Week 4 Reflection Rough Draft Worksheet:

Easy as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, Baby, You and Me!

This worksheet is meant to help you develop a Rough Draft for what will become your Week 6 Reflection Final Paper

Your first paragraph should be the introduction
. It will include background information and also summarize what the rest of the paper is about. It will establish the purpose, audience, tone and point of view. The introduction should be designed to attract the reader’s attention and give him/her an idea of the essay’s focus.

The attention grabber you use is up to you, but here are some ideas:

· Startling information
This information must be true and verifiable, and it doesn’t need to be totally new to your readers. It could simply be a pertinent fact that explicitly illustrates the point you wish to make.
If you use a piece of startling information, follow it with a sentence or two of elaboration.

· Anecdote
An anecdote is a story that illustrates a point.
Be sure your anecdote is short, to the point, and relevant to your topic. This can be a very effective opener for your essay, but use it carefully.

· Dialogue
An appropriate dialogue does not have to identify the speakers, but the reader must understand the point you are trying to convey. Use only two or three exchanges between speakers to make your point.
Follow dialogue with a sentence or two of elaboration.

· Summary Information
A few sentences explaining your topic in general terms can lead the reader gently to your thesis. Each sentence should become gradually more specific, until you reach your thesis.

Need More Guidance about Introductions? Try:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/introductions

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/undergraduate/paragraphs/introduction

Start by Brainstorming. Think about all the work you’ve done in this class a trail of breadcrumbs that lead you all the way back to the first day of class. Use them all to travel back to your first day and how you came to Walden. What was happening in your life? How did you feel about starting the class? How do you feel now?

Write a few sentences to gradually introduce your reader to the topic of your paper. Try to be creative and original.

The second part of a proper introduction is a thesis or purpose statement. A possible thesis for this paper would be:

This paper will help me analyze how I can use what I learned in this class in my future success.

Remember, a thesis statement is usually one clear, concise sentence, located at the end of the introduction.

It tells readers exactly what you are going to discuss within the essay. In this reflective essay, your thesis should

tell readers about the ways you will utilize your learning from this term in your future success.

Write a few sentences that preview what your three main points for this paper will be. In the directions for the final paper in week 6, you have already been given the three main points. They are:

1) Part 1: Who you are today.

2) Part 2: What you promise to do for yourself in the future.

3) Part 3: How you will become part of the Walden Community.

Here is an example of a solid preview of these three main points:

In this paper, first I will explain how I view myself as a Walden student. I will then discuss my plan to remain engaged in my education until I graduate. Finally, I will describe my plan to identify a mentor who will support me and keep me in track and how I can, eventually, become a mentor to someone else.

In the space below, write a preview of the main points in your own words. Make sure to include a clear thesis statement.

Need More Help to Develop Your Thesis Statement? Try:

Writing Center Academic Guide:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/thesisstatements

Podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/writecast/002-thesis-statements

Writing Strong Thesis Statements:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/webinars/practicalskills#s-lg-box-2773753

The body of the paper is made up of the body paragraphs which are all the paragraphs of the paper excluding the

introduction and conclusion. Each paragraph follows the same general format. For each body paragraph, you need

a topic sentence.

A topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph.
It serves two functions: (1) It lets your reader know

what you are going to discuss within the paragraph; (2) It also lets your reader know that you are moving on to

discuss another topic (or that you are talking about a different aspect of the same topic).

In other words, it serves as a transitional sentence between paragraphs.

For example, let’s say I am writing an essay about why dogs are better than cats. One of my topic sentences is as

follows: To begin with, dogs are better than cats because they are easier to train.

Every idea in this paragraph must tie back to training. I cannot discuss how they like to play, how they are more loving, or any other idea that does not tie into training in the paragraph with this topic sentence. Those would be ideas for another paragraph. I must also support this idea fully. Why are they easier to train? What do I mean by this? In other words, I must support my ideas with detailed explanations.

You must also ensure you transition between ideas and make sure they connect. Transitional words help our ideas flow together smoothly. They ensure our ideas connect and make sense to our readers. Here is an example: Dogs are easier to train because they are eager to please their owners. Consequently, dogs will work hard to learn what their owners ask of them.

