Writing Reflection

What’s Really New? The last thing I ask of all my writing students is to write a reflection examining their journey over the course of the semester using the goals and objectives given to us as well as those we have taken on for ourselves. One of the questions I always like to ask is: Was the journey worth taking? That is a scary question for any human to ask because we hate to admit mistakes and of course there is also the sunk cost issue. I do my best to make our journey worthwhile, but in the end it is the choices made by my students that determine the final ruling.

What’s New? This semester I shifted my students’ weekly reflections from a private channel to the public channel – making that reflection part of their work for each week and after only two weeks I am loving this move. Thanks Marcus Luther for the inspiration. Each week I am asking my students to share their writer’s story and a personal writing goal. Combining this with writing the words “I am a writer” every class meeting is a powerful experience for my developing writers. We are making our struggles, celebrations, and goals public and I couldn’t be happier. Note: As I read student reflections to make notes for the next semester I love how many fell in love with reflection too, like this: “Some of the bigger lessons I believe were very helpful like the power of Reflection. Reflecting after you have completed something, not just to take notes on things you may need to do differently but to be proud of what you accomplished.”

Original: The featured image I used on this post is a photo by Beverly Joubert that I have saved to my desktop for a long time. It speaks to me in so many ways that I knew it would make a marvelous writing prompt. In fact, this image has served as a secondary inspiration for this post, but I’m not done with it yet. The primary inspiration for this post is a question posed to me by an Indiana high school teacher:

how do you grade reflection?

That is a simple question with a simple answer, but I don’t think the simple answer is enough. After all, simple answers (and other attempts to simplify measurement of things that are not simple at all) are what got us into the position we are as writing teachers and so this is a post about writing reflection that will provide the simple answer that teacher sought and the teaching journey that led to my simple answer.

When Joubert shared this image of zebra migration in Botswana in 2018 she wrote:

Where shadows become the solid form and striped backs are lost in the light.

Beverly Joubert, 2018

For my entire academic career as both student and teacher we have assessed writing in counterproductive and frequently destructive ways. We have lost the writing in the light and we focus only on the shadows until they become the solid form. We look at black horses walking across the desert and are oblivious to the zebras walking in shallow water.

That is why I no longer grade student writing. Grading final products is like grading horses instead of the zebras’ gait. And how (or why) would one even go about assessing a zebra’s gait? I did not become a writing teacher to wield a red pen and circle comma splices (which, in fact, would be the height of hypocrisy). I became a writing teacher because I believe writing is magic and I want everyone to become a practitioner. Writing reflection is essential to that work.

I have written many blog posts about reflection because it has always been an important part of my praxis. When I first began teaching first year college writers I used portfolios. Students turned in a folder that contained early drafts as well as a polished final draft and a reflection. When I shifted to paperless teaching I experimented with many versions of electronic journals that similarly helped students and I track their writing journey. Today I merge reflection and hyperdocs (via logbooks) into my version of ungrading that I hope puts the focus of the grade where it should be: on the journey of the writer and their way/weigh stations on that path. I want my students to be the judge of their progress to meet the writing goals that they set and not struggle to meet a rubric that I (or heaven forfend a stranger) formed from shadow. When we focus the weight of the education system on assessing disposable writing we focus on shadow horses.

I am not interested in shadow horses. I want to create writers. I want to support reflective, literate critical thinkers. Developing writers (from elementary school to retirement) need to engage in the practice of writing, but a healthy chunk of that writing should be reflection about their writing goals and journey. I want my students to engage in authentic writing but more than that I want them to live and think as writers, to believe they are writers, to be writers.

