Reflection Practices for Progressively Accomplishing the Autoethnographic

Essay Assignment
These questions are offered as suggestions and should be tailored to match your own
section of the course.

The first homework assignment should be a 500-700 word reflection on high school
accomplishments and goals for ENGL 1010. This should be kept on file, as should the
progressive reflections. As the final unit approaches, hand back these documents and
discuss how to convert these to a rough draft of the Autoethnographic Essay.

Progressive Reflections:
During the first reflection, it is effective to have the students replicate the Rhetorical
Triangle on the board and discuss the general writing process. This then allows them to
consider their own. They might consider both the constraints imposed by the rhetorical
situation of the assignment, as well as their preferences. Discuss environmental,
physical and mental processes that writers utilize.
Literacy Narrative: Reflection Exercise #1
1. What was your purpose or what was the thesis of your Literacy narrative?
2. What steps did you follow as a writing process to fulfill the assignment?
3. What are you satisfied with in your essay?
4. How was writing a narrative different than writing an academic essay?
5. What was difficult about fulfilling the assignment?
6. What skills do you need to continue focus on improving?

The Discourse Community and Midterm: Reflection Exercise #2

1. The Discourse Community Essay is an examination of the Communication
Process. Briefly discuss this process.
2. What is your own writing process? Is your process changing and, if so, how?
3. What writing techniques do you think you utilized most effectively in writing this
essay?
4. What writing techniques do you need to focus on to be more effective in your
writing?
5. What is the Research Process? How are the steps of the research process similar
to the steps of the writing process?
6. How does the Discourse Community Essay reflect the course goals?
Midterm Reflection

1. How are you doing in the course, and how do you account for your performance
to date?
2. What do you need to do for the rest of the semester to maintain or improve your
performance?
3. How can Professor _________________help you improve and meet your
goals?
4. What goals can you set for the remaining weeks of the semester?
5. What concrete actions are you going to take to reach these goals?

The Writing Research Essay: Reflection #3

1. How has your writing process changed over the course of the semester? If it
hasn’t changed, explain why.
2. Thinking back to the goals you determined for the course at the beginning of the
semester, how has your writing improved?
3. What literacy issues do you still struggle with or need to improve?
4. What do you think your biggest misconception was as you entered The University
of Memphis’s First Year Writing Program? 
5. How does the Writing Research Essay reflect the course goals? How did the essay
unit ask us to utilize the course goals?
6. How have you improved on the personal goals that you set for yourself at the
beginning of our course?