Reflective Essay - Week 3

You will use this week’s assigned post to practice critically reviewing scholarly work. Your assignment is to provide your reader with your evaluation of a specific aspect of each of the three articles that we read for the Summary Assignment.

Each critical review should be at least 75 words and refer to some specific aspect of each of the articles.

For example, you may want to talk about the author’s use of imagery or tone in “On Dumpster Diving.” I do not want you to simply state: “I liked ‘On Dumpster Diving.’ I liked the imagery. I thought the author’s tone was condescending. Etc.”

I do want you to be honest and specific.

Reflective Essay - Week 2

Now that you have closely read Lars Eighner's "On Dumpster Diving," practice identifying the content of the article and rewriting these main points in your own words.

The summary should

1. identify the author, the title, and the thesis in the first sentence.
2. identify main points of the document by paraphrasing the article's essential content without using the author’s phrasing.
3. have a style and organization that connect the main ideas.

(200-300 words. Due before class Tuesday, Jan. 27.)

Reflective Essay - Week 1

The purpose of this assignment is for you to reflect on the ways that (choose one or more) ethnicity, home, language, family, or religion has influenced your understanding of your identity. You may find it beneficial to focus on a specific anecdote from your life.
(At least 300 words. Due before class Tuesday, Jan. 20.)

• discuss a specific subject (listed above) that influenced your perception of your identity
  
• provide sufficient description of and insightful comments about the subject
  
• integrate references, quotes, anecdotes, and descriptions effectively
  
• use a logical pattern of organization and transitions from one idea to the next that guide your reader through your material

The personal essay is an expression of the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The purpose of a personal essay is to entertain and involve the reader by sharing the writer’s personal response to a subject. In terms of structure, the informal essay lends itself to the use of innovative approaches and organizational choices: for example, an opening anecdote, rhetorical question, quotation, etc., that could lead to the point of the essay in an indirect fashion. A variety of stylistic techniques may be part of the language used to engage that audience, a language which is informal, often conversational. To create interest, a writer may include personal anecdotes, create vivid images, elaborate an idea, or use other specific devices such as satire or irony. The voice is strongly individualistic.
Adapted from: http://www.utt.qc.ca/herzdep/english/englishguide.htm#ESSAY:%20PERSONAL