Reflections on Writing

Question: How can teachers encourage students to reflect on their writing?

Answer: When students have completed a first draft, they write the teacher a “reflection letter” in which they respond to the following prompts:

.How do you feel about the progress of your rough draft? Do you anticipate that you will need to revise?

. What do you like about your written piece? What are you most concerned about?

When the students have completed the assignment, they write another letter to the teacher reflecting on the finished piece, including what they have learned about writing from completing the assignment. When the assignment is returned, they also compare the initial reflection letter to the reflection letter on the finished product.

Comment: The author originally used this approach to reflective writing by tying it to a short story students have read and then writing a story of their own. I generalized the approach, because that’s how I would use the idea, but the author’s original idea also develops the use of literary devices incorporated into their original stories. An interesting approach to help students improve their writing by reflecting on it and strengthening their knowledge of literary techniques. RayS.

Title: “The Power of Reflective Writing.” K Greene. English Journal (March 2011), 90-93.