Letter:

2-3 pages, double-spaced

The written self-assessment of your work is an opportunity to discuss your work critically and share various aspects of your experience in 103: what you’re most proud of, what you want to improve upon moving forward, what you struggled with, what you enjoyed, what you learned. Try to cover as much as possible in specific detail. This is an important reflection on the semester, and important feedback for me.

For Consideration (you are not required to answer all of these, just use them as points for reflection):

• An evaluation of the arc of your essays, including strengths & weaknesses. Give examples where necessary. What would you change if given more time? What’s your favorite piece, and why; least favorite, and why?
• An evaluation of your overall writing performance. What do you do well? What still needs improvement? What do you want your work to say about you / what does it say about you at this point?
• An evaluation of how this course has affected your development as a writer. How does your writing compare with writing you did in the past? What do you know now / what can you do now that you couldn’t before? What new habits & strategies were most helpful, and why?
• An analysis of your performance in the course. How did the time you put into this course manifest in your writing? Did collaborations, peer/professor conferences, discussions, visits to the writing center, etc. contribute to your success?
• Are you in a different place in your understanding of yourself as a writer since the course began? Did you exceed expectations for yourself, or come out even or under what you’d hoped to accomplish? What does your writing across the semester show about you? What do you do well / less well? What kinds of writing do you like the most/least? What remains to improve upon — what goals do you have moving forward into other coursework and/or your intended major and/or into the world?
• How have you learned to make revisions objectively and effectively? How have you learned to be an effective reader of your own writing?
• Discuss how you’ve been propelled, pushed, challenged.
• What have you liked / what has made you uneasy [both in terms of course texts + themes we tackled]?
• What are the most important things you’ve learned this semester?
• How have you grown and developed in your thinking?
• Point to at least 1 new idea you’ll take away.
• What could I have done to help you more (other than slow down the poetry unit 🙂 / what was especially helpful?
• Anything else? Tell me.