Mid-Term Reflection – Journal Entry What is a journal entry? A journal entry is a personal account of a day or a time period in one’s life. It is similar to writing a diary entry, but for academic purposes, is a bit more structured. A journal entry is personal account of a situation or event where the author expresses feelings, experiences, analysis, thoughts, and learnings about that situation. Most often, journal entries are reflective (thinking about the past), but sometimes, can be about a current situation. Objective: Reflection on any task is important. It is through reflection that we can analyze what we did well and what we can improve on; we realize our strengths and areas for improvement and can make effective decisions for the future. Assignment We are a little more than half-way through the semester. Reflect on your progress and experience in this class. Use the questions/statements below to help guide your thoughts. Then write a short journal entry on your reflection. Questions/ statements to guide you: What are you doing well? What do you think you could be doing differently? What are your struggles (or things you need/want to learn)? What improvements have you made? Evaluate your performance on assignments in this course. What have you learned thus far that has helped improve your skills? What have you learned about yourself as it relates to school/studying? What do you like/dislike about the course? What situations outside of school impact your learning? Anything personal you would like to add? Requirements: • Follow MLA format for page set up (header, title, page number, double sp., 12 pt. font). • Write in paragraph form. The questions above are meant to spawn thoughts and ideas; DO NOT write a question/answer document. • Length of journal entry should be a minimum of one page; maximum or 1 ½ pages. Getting Started: Follow the stages of the writing process. (These stages will not be graded, but you are expected to follow the steps in order to write a well developed essay). • Brainstorm thoughts about the semester; use the questions above to help trigger ideas. • Organize your ideas. Decide what are most important for you to include. • Outline: Create an outline with an introduction, body, and conclusion. You may have as many body paragraphs as you need so that your ideas are clear and organized. Consider grouping small, similar ideas into one paragraph. Major ideas can be discussed in depth in individual paragraphs. • Write creatively. Make it personal. • Edit and Revise as needed. Use your knowledge and experience that you have gained thus far in this course: Refer to grammar usage, MLA formatting, essay formatting, transitions, and paragraph structure. • Final Draft: Even thought this is a personal and casual form or writing, please turn in a journal entry that you are proud of. Rubric: There is no formal rubric for this exercise, but here is what I’m looking for: Content: You may discuss several details or one major detail; it all depends on what has impacted you. Either way, your writing should show depth of personal reflection: learnings, struggles; preferences; feelings, etc. Consider your Rhetorical Situation: Pay attention to audience, purpose, genre, stance, and context. Medium/design are not be applicable. Organization: Essay is organized; MLA format is followed; Grammar: Rules of grammar and spelling are followed. Show me that you have learned for the grammar lessons and essay feedback.