Process Paper

  page length requirements:  3-5 pages

You have been on a writer's journey this semester.  Over the past fifteen weeks, we have examined the writing process in detail, talking about our writing processes and reading about the processes of professional writers.  Your journals, essays, in-class writings, and revision responses have been your travel log.  Where has your individual journey taken you? 

This final assignment asks you to consider your writing process and how that process may have changed over the course of the semester.  In a carefully planned, well thought-out, word-processed, double-spaced essay, describe how you've grown as a writer in the past few months.  Consider some of the following questions:  What did I learn that I didn't know before? (About writing?  About myself?)  How has my writing process changed?  What kind of writer am I?  Why?  Why did I take this class?  What were my goals in taking this class?  Have I accomplished these goals?  What will I take away from Core 110? 

You will not answer all of these questions in your essay.  Simply answering the questions in the order I've given you IS NOT an effective way to complete the assignment.  It is also unacceptable to simply repeat the lessons of the book and the handouts.  If you would like to discuss a key idea, you must also analyze that idea, explaining how it has impacted your life.  Remember that we read to learn something we didn't already know.  I am your audience and I know a lot about writing.  What I don't know is your process, how you have grown and changed.  That's what I would like to read about.

The essay should have a clear thesis, an interesting opening paragraph, well-developed body paragraphs, and an interesting conclusion that provides a sense of closure.  This is a reflective essay about you.  DO NOT make generalizations about writers.  Write about you.  This means you should write in the first person.

Remember to use the correct writing terminology.  If you use quotes from the text or handouts, be sure to use proper MLA format and to include a works cited sheet at the end of your essay.  Also, keep in mind that this essay is an evaluation of your own writing and not an evaluation of my teaching.