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There will be 9 reflection papers this semester. Each paper has you respond to a topic prompt that connects course material to your own experiences of conflict and negotiation.
You may be surprised at what you learn about yourself as you write these papers.
Instructions
Each reflection paper should be 700–900 words long, use APA-style citations as needed, acknowledge any assistance, and otherwise conform to the course’s formatting requirements.
Most importantly, reflection papers without a properly filled out cover page (i.e., a completed Commitment to Academic Integrity Form) will not be read and will earn an automatic 0.00 (F).
Much more detailed instructions for each reflection paper will be provided as they are assigned
Evaluation & Grading
I will provide feedback by writing comments and filling out a rubric. Rubrics help me assess the quality of your work based on a set of standards and lets you know the extent to which you met those expectations. I will then use this rubric to assign the paper a letter grade based on the 100-point grading scale.
Your overall reflection paper grade is determined at the end of the course by taking the average of all 9 papers, excluding any dropped by using any free passes.
12-Hour Grace Period
Each reflection paper has an automatic 12-hour grace period. This means that you are free to finish and submit your paper up to 12 hours after its posted due date/time without penalty.
Using Free Passes
You may use one free pass to gain an extra 24-hour extension for a reflection paper. You may use three passes to drop your lowest reflection paper grade. You may use six to drop your lowest two paper grades.
Collaboration & Academic Integrity
Your reflection papers are closed to collaboration. These are not a group assignments.
Ultimately, I expect that you write your own papers. Even so, I actually encourage you to talk to each other about your papers. You might also do so with friends and family.
Reflecting on these topics, and seeing the different ideas of others, is a great way to learn and grow!
In doing all this, please just be honest if you do receive any assistance or use the ideas of another. This includes help from classmates, your friends and family, the Center for Excellence in Writing (CEW), as well as from me. Completing the the cover page with its Commitment to Academic Integrity Form, will remind you to do all this.
Rough Drafts
Rough drafts of your reflection papers are not required, unless I say otherwise. Of course, I highly encourage you to schedule a face-to-face meeting with me to talk about any specific areas in your writing where you may be struggling. Doing so will almost certainly make a huge difference in the quality of your final paper. Please schedule a time for us to meet, and together we will go over parts of the paper where you are struggling and need my assistance.
Thesis Statement?
Each reflection paper requires an introductory paragraph clearly stating a main thesis in response to the assigned topic. This is the thesis statement.
In general, the thesis statement should be one sentence that states the main claim or central position that the body of the paper will seek to defend and/or explain.
For example, in a reflection paper, the last sentence of your introduction may simply say, “In this paper, I will argue that [your main claim]” or “In this paper, I will explain why [your main claim]”. Of course, the exact structure of that sentence will depend on the assigned topic, the question(s) that topic asks, and how you will respond to all that in the body of the paper.
Criteria for Reflection Papers
These are the general requirements expected for each reflection paper:
- Technical Requirements: Does the paper follow the formatting requirements? (To help, there are templates satisfying all of these requirements; please do make use of them!)
- Clarity: Does the paper follow standards of written English? Are words chosen for their precise meanings?
- Context: Does the paper clearly and correctly define all new or unusual terms and course jargon necessary for understanding its response to the assigned topic? Does it provide the necessary background information (key concepts, theories, etc.) for understanding that response?
- Reflection: Does the paper demonstrate creative and sustained introspection into the assigned topic by connecting the course material to the author’s life and experiences?
- Originality: Does the paper generally present material in the student’s own words while not wasting space with unnecessary quotation?
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Academic Integrity: Does the paper properly cite and/or acknowledge all outside sources? Are the standards of academic integrity followed? (If you have any questions about what these standards entail, please ask.)
Depending on the severity of the circumstances, a problem here may also be treated as an academic integrity violation.
The next two criteria apply to each paper’s introduction of its topic and the thesis it will defend and explain:
- Background: Does the paper begin with a brief introductory paragraph to the topic/issue that the paper will address? Is that paragraph no longer than three sentences?
- Thesis Statement: Does the paper’s introductory paragraph clearly state its main thesis (or central position) in response to the assigned topic?
The next seven criteria apply to the body of each paper, which presents the justification and explanations in support of the thesis statement:
- Organization: Does the paper ensure that its claims are easy to follow? Are different premises (assumptions, reasons, evidence, and/or other important considerations) clearly distinguished, introduced, and explained separately?
- Premises: Does the paper clearly present the principle premises offered in support of its main thesis?
- Plausibility: Does the paper clearly explain why these premises are thought to be plausible, compelling, and/or difficult to deny?
- Support: Does the paper clearly explain how the premises are supposed to justify or otherwise support its main thesis?
- Examples: Does the paper use effective, real-life examples to illustrate its more important points?
- Relevance: Does the paper clearly show how each of its parts is relevant for justifying and/or explaining its main thesis? Overall Synthesis: Does the paper successfully integrate all its parts into a coherent and compelling response to the assigned topic?
The final criterion is the easiest, applying to the conclusion of each paper:
- No Conclusion: Does the paper immediately end once it has finished defending and/or explaining its main thesis?
Reflection papers will be judged as either “Excellent”, “Satisfactory”, “Mediocre”, or “Unacceptable” according to each criterion. The rubric explanation provides more details about how I judge each criterion.