English Essay Assignment

Reflection Rough Draft

MLA Style Formatting

Length: 3-5 pages.

The essay this semester is a Reflection. You can reflect about literally anything. What I don't want is a memoir (a reflection about a personal moment in your life), but otherwise, your field is wide and varied.

On page 250 of NFG it asks you to "[w]rite a list of things that you think about, wonder about, find puzzling or annoying". This is a very good place to start. We will do some brainstorming in class, but the more you work on your own, the more your topic will be something you feel like exploring in depth.

Once you have chosen your topic you should truly explore it. This paper is about your own thoughts and considerations, but that does not mean that you are exempt from research and exploration. If anything, it means you should be more interested in those things. Consider your topic fully and think about how to engage the reader in your exploration.

As part of your assignment for this unit you have read many reflective essays. Look at how they craft their ideas and try to use the techniques other writers employ to engage the reader. Nobody wants to read a paper that rambles; however, this is not a research paper. It's really about you thinking about something and then articulating those thoughts in an academic and scholarly way on paper.

You may not need to use outside sources, but if you do, by now you know that those sources need to be cited properly in the MLA format.

You will need to pay attention to standard essay structure:

• Introduction should establish the relevance of your writing beyond the simple fact of the assignment.

• A thesis that states in one concise sentence the point you will be supporting

• Body paragraphs that include topic sentences, and which support the main idea (thesis), and which come directly from the photograph

• Information may come from other sources. Document where necessary

• A conclusion which summarizes the main points and restates the thesis in different words.