This morning in class, you will compose a final reflective essay that documents your work in the second half of the semester, focusing on what you consider some of your most significant work and the feature or features of the course that have benefited your development as a writer and a student. Since you have already written a reflective essay on your final essay and annotated bibliography, your final reflection should focus on other assignments and features, including one, two, or three of the following:
- Studying one of the texts we have examined in the second half of the semester, including “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” “A Break from Your Smartphone can Boost Your Mood . . . ,” The Competition, “How a Small North Carolina College . . . ,” “Scrabble is a Lousy Game,” Seedlings, “Skim Reading is the New Normal,” “Strawberry Spring,” “To Remember a Lecture Better, Take Notes by Hand,” or one of the sample final essays and annotated bibliographies (“The King of Storytelling,” “Scrabble as a Game Changer in the College Classroom”)
- Writing for an online audience beyond the classroom/creating and maintaining a WordPress blog
- Delivering your group presentation.
- Collaborating with your classmates on in-class writing assignments
- Playing Scrabble/collaborating with your teammates on Wordplay Day
- Writing longhand
- Limiting screen time
- Keeping a journal
Focus on one, two, or three assignments or features of the course, and include in your reflective essay the following elements:
- A title that offers a window into your reflection
- An opening paragraph that introduces your focus and presents your thesis
- Body paragraphs that offer concrete details from your work to support your thesis.
- A relevant quotation from Writing Analytically or a relevant quotation from one of the texts that we have studied in the second half of the semester. Introduce your quotation with a signal phrase and follow it with a parenthetical citation.
- A conclusion that revisits the thesis without restating it verbatim
- An MLA-style works cited entry for your source. The April 10 guidelines for preparing for your final reflection include this note: “Be sure to record the work cited entry in the correct format in your journal. During the writing of your reflection, which is a handwritten assignment, you will not have the option of referring to any electronic resources. You may refer only to your journal, your textbook, and your class handouts.”
Next Up
Wordplay Day! To prepare for class, revisit the Dictionary and World Builder pages on the Scrabble website or the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Word Finder page, and review the blog posts devoted to Scrabble tips.
Coming Soon
In class on Monday, you will receive the assignment for the individual presentation you will deliver during the exam period, Monday, April 27, at 3:30 p.m. You will have time in class both to plan your presentation and update your WordPress blog. Details TBA.
Jane Lucas 