Need more help? Please see the following links for further information about topic sentences and transitions:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/paragraphs/topicsentences

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/paragraphs/transitions

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/transitions/

In your final week 6 Reflection paper there are a number of questions to be answered that will help you understand what to include in each section. They are included below for your convenience, but please answer them using complete paragraphs rather than as a question-answer format.

Part 1: Today I am…This section should describe who you are today as a result of taking this course.

Who are you as a Walden student? What tools has Walden provided? How do the tools provided and supports available play into your plan of study? What did you learn about yourself in the assessments? How is that going to feed in your plan for success? What has this course done for you? What might it do for you moving forward? In your paragraph, try to talk about specific instances, assignments, challenges that lead to the class having the impact it did. If you learned something significant about yourself from a self-assessment and/or particular assignment, then make sure you mention it by name and explain what happened.

Part 2: I promise to…This section should be about a promise you make yourself and your classmates who might need your support during the program.

What will you do to ensure you don’t walk away? How will you help yourself? How do you think Walden can help you? How can you be part of positive change? This is the paragraph/section where you specifically explain how you are going to proceed from here. What is your plan for success at Walden and beyond? How will you make sure that you execute your plan and achieve the goals that you set? Don’t forget to start each paragraph with a topic sentence and tie each sentence back to it.

Part 3: I will become part of the Walden Community…This section should explain how you will identify a mentor and how you plan on becoming a mentor yourself.

Your journey with Walden should not be solitary. Yes, you sit alone at a computer and type long into the night to meet deadlines…but you are not alone! There is a vibrant community of educated, dedicated, and interesting people who can share ideas, give advice, or listen. Explain your plan to identify a mentor (colleague with different professional skills, someone in your profession, or a Walden faculty) to support your educational efforts. Share how a mentor would have a positive impact on your education and the role you want him/her to take. How might you become a mentor to other in the program?

Your last paragraph will be the conclusion.
The conclusion is one of the most important parts of an essay because it is the last thing people will read. This is your “so what” moment. What do you want to leave the reader thinking about? Oftentimes, my students simply repeat what they have already said in their essays. This seems a bit unnecessary since your reader will have already read your body paragraphs. Remember, you really are writing this paper for yourself, to reflect on your first course here at Walden and what you hope to achieve throughout your educational journey. Here are some ideas for your conclusion:

· Ask a provocative question.

· Use a quotation.

· Evoke a vivid image.

· Call for some sort of action.

· End with a warning.

· Universalize (compare to other situations).

· Suggest results or consequences.

Need more help? Try:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/undergraduate/paragraphs/conclusion

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/conclusions

Start by writing a few sentences to “ease” your reader out of the overall idea of this paper. In other words, let your reader know you are “closing” the paper.

A review of the thesis for the paper would also go somewhere in the conclusion. For example:

Through writing this paper, I have come to a better understanding of how the experience I have gained by taking this course can help me with my future success as a Walden student and beyond.

Write at least one sentence for each main point that summarizes the most important idea of that main point. This is not the place to introduce new information. This is similar to what you did in the introduction, but more comprehensive.

In the full paper next week, you will want to end with something memorable.

Just like the opening, you want to try to be creative and original.

So, be thinking about what you will put in the final paper next week to give it a good ending.

Getting Ready to Submit

Go through each of the white boxes above and copy/paste what you have written into the box below. Now it is starting to look even more like a paper! (If you want, you could also open a new document to do this. Your instructor will accept this worksheet OR a more traditional looking paper)

Read through what you’ve written and make quick revisions for clarity. If you see something that could be improved, why not do it now? Make sure the paragraphs flow into one another and make sense since you’ve written them separately.

Lastly, make sure to save this worksheet using the usual naming convention: WK4Assgn2+last name+first initial and submit to your instructor for feedback!

It is as easy as A, B, C, and Section 1, 2, 3!

The topic of discussion is living and learning in a technological world. My discussion posts have been on time management and distractions, and the pearl. I need this back by Friday so I can check it out and make necessary changes if needed.