Your first freshman English class is nearly over, and your journey, albeit brief, has been extensive. For example, you learned the basic stages of the writing process. You participated in vigorous whole-class discussions of a wide variety of texts with the understanding that good readers make good writers. In your responses to the rhetoric for this course, you produced a broad range of writing assignments including a summary/response essay and a narrative essay. You also began the process of refining your research skills by learning to cite sources effectively according to the conventions of MLA Documentation Style. (You will return to expanded applications of research and MLA Documentation Style in English 1302.)
During your journey through English 1301, you also received peer reviews of your working drafts. Now it is time for you to consider your own progress as a writer and student in this class. In preparation for Essay 3, we will begin by exploring “Claiming an Education,” a convocation speech written by celebrated American poet Adrienne Rich.
The lesson concludes with a link to Essay 3.
In this lesson, you will practice writing under timed conditions. You will also
· Analyze and reflect upon your experiences as a writer and student in this course
· Employ the stages of writing to craft an organized and focused self-reflection
· Choose an appropriate voice and style to write to an academic audience
The Self-Reflection Essay
“The first thing I want to say to you who are students, is that you cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education: you will do much better to think of being here to claim one. One of the dictionary definitions of the verb ‘to claim’ is: to take as the rightful owner; to assert in the face of possible contradiction. ‘To receive’ is to come into possession of: to act as receptacle or container for; to accept as authoritative or true. The difference is that between acting and being acted-upon…” ~Adrienne Rich, “Claiming an Education”
Use this essay to reflect upon some of your experiences as a writer and student in this course. Avoid sweeping generalizations, and provide specific details that address the writing prompt below. Before you draft your essay, consider exploring these brainstorming questions on your own:
- What writing strategies helped you discover new ideas?
- Which class activities helped you improve some of the weaker points in your writing?
- How do your initial course writings compare to subsequent course writings?
- How do you plan to continue developing and improving as a writer and/or student?
LENGTH: 2-3 pages pages, or 500-750 words
ACADEMIC AUDIENCE: Freshman college students about to begin this writing course and their first semester of college
The specific writing prompt for this essay will be available after you access this timed assignment. Note that you may only access the essay link below once.
Your essay must use MLA Paper Format, and you must use quotation marks and parenthetical documentation for any quotes that you pull from Adrienne Rich’s speech. However, you do not need to include a Works Cited Page unless you quote from sources other than Rich’s speech.
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