REFLECTION 6

Part 1: Reflection on Essay 3

1. Based upon the amount of time you spend writing the essay (fulfilling all
elements of the process, from freewriting to outlining to participating in a peer
response workshop), as well as my comments overall, are you surprised by
the grade your essay received? Why or why not?
I think I was expecting a lower grade and I was surprised that that I got a higher grade
than my previous essay. I put in a lot of effort in this essay, and I tried to take a different
approach in my writing process. Overall I was most surprised about the comment I saw
on my title because I wasn’t sure how it would be received.
2. Select ONE part of your essay in which you did well, based upon my
comments, annotations, and the notes from the rubric. What did you do well
and how do you plan on building upon that strength of your writing.
My introduction had a ten out of ten on the rubric and I think it’s because I invested
more time on it this time over the last essay. I can definitely see the difference in scores
and that extra effort made my essay stronger. Ultimately it comes down to how I invest
myself in the work that reflects on the grade.
3. Using the categories of the rubric, select what you think are your ​TOP 3
categories for improvement​. In other words, ​what areas of the essay do
you think you most need to focus on in order to develop that part of the
essay for Essay 4?​ Why do you think you struggled with this category in
Essay 3? ​Categories include:
○ Scope/Definition of Task
○ Introduction- topic and context
○ Introduction- thesis
○ Organization
○ Body Paragraphs: Focus
○ Body Paragraphs: Evidence and Support
○ Body Paragraphs: Analysis
○ Conclusion
○ Sentence Variety
○ Editing and MLA
My top three that need improvement would be organization, body paragraphs:
evidence and support, and sentence variety. I always use the same structure
because it is something that I’m used to. In my sentences, body paragraphs, and
the way I structure my essays is always consistent and now I think I need to step
away from it in order to challenge myself.
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4.
5. Select​ two comments or questions I made in my annotations​ that you find
helpful in understanding how you can improve your writing for the next essay.
Write the comment (quote me) and then write a response to that comment
that shows what you understand about how to improve your essay because
of that comment.
A comment that really stood out to me was that I always use a colon to list out my
evidence, facts, or quotes. When I read that I went back and reread all my previous
essays for this class and noticed it right away.
6. What questions do you have about how to improve any specific part of your
writing? List 2 questions you have based upon the comments I gave you on
the essay.
○ How do I vary my essay structures to more creative approaches?
○ When should I replace my colons with semicolons?

Part 2: Reflection on Outline Workshop

1. Based upon your work in class today, on a scale of 1-5, how confident do you
feel about your outline? Rate yourself and explain your rating: 1= not
confident and 5 = very confident.
a. I worked on my outline outside with Andres and I feel at a 3.5 because I
still think it needs a lot of work.
2. What do you think is your strongest claim? Write it below and explain why it is
your strongest claim.
a. The children that came in waves to the United States did not migrate by

coincidence, they were pushed out of their countries by fear, violence, and

poverty. Political turmoil and gang violence that has taken over the top three

countries where the children come from, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

b. I think this claim is my strongest claim because it is how I want to introduce the

greater conversation and I think it establishes a foundation for my future claims.

3. What do you think is your weakest claim? Write it below and explain why it is
your weakest claim and how you plan on revising this claim.
a. Migrant children are not to blame for being here “illegally”, we should
blame the law for not allowing sanctuary to innocent children
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b. I think this claim is repetitive of another one of my claims and it is very

emotional. I do not want to lose my audience with an emotional claim.
4. Where in your essay outline do you think you can introduce your concession?
After which claim? Explain the concession you think you might be able to use
in your argument and where you think it might fit.
a. I want to introduce my concession after I have already firmly established
all my points and I want to use it as a tool to sum them all up. So I think
near the end of my essay will be good.
5. What are your next steps for drafting? Be sepcific and explain.
a. I just need to go in a shift my outline around and polish my claims,
because I have a good amount of evidence. I want to make sure that my
claims are strong enough to be supported by all my evidence.

Part 3: Reflect on Research for Essay 4

1. What topics do you most want to research based upon Luiselli's text? List
your top 3 topics.
a. I want to look more into my Naysayers perspective, so more into what anti
immigration people think and why.
b. The standard of living the children were under in their native countries,
and their motives to migrate.
c. The legal process of becoming a “legal alien” in this country.
2. For each topic, explain WHY you are interested in this topic.
a. I don’t understand why certain people are so against immigration, so I
want to learn more.
b. I want to see how and why these children took such a great risk to come
over to this country.
c. I have never really paid attention to the legal process behind immigration
and I feel that I am in the dark.
3. For each of the above topics, write an open-ended question that you can try
to answer with the research you conduct this Thursday.
a. What are some potential reasons one can have to be against immigration?
b. How are the lives of the children living in central america today?
c. Why is the process of becoming a legal immigrant in this country kept
quiet?
4. What is your plan for research? Where will you go to research and find your
sources? Explain your plan for research.
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a. I plan on staying home to do my research and using the database of

information the library offers. I want two scholarly sources that back me up
and one that’s unprofessional to refute me.
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