Reading Reflections 

Due Dates: Weekly by 11:59pm on Tuesdays before class each week.

Total Points: 10 (2 point per reflection). You will write/submit 11 reflections (one each module beginning with Module 2); the lowest score will be dropped for a total of 10-points. Reflections are due by 11:59pm on Tuesdays before class each week.

Submission: via Canvas Discussion Board for each weekly module.

Requirements

Your original words  (275 words; approximately ½ – 1 page), APA Style), submit to Canvas Discussion Board; use proper APA citation(s) and reference(s).

Summarize two or three of the readings (no more than 2 – 3 sentences.

Identify a concept from the reading;

summarize the definition of the concept in your own words (no more than 2 – 3 sentences).

Connect the readings to

1) a current event(s) that is occurring within the past year

OR

2) to your own social work practice experiences (in the past or recently). Offer critical analysis.

3.) Incorporate a question to your readers that relate to your material, thus facilitating discussion between each other.

Respond to a minimum of two discussion post: 

Consider responding to the question being posed by your writer: 

Consider your classroom processes in relationship to your readings.  

Try responding to questions posed by fellow students in their posts.

Try responding to these questions.

• What stands out for you?
• Do you agree or disagree with a particular idea that came up? If so, why or why not?
• Ordid you have ana-ha moment? If so, what is its impact on you?
• What unexpected question(s) are you now left with? (Please go beyond [for example] “how do we stop racism?)

 

 

 

What is Critical Writing?

* The critical essay is informative; it emphasizes the questions being studied rather than the feelings and opinions of the person writing; in this kind of writing, all claims made about the work need to be backed up with evidence. Avoid “I think” or “in my opinion.”

* The difference between feelings and facts is simple–it does not matter what you believe about a book or play or poem; what matters is what you can derive from it, drawing upon evidence found in the text itself, and connect or back-up this evidence with class concepts which are relevant from class readings/materials.

* Criticism does not mean you have to attack the work or the author; it simply means you are thinking critically about it, exploring it and discussing your findings.

* The literary essay usually employs a serious tone and tries to avoid an overly subjective tone – such as stating this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth approach.

* Use a “claims and evidence” approach. Be specific about the points you are making about the issues you are discussing and back up those points with evidence that are credible and appropriate. If you want to say, “The War of the Worlds is a novel about how men and women react in the face of annihilation, and most of them do not behave in a particularly courageous or noble manner,” say it, and then find evidence that supports your claim.

* Another form of evidence you can rely on is criticism, what other writers, in class articles, have claimed about the work of literature you are examining. You may treat these critics as “expert witnesses,” whose ideas provide support for claims you are making about the book. In most cases, you should not simply provide a summary of what critics have said about the literary work.

* Do not try to do everything. Try to do one (in this class at least three issues) thing(s) well. And beware of subjects that are too broad; focus your discussion on a particular aspect of a work rather than trying to say everything that could possibly be said about it.

* Be sure your reflection is well organized.

* Remember that in most cases you want to keep your tone serious and focused.

* Be sure your essay is free of mechanical and stylistic errors.

* If you quote or summarize (and you will probably have to do this) be sure you follow an appropriate format. Cite the source and be sure you provide a properly formatted list of works cited at the end of your essay. Cited words, your name, title, the date, and course identifying information do not count towards your 275 words.