Living authentically as writers means that my students are constantly writing and reflecting, reflecting and writing about their lives, their writing, their goals. I invite my students to write in response to poetry to mentor texts and to the writing of our community in every class session, but weekly I also challenge my students to write about the goals they have for themselves as writers and to reflect on that journey. While most of their writing goals and reflections are private or shared only with me, they share their writing-in-progress with the community both in class and on our hyperdoc logbooks. The writing shared to our class logbooks are a record of each individual’s journey but also a collective map that documents our collective experience with the task at hand. We are learning in real time how each of us is living and working as a writer. At the end of the unit everyone can see where the journey ended, but only the writer and I engage in a discussion of the writer’s reflection from initial inspiration to setting goals to working through the challenges of their particular rhetorical context.

However, because both student writer and myself are cogs in the machinery of higher education, a grade for this amazing journey must be recorded even though we all know that grade cannot measure the learning that occurred during this journey or the seeds for growth that may not bear fruit for years. In the end we share the burden of determining the student’s grade through self-assessment of the journey and my assessment of the reflection and its practical demonstration in the form of the final deliverable. Most of that time I reward the journey with full credit for work and reflection completed even if the work is flawed. My system is imperfect as it privileges students not experiencing trauma and life challenges (although I attempt to mitigate with a two-week grace period some students are still derailed along the way) and I’m sure many would suggest the system is ripe for abuse, but that does not concern me. Any assessment system is flawed and potentially dangerous, but mine minimizes damage to student and instructor as well as supports living and thinking as writers. Many of my students grow as writers, rhetoricians, and humans because I focus on writing reflection.

And like any good National Writing Project teacher, I spend a lot of time reflecting on my practice as well as my writing. How do you support reflection in your students and your own practice as both a writer a writing teacher?

Note: This semester I implemented two changes to our weekly reflection practice as part of my efforts to deal with my The Last Mile Problem and continue to improve my Ungrading Journey. Inspired by Marcus Luther‘s guided reflection process, my students are crafting six-word writer’s stories and setting writing goals from our first week together. As always I am modeling the reflections written in response to those stories and goals, but now we are sharing these reflections with our community not only in class but also on our logbook as part of the work of the week. I hope that closely linking the work and the reflection will make the connection clearer and stronger. Listening to the goals they shared in class and reading the reflections posted to the logbook have filled my heart with joy. We had a good week and a great start to the semester. I am always blown away by the process of creating a joyful community of writers.

12/2025 Update: This morning I woke to long lists in 4/5 “Needs Grading” sections of 4/5 of my Blackboard Shells. It was daunting and overwhelming but then I started reading reflections and I am full of emotion. I can only read these with tissues close at hand. Here are some highlights:

