Reflective Writing 1: My First Four Weeks as a Writer
Assignment Overview
Purpose:
During the first four weeks of Writing I, you have practiced expressing ideas in English, organizing sentences and paragraphs, using punctuation and connectors, and thinking about your own routines, university life, and study habits.
This reflection gives you an opportunity to think about what you have learned, what has been difficult, and what you want to improve next. The goal is not to write perfect English. The goal is to show that you can think about your own learning and explain your progress clearly.
Assignment type: Individual
Estimated time: 30–40 minutes
Learning Outcomes
By completing this assignment, you will be able to:
- identify specific areas in which your English writing has improved;
- describe challenges you have experienced during the first four weeks;
- support your reflection with examples from your own work;
- identify one or two realistic goals for improving your writing;
- write a short, organized reflective paragraph in English.
Task
Write a 180–200 word reflection about your experience during the first four weeks of Writing I.
Your reflection should answer the following main question:
How have I changed as an English writer during my first four weeks of this course?
You do not need to answer every question below separately. Use them to help you decide what to include.
Think about your learning
- What is one important thing you understand now that you did not understand during Week 1?
- What writing activity helped you the most?
- What have you learned about writing clear sentences?
- What have you learned about organizing a paragraph?
- How has your use of punctuation or connectors improved?
- Has planning with a vocabulary bank or graphic organizer helped you? How?
- What is still difficult for you when you write in English?
- What mistake do you notice more often now?
- What are you able to do more independently than you could four weeks ago?
- What is one writing skill you want to improve during the next four weeks?
Before You Write
Look at at least two pieces of writing or planning work that you completed during Weeks 1–4.
Find evidence of your progress.
For example:
- a sentence you would write differently now;
- punctuation that you corrected;
- a better topic sentence;
- clearer supporting ideas;
- improved use of and, but, because, first, then, or finally;
- a graphic organizer that helped you organize your ideas;
- feedback that helped you notice a problem.
Suggested Organization
Beginning - Topic Sentence
Explain briefly how you felt about writing in English when the course began.
Middle - Details
Describe two specific things you have learned or improved. Give an example when possible.
Ending - Conclusion
Identify one challenge that you still have and one goal for the next four weeks.
Sentence Starters
You may use these sentence starters if they help you organize your ideas.
- At the beginning of the course, I…
- During the first four weeks, I learned that…
- One thing I can do better now is…
- One activity that helped me was…
- Before, I often…, but now I…
- I noticed that I sometimes have difficulty with…
- One example of my progress is…
- I still need to improve…
- During the next four weeks, I want to…
- I can work toward this goal by…
Instructions
- Review at least two examples of your work from Weeks 1–4.
- Choose two areas of progress that you want to discuss.
- Identify one area that is still difficult for you.
- Choose one specific goal for the next four weeks.
- Write one organized reflection of approximately 180–200 words.
- Include at least one specific example from your own writing or learning experience.
- Use complete sentences and basic connectors to organize your ideas.
- Review capitalization, punctuation, and sentence boundaries.
- Read your reflection once before submitting it.
- Submit your final reflection in the Teams Assignment.
GenAI and Author Responsibility
This assignment is about your own learning experience, so the ideas and reflection must come from you.
Do not ask GenAI to write, rewrite, or complete your reflection.
If GenAI use is specifically authorized by your instructor, you may use it only to help you explore vocabulary or understand a language question. You must still decide what to say and write the reflection yourself.
Deliverable
Submit to Teams assignment as a Word document:
One 180–200 word reflection titled:
My First Four Weeks as a Writer
Your reflection should include:
- 2 areas of progress
- 1 specific example from your work
- 1 continuing challenge
- 1 goal for the next four weeks
Final Self-Check
Before submitting, ask yourself:
- Did I explain what I have learned?
- Did I give a specific example?
- Did I identify something that is still difficult?
- Did I identify a realistic goal?
- Did I organize my ideas clearly?
- Did I check capitalization and punctuation?
- Does this reflection sound like me?