The Assignment:
This assignment calls for you to write an essay of 800-1000 words, double spaced. The essay
should have the following academic essay elements:
a clear introduction, body, and conclusion•
a clearly identifiable thesis statement in the introduction•
evidence based upon your recollections and any material from the course (whether from•
the texts, the online resources, the course modules, the feedback to drafts, or the
conference topics) that you might find relevant to mention in your discussion
Length and Format: The essay should be 800-1000 words

In addition, the paper should be formatted according to APA style (e.g., you should include
a running head with page numbers, have appropriate margins, etc.) in accordance with the
video tutorial you observed in class, How to format your paper according to APA style.
Possible approaches for the reflective essay in WRTG 101:
On the following two pages, you will see descriptions of two examples of approaches you can
take in your reflective essay. Each approach has three (3) parts. Be sure that you understand
clearly what is expected of you. If you have questions, be sure you ask your instructor. You
should choose only one of these tasks, and you may not choose any other topic.
Approach One: Self-Evaluating Your Research Essay Assignment

What You Must do:
In this essay, you will evaluate your work on the research essay assignment. Your purpose is
to evaluate whether you chose wisely in selecting your topic for research writing, if you used
your research successfully, and how well you believe you completed the assignment.
How You Might Do This:
Since your essay uses a traditional structure for academic writing, you could try the following
technique:
1. Decide what your thesis should say and design your introduction to lead to your thesis.
The thesis might begin with a phrase such as, “My research essay turned out successfully
because…” or “My research assignment became problematic due to….” Your
introduction can, of course, briefly describe your assignment.
2. Describe and analyze the following in the body of your essay:
a. your topic and why you chose it (this should go beyond mere interest and consider
whether you thought carefully enough about the research potential/problems your
topic posed);
b. how/why you made research material decisions and conducted research in the
manner you did. In this section, you will want to comment on the databases you
searched on in the UMUC Information and Library Services interface. You might
also comment on key words on which you searched, new key words you came up
with during your searches, and your experience in retrieving full-text articles.
c. how your process worked out as you completed it. In this analysis, please account
for both successes and difficulties.
3. Discuss your reflection and future application in the conclusion of your essay. You will
want to both reflect on what you have discussed and look towards future research
assignments. You will explain how the lessons you learned from this assignment can
help you correct flaws you feel you had in your process and can remind you of good
practices you followed that can make future research projects successful. You should also
give yourself a “grade” on, not the essay itself, but on your research process and
experience.