For this assignment, you will analyze one of your own personal beliefs on a social, political, or cultural topic of your choosing. You will investigate what exactly you mean by that belief, where (or where you think) that belief came from, and why the belief is important to you. Your audience for this reflection is yourself: craft this assignment as a sort of longer “journal entry” that you can return to later.

 

Suggestions:

 

-Choose a topic that is socially, politically, or culturally important in general but that is also important to you. At our conference, we will work together to make sure you have chosen a topic that will allow you to write a strong paper. You will write more effectively on a belief that you genuinely feel strongly about.

 

-Begin by clarifying your belief. You do this by answering the “because” or “since” question. For example, let’s say your belief is that voting is a patriotic duty. Now, be more specific: why do you believe voting is a patriotic duty? “Voting is a patriotic duty because…” Incorporate at least two credible sources to help you articulate your answer to this question.

 

-Next, analyze some of the sources for your belief. You may not know exactly where this belief came from, but that’s okay—the important thing is that you discuss possible places it might have come from. These could include:

Parents/other family                                         Celebrities/other prominent figures

Friends/social groups                                        Books, movies, TV shows, video games, etc.

Mass media (e.g., news networks)                     School/college

Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)                Extracurricular groups

-Go beyond just listing the sources of your belief—explain, in your own words, how exactly each source shaped your belief. For example, if your belief that voting is a patriotic duty comes in part from your former Political Science professor, explain how that professor specifically helped instill that belief in you—was it through her words? Her assignments? Class discussions?

 

-After you’ve discussed where your belief came from, explain in your own words why the belief is important to you. Using the above example, why is it important to you that people exercise their patriotic duty by voting? How has it affected (and how does it continue to affect) your life? An effective conclusion to this paper might look toward the future: do you see yourself continuing to hold this belief forever? Why or why not? What, if anything, could make you reconsider this belief?

 

-Since you are your own audience for this assignment, your tone can be as formal or informal as you see fit. Try to match the tone you have been using in your daily journal entries; in fact, think of this as a much longer journal entry. However, even if you use a relatively informal tone, you should still make your paper readable by adhering to the conventions of standard edited English and proofreading carefully.

 

-Cite any secondary sources you use on a separate “Works Cited” page according to MLA guidelines.

Learning Objectives:

 

Comprehension (up to 5 points): You successfully understand the scope of the assignment and complete everything the prompt asks you to do. Namely, you (1) identify and clarify your belief in sufficient detail, (2) thoughtfully examine the potential sources of your belief, and (3) thoroughly explain why the belief remains important to you.

 

Organization (up to 5 points): Your paper follows a logical method of organization, including an attention-getting introduction and a thought-provoking conclusion (although you might not necessarily have separate paragraphs devoted to these components). You transition well from thought to thought, giving the paper a strong sense of flow.

 

Language (up to 5 points): Overall, the tone of your paper is appropriate for a reflective journal entry and is consistent throughout the paper. Regardless of its tone, the paper is free (or at least mostly free) of errors in grammar and punctuation, showing strong evidence of proofreading and attention to detail.

 

Citation (up to 5 points): You use at least two sources to back up your belief. Those sources are cited correctly according to MLA guidelines, both within the paper and on the Works Cited page.

 

 

Note: To calculate your final score out of 100 possible points, add up your point score for each learning goal and multiply the sum by 5. Then, to calculate your final score out of 200 possible points (the weighted value of this assignment), multiply that number by 2.