Length: 2-3 pages

WHAT: Write a two to three page personal reflection in which you consider, in some detail, your relationship to your own writing, both private writing and academic writing.

Purpose: For both you and I to discover what kind of writer you are.

WHY: To experiment with tone, voice, audience, and style.

HOW:

Brainstorm: Some sparks to get you thinking: what do you write? When do you find yourself writing? Do you write on paper at all, or do you write solely on electronic media? Does what you read deeply affect what you write? Have you had any formative academic experiences that have affected your writing? Do you let people read what you write? Are you a reviser? Do you resist change in your writing? What do you write when nobody is looking? Do you keep things you've written or do you destroy them? Is your writing important to your identity? If you don't write, why don't you write? Are you ever embarrassed of things you've written when you return to them after time has passed? Are you ever able to successfully communicate emotions in your writing? When have you have a big success or a big failure that hinged on your writing?

A caution: Don't answer all of the above questions-that would make a really scattered essay! Pick one of them, or make up your own spark. Choose just one unified topic for your paper. Tell some stories and give lots of details and examples.

Write: This is a diagnostic essay so that I can see how you write. In the weeks that follow, there will be more specific instructions for each essay, but this week, I'd like to see what you write without lots of explicit instructions.

Revise: Reread your essay carefully before submitting it. Spellcheck and proofread, please!