Your Reflection Letter is meant to explain and show how much you have learned about writing in English 900: both what you now know well and what you need to keep working on. This letter is especially important if your final drafts are not “perfect,” which shows you still have work to do in mastering the conventions of an academic paper.
So avoid generalizations: “My writing is much better,” is not a very strong example of someone aware about their writing. Instead give specific and well-worded examples: “Introductions are a bit easier, but getting the thesis just right is hard, and I know I have to edit carefully for run-on sentences.”
Write a letter to the English committee reflecting on your own writing, and while you don’t need to respond to all of the ideas below, use a specific example over a generalization as you explain some of these ideas:
1. The strengths / weaknesses in my writing include…
2. I have learned from others’ comments about my writing…
3. I have learned from reading and commenting on the writing of others…
4. Some tools I plan to use in the continuing improvement of my writing are…
5. What I have learned from outside help on my writing…
6. I can see myself using writing beyond my schooling to…
Show the knowledge you have of academic conventions by using them: create an interesting introduction, make one or two main points (thesis), give lots of specific evidence to prove your points, and provide complete closure referring to your intro and your evidence in your conclusion.
Be especially careful in your final editing for sentence structure, wording, and spelling; your letter is not convincing if there are so many errors the readers cannot understand your points.