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Contents 1 assignment 2 food for thought 3 grading criteria 4 Addendum

assignment

Note: I have provided an alternative way to accomplish this Final Reflection. I believe it is easier and makes more sense. If you've already begun and/or prefer to follow the original guidelines here, feel free to do so.

steph (COM) 16:00, 13 December 2006 (EST)

The materials you will need for the Final Reflection include all of your own work, particularly your previous Reflection Letters and all of the grade sheets from Steph. Also, you will need to read the Class Magazine and review the final layout of the Course Wiki.

The goal of this letter is to explain and demonstrate exactly what you have learned about your own writing as a result of this course. In particular,

What is the relationship between your writing and your thinking?

Note the emphasis on demonstration as you continue, expand, and deepen the self-analysis you've already begun with the first and second Reflection Letters.

food for thought

Here are a few prompts (to get you thinking):

"You not only have to write. You have to digest what you wrote so you close the gap." (Goldberg, ) Hint: what "gaps" have been "closed" for you? What have you "digested"?

The beliefs identified by yourselves in Zhang's final reflection essay, And It Was All A Dream.

Our very own Julian's thoughtful note about remembering.

According to Trinh T. Minh-ha, being a writer means turning your consciousness "to writing itself as a practice located at the intersection of subject and history - a literary practice that involves the possible knowledge (linguistical and ideological) of itself as such" (Minh-ha, 367).

grading criteria

I will be looking for the following:

A clear statement of the strategy you will use to demonstrate your writing prowess:
will you be comprehensive and draw from all of your work for class?
Or (alternatively) will you focus deeply upon your Adding to a Conversation research letter?

• evidence of comprehension of the rhetorical situation and the three rhetorical strategies;
• evidence of specific growth in each of the five items listed as grading criteria in the course syllabus

explores critical aspects and elements of the task

perceptible logic, development

clarity and support (evidence for claims)

minimum of distractions (e.g., diction, punctuation)

addresses the assigned task

• specific references to specific content in previous Reflection Letters and Papers
• comparison and contrast between your own writing and the writing of other students (by, for instance, citing specifics from the Class Magazine and/or Class Wiki)
• critical commentary on which elements of the teacher's pedagogy and assigned practical activities were effective for your learning and improvement as a reader (!) and (especially) as a writer

Addendum

Everyone - please spread the word about the following suggestion:

For the Final Reflection Paper, if you wish, you may focus 100% entirely only on your Unit 3 Paper, Adding to a Conversation (and your two previous Reflection Letters). If you decide to do this, make sure this is stated without ambiguity in your introduction. (By implication, if you stick with the original assignment, make sure you claim this without hesitation.) In other words, apply each question and element of the Final Reflection Paper criteria to the detailed feedback you received in our last class.

My rationale is that this is the best way for you to learn the most from it.

For instance, if I have offered a suggestion for re-phrasing - why do you think I came up with those particular words? Does the diction improve or alter the meaning you intended? What function is served by accepting the edit? What "gap" do you recognize/realize between what you wrote and what I proposed as an alternative?

My reason for this change is twofold:

1. I want to reduce your workload.
2. I want you to fully benefit from the feedback.

Basically, I think it will be easier and more effective than rewriting.

ALSO - I changed my mind about the percentages for Unit 3, Unit 4, and the Final Reflection. The original criteria was Unit 3 & 4 at 25% and the Final Reflection at 15%. As we discussed (based upon the conversation we held approximately mid-semester), I agreed to switch the percentages in your favor. Here is the change:

• The Final Reflection increases to 25%
• Unit 3, Adding to a Conversation is reduced to 15%
• Unit 4, This I Believe, remains at 25%

So the switch is between the values of the Final Reflection (hopefully your best writing) and Adding to a Conversation (the writing most in need of improvement). The only reservation I have in making this change is that the type of writing in Unit 3 is the most important for your college career. I hope you will absorb and comprehend this fact.

Don't forget to put this in a portfolio with the two previous Reflection Letters.

Now, make me proud.

steph (COM) 07:23, 13 December 2006 (EST)