Journal: Unit 1

This is a short reflection that helps you to prepare for Assignment 1: the Personal Essay. It can also help you to develop your ideas about any chapter of the book that we read. Here is a sample personal reflection.

The requirements are: 

  • Briefly summarize a chapter of Bad Ideas About Writing 
  • Make one connection between one of the claims in this chapter and a personal experience you’ve had in the past
  • Say how / whether this chapter confirmed something you believed, changed your mind, or failed to convince you of its argument.
  • Write 2-3 follow up questions that you have for the author about the topic of this chapter. For example, if you’re reading Mitchell James’s chapter about grades, a follow-up question could be “How do gradeless classes impact motivation?”  
  • Write at least 400 words. It’s fine to write more than this. This should NOT include the heading, the title, the Works Cited page, or anything that is not the body of the journal.
  • Annotate your draft with questions for me.
  • Submit this assignment using the assignment submission form by the due date (for feedback) or no later than the end-of-unit deadline (for possible credit, if you have met all other requirements). Choose Weekly Work #2: Journal as the assignment you are submitting.