is also yourself. Think of this as a way for you to make note of all the things you want to remember for your next writing class. 

Requirements:  

The genre is a letter to your audience. When brainstorming ideas to discuss in your reflection, consider the following questions: 

• What new knowledge did you gain in this course? 
• What skills did you learn?
  • For example, brainstorming, revision strategies, workshop, critical thinking, argument development, focus, finding and choosing sources, etc. You can look at the course objectives for more ideas.
• Was there anything you already knew, but feel more comfortable with now?  
• What was your biggest challenge in in this course? How will you address that challenge in your next writing course?
• Which skills from our course do you think will be most useful in future writing classes? Why?

Formatting: 

• Your reflection will be 600-900 words (around 3-4 pages).  
• Your reflection will NOT use any outside sources. You will, however, refer to any assignments, readings, class discussions, and notes you’ve used throughout the semester.
• Your work must be typed in size 12, Times New Roman font and double spaced, 1” margins, following MLA requirements.

An “A” (excellent) reflection (90% +):

• Your essay convinces the reader that you have thoroughly considered the topics, concepts, and skills we have covered this semester. You are able to identify multiple topics to discuss and you do so in a way that emphasizes the writing process. When you talk about each topic, you do so accurately, showing understanding of literacy and the rhetorical situation and its place in the writing process.
• You are able to consider your chosen topics and not only understand them, but connect them to other ideas, content, and courses. You are able to understand how to apply your current skills to a future context. You show awareness of your own strengths as a writer, as well as your writing challenges and how to overcome them in the future.
• You have taken advantage of this assignment to write to yourself as a future CO150 student; you have considered your knowledge and experience with academic writing, and provided yourself with important information for when you approach other writing situations. You have also considered your peers and what they would need to know about academic writing.
• You describe the topics, concepts, and skills by using examples from class, as well as examples from other writing contexts. You are able to explain why your chosen topics are important to the writing process, and how you will apply them in the future.
• Your essay is well organized, connected, and easy to follow. Each paragraph has one topic that is clearly connected to the purpose of the assignment. The essay flows well from one point to the next. Quotes and paraphrases: Your essay uses quotes and paraphrases to refer to assignment sheets, lectures, or other class material. The paraphrased and quoted passages are chosen appropriately and integrated effectively.
• You have followed MLA conventions and made appropriate choices for an academic essay. The essay is carefully proofread and edited for grammar and punctuation errors.

A “B” (good) reflection (80% +):

• Your essay convinces the reader that you have considered the topics, concepts, and skills we have covered this semester. You are able to identify a few topics to discuss and you do so in a way that emphasizes the writing process. When you talk about each topic, you do so accurately, showing understanding of literacy and the rhetorical situation and its place in the writing process, though there may be some imprecision in your discussion.
• You occasionally connect some of your topics to other ideas, content, and courses. You understand how to apply your current skills to a future context. You show awareness of your own strengths as a writer, as well as your writing challenges and how to overcome them in the future.
• You have considered your knowledge and experience with academic writing and provided yourself with important information for when you approach other writing situations. You have written about your experience in a way that would be applicable to your peers.
• You describe the topics, concepts, and skills by using examples from class, as well as examples from other writing contexts. You are sometimes able to explain why your chosen topics are important to the writing process, and you might discuss how you will apply them in the future.
• Your essay is organized, connected, and relatively. easy to follow. Each paragraph has one topic that is clearly connected to the purpose of the assignment, though you might occasionally stray into other topics. The essay flows well from one point to the next.
• Your essay uses quotes and paraphrases to refer to assignment sheets, lectures, or other class material. The paraphrased and quoted passages are chosen appropriately and integrated effectively. 
• You have followed MLA conventions and made appropriate choices for an academic essay. The essay is carefully proofread and edited for grammar and punctuation errors.

A “C” (satisfactory) reflection (70% +):

• Your essay discusses the topics, concepts, and skills we have covered this semester, though you might not always describe them accurately or in depth. There is a limited number of distinguishable topics to discuss and you neglect discussion of how these topics are relevant to the writing process. You show basic understanding of the rhetorical situation, though there may be some imprecision or lack of clarity.
• You are able to consider your chosen topics, but you don’t clearly connect them to other ideas, content, and courses. There might not be a clear understanding of how this material connects to other courses and writing contexts. You don’t demonstrate awareness of your own strengths as a writer, and while you might describe your writing challenges, there is little to no information about how you plan to overcome them in the future.
• You have not taken advantage of this assignment to write to yourself as a future CO150 student; there is a lack of information that will be useful for yourself or your peers in future academic writing contexts.
• Your paper has been developed minimally by describing the topics, concepts, and skills by using examples from class, as well as examples from other writing contexts. You might not show understanding of why your chosen topics are important to the writing process, or how you will apply them in the future.
• Your essay is organized and easy to follow. Body paragraphs might not be clearly connected to the purpose of the assignment. There are few connections from one idea to the next.
• Your essay occasionally uses quotes and paraphrases to refer to assignment sheets, lectures, or other class material. The paraphrased and quoted passages might not be chosen appropriately or integrated effectively.
• You have followed MLA conventions and made appropriate choices for an academic essay. The essay is carefully proofread and edited for grammar and punctuation errors.

A “D” (poor) reflection (60% +) or “F” (failing) reflection :

• A D or F project might have serious issues in achieving its purpose, is irrelevant and/or unaware of its audience, or is otherwise lacking in major requirements of the assignment. An F paper may also include plagiarism or improper use of outside sources.