Writing Reflection Essay Planning Worksheet

Honors Assessment Portfolio—Part 1---Writing Reflection Essay 25%

Name_______________________________________ Block_____________ Date ___________

Writing Reflection Essay Planning Worksheet

Material Needed: Writing Folder.

Step One: Look at your writings from the beginning of the year (or, writings since the last time you were asked to reflect on your writing).

What were your strengths?

Textual example(s) from your writing that reflect(s) this:

What were your weaknesses at that point?

Textual example(s) from your writing that reflect(s) this:

Step Two: Look at your most recent writings.

When looking at the strengths you had in Step One, how have you grown in regard to those strengths?

Textual example(s) from your writing that reflect(s) this:

Have you improved on the weaknesses you identified in Step One?

Textual example(s) from your writing that reflect(s) this:

Based on this reflection, create a specific goal (or two) and detail the steps you will take to reach this goal: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peer Critique Worksheet for the Writing Reflection Essay

Step One – Read for content.

Using the Writing Reflection Scoring Rubric, how would you score the current paper? ________

In general, what would this paper have to do better in order to score a 4? (If the paper is a 4, discuss what it does well.)

Give specific examples from the student’s paper that show the paper’s deficiencies (or, if you would score it a 4, its strengths). Feel free to use an ellipsis (“…”) to shorten your examples, but make sure it is clear to which part of the paper you are referring. Also, please cite each example with a page number in parentheses at the end of the example.

Then provide a brief comment about what could be improved or (even better) a suggestion on how to improve it.

You should continue to give examples and suggestions on the back of this sheet. You may use additional paper as needed.

Example:

“I really grew a lot as a writer.” (Page 2)

Suggestion – Be more specific. Explain how you grew. You mention that you learned how to choose effective quotations. Give an example where you share one of these quotations.

Peer Critique Worksheet for the Writing Reflection Essay

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Peer Critique Worksheet for the Writing Reflection Essay

Step Two: Mechanics:

Using the Essential Writing Skills Rubric for your grade level (available in the curriculum guide for your grade level), score your partner from 1-4 on each skill. Review with your teacher whether any skills remain to be covered and should not be included in the rubric at this point.

1. What skills did your partner struggle with?

2. Give specific examples of problematic sentences and suggestions for improvement:

Writing Reflection Essay Scoring Rubric – Grade 10

This rubric indicates a list of features that defines a particular set of papers. Please realize that a paper really needs to fit most of a particular score’s descriptive bullets, not necessarily all of them. When a paper truly seems to be between two scores, please score it using a .5 (i.e., between a 2 and a 3 becomes 2.5).

Score of 4

• Reflection refers to specific aspects of writing growth

• Reflection effectively synthesizes information from at least three sources of student writing

• Assertions are precisely and thoroughly supported by specific and appropriate references to the sources

• References to sources of student writing are clearly labeled in accordance with assignment’s instructions

• Organization and focus are consistent (in other words, the reflection is of a piece and not a laundry list of lessons learned)

• Chosen organizational technique (overarching metaphor or narrative, for instance) complements the content

• Reflection deeply explores personal growth, challenges, and insights; demonstrates a great deal of age-appropriate introspection and self-awareness; and comes across as quite honest and thoughtful

• Reflection demonstrates awareness of how aspects of writing, such as choices of syntax, organization, theme, thesis, evidence, and diction, affect more important aspects, such as tone and meaning

• Reflection demonstrates a maturing and authentic voice

• Reflection uses a consistent and engaging tone appropriate to its audience and purpose

• Reflection demonstrates mastery of the mechanical features of writing, including but not limited to the mechanical features of the 10th grade Writing Strand, such as punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. (See the curriculum guide for the Writing Strand Essential Skills Rubric.) Infrequent lapses do not distract from meaning.

Score of 3

• Reflection refers to specific aspects of writing growth

• Reflection somewhat effectively synthesizes information from at least three sources of student writing

• Assertions generally are supported by specific and appropriate references to the sources

• References to sources of student writing are clearly labeled in accordance with assignment’s instructions

• Organization and focus are generally consistent. The reflection, for instance, does not resemble a laundry list of lessons learned.

• Chosen organizational technique (overarching metaphor or narrative, for instance) may feel somewhat mechanical, but it does not detract from the content

• Reflection explores personal growth, challenges, and insights; demonstrates age-appropriate introspection and some self-awareness; and comes across as honest and thoughtful

• Reflection demonstrates some awareness of how aspects of writing, such as choices of organization, theme, thesis, evidence, and diction, affect more important aspects, such as tone and meaning

• Reflection demonstrates an emerging voice in many places, but that voice may not be heard consistently

• Reflection generally uses an engaging tone appropriate to its audience and purpose

• Reflection demonstrates competence in the mechanical features of writing, including but not limited to the mechanical features of the 10th grade Writing Strand such as punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. (See the curriculum guide for the Writing Strand Essential Skills Rubric.) Lapses rarely if ever distract from meaning.

Score of 2

• Reflection refers to a few specific aspects of writing growth

• Reflection synthesizes information from at least two sources of student writing, though the synthesis is generally superficial

• Assertions are supported by references to the sources, though some of the references are either vague or inapposite

• References to sources of student writing are not always clearly labeled in accordance with assignment’s instructions

• Organization and focus are not always consistent. The reflection in places may resemble a laundry list of lessons learned.

• Chosen organizational technique (overarching metaphor or narrative, for instance) may feel somewhat mechanical, but it does not detract from the content

• Reflection explores personal growth, challenges, and insights; demonstrates introspection and some self-awareness; and comes across as honest and thoughtful

• Reflection may demonstrate little awareness of how aspects of writing, such as choices of organization, theme, thesis, evidence, and diction, affect more important aspects, such as tone and meaning

• Reflection demonstrates some authentic voice in many places, but that voice is not heard consistently. The writing may often seem to reflect an attempt to write with a sophistication not well understood by the writer.

• Reflection sometimes uses an inappropriate tone (too familiar, informal, or confrontational, for instance)

• Reflection may demonstrate struggles in the mechanical features of writing, including but not limited to the mechanical features of the 10th grade Writing Strand, such as punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. (See the curriculum guide for the Writing Strand Essential Skills Rubric.) Lapses may sometimes distract from meaning.

Score of 1

• Reflection refers to mostly generalized aspects of writing growth. The reflection may be too short to adequately address the writer’s growth.

• Reflection mentions sources of student writing but does little to reflect on their differences or to otherwise synthesize them

• Assertions are rarely, if ever, supported by references to the sources, or most of the references are either vague or inapposite

• References to sources of student writing may not be clearly labeled in accordance with assignment’s instructions

• Organization or focus may be almost completely lacking

• The reflection may contain little evidence of organizational technique

• Reflection generally fails to explore personal growth, challenges, and insights except in a very general or obtuse way; fails to demonstrate real introspection; demonstrates little self-awareness; and may come across as either perfunctory or possibly insincere

• Reflection may demonstrate almost no awareness of how aspects of writing, such as choices of syntax, organization, theme, thesis, evidence, and diction, affect more important aspects, such as tone and meaning

• Reflection demonstrates little authentic voice. The writing may often seem to reflect an attempt to write with a sophistication not well understood by the writer.

• Reflection uses an inappropriate tone (too familiar, informal, or confrontational, for instance)

• Reflection demonstrates significant difficulty with the mechanical features of writing, including but not limited to the mechanical features of the 10th grade Writing Strand, such as punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. (See the curriculum guide for the Writing Strand Essential Skills Rubric.)