• So, did this class teach me what I needed? Yes. It didn’t make me a perfect English speaker, but it made me a braver one. It taught me that my voice matters, even if it sounds different from everyone else’s. Note: This is a non-native speaker writing about our practice of sharing our writing in class.
• Because you cared about us, we cared about you and the class. You made us want to be there—made it enjoyable—and grew connections with us. Note: This student’s reflection really celebrated everything that also delights me!
• I am grateful for this class looking back on it because I feel the class actually developed a community and we were able to start to share deeper than surface level and be vulnerable knowing that no one was going to judge. I will miss coming in and sharing where I am from and then diving into whatever the unit was talking about. This class allowed me to explore writing in a way that I never really viewed writing before and that I am grateful for because I no longer find writing as such a bad or hard thing. I can sit down now and actually enjoy writing and typing essays because this class has given me a different approach to writing and an approach I actually enjoy. Note: This student described the most impactful experience was all the low-stakes authentic writing we engaged in.
• …making these artifacts not only allowed me and the other students to share and express what we hold deepest to us, but as well as being able to relate and reside with other students that may have said the same thing, or maybe they brought back some type of core memory that they may have forgotten. Note: This student also celebrated our community of writers, but really leaned into the authentic writing experience offered by our What If unit.
• The assignments and prompts that we were given set me up to use my imagination and let my creativity flow. Note: This student also loved the What If unit and our opening exercise as well as how ungrading unlocked their writing because they no longer feared judgement.
• One of the most valuable aspects of English 100 was the emphasis on the writing process. Before this class, I often thought of writing as a one-step task: sit down, write the paper, and turn it in. Through peer reviews, drafts, and revisions, I realized that writing is a process of discovery. Note: I love when students take away the lessons near and dear to my heart – specifically in this case that writing is a journey!
• This class made me see how powerful stories really are. I’m really hopeful that future generations will make this world a more accepting, understanding, and kinder place where we are more united and no longer so divided. Note: This was an online student who did not benefit from in-person writing workshop and shared in-class writing, but found sharing writing and feedback via the logbook a powerful experience. This student loved the What If unit but said rhetorical analysis was their favorite.
• As I move forward in college, I want to keep practicing the habits I started when I would write this semester. These habits include: being honest in my writing, thinking about who I am writing to, taking my time when I write instead of rushing it, and paying attention to the things I read. Note: This student was first inspired by our authentic writing invitations but I love that they landed on these important goals. That is the power of reflection!
• Looking back, I see how much I have changed in how I write and think. I do not try to finish everything in one draft anymore. I slow down, reflect, and revise carefully. I read feedback with an open mind, even when it points out mistakes I missed. Instead of being embarrassed, I see mistakes as part of the improvement and learning process. I am more patient than I was in the beginning, and I can now see how each revision makes the writing clearer. English 100 did more than improve my grammar or structure. It reminded me that writing builds upon understanding. This semester taught me that writing is an important tool that will be helpful in my future career, helping others. Note: This student emphasized repeatedly the importance of authentic writing in addition to writing in a supportive community of writers.
• I have learned that the process of writing is as important as the final product. I have grown more confident in my ability to craft meaningful narratives, analyze text critically, and connect my personal experiences to broader human themes. Most importantly, I have come to understand that my stories have value to others. I leave this course not only as a better writer but as someone who believes in the power of words to shape understanding, foster empathy, and ignite change. Note: This student understands the power of narrative and authenticity when it comes to writing.
• Overall, I feel like I am a stronger writer now because I have learned to express myself clearly and thoughtfully while keeping my voice personal. Also, the reflections helped me have a clearer understanding of my learning process, and the fact that I was able to give feedback helped me connect to the writer. Note: Another celebration of the importance of personal narrative to support fact and art in rhetoric as well as recognition of the importance of reflection for the growth of the writer.
• This semester has been a journey of learning, unlearning, and discovering who I am as a writer, reader, thinker, and human being. At the beginning of the course, I often approached writing with the expectation that it needed to be “right” on the first try and that I hated writing. I worried more about correctness than clarity, and I sometimes held myself back from expressing my true voice. Over time, I learned that writing is a process of shaping ideas rather than trying to perfect them all at once. This shift allowed me to write more freely, explore my thoughts more deeply, helped me trust myself as a writer, and also helped me enjoy writing. Note: I love when my students lean into the goals I have for all my classes (growing as writer, thinker, human).
• Instead of making me feel judged for not being a “natural writer” you created a space for me and other writers where we could try, even fail, fix things and slowly become a better writer. That meant more to me than you may realize. I never really had an English teacher that believed in me. Note: I believe in the writers in my classroom and I cry every time one of those writers sees me!
• the structure of this course pushed me to pay closer attention to how I work and why I make certain choices as a writer. The focus on reflection and purpose helped me understand my writing process in a way I had not really thought about before. Note: I always delight in taking this journey with other writers.
• I had never been allowed room to find my style before… I am proud to say that I have found a voice of my own… Today I can say with confidence: My name is XXXXXX and I am a writer. Note: The choices we make in our classrooms can change the trajectory of a writer’s life. I never want to assign writing that is disposable and easily created by AI. I love a writing assignment that helps a student writer make this transition!
• I have been very thankful for this class. I have grown to love and appreciate writing in a whole new way than I did before. Sure, I am not an expert writer, and I may never be one. However, I can definitely say I have improved a lot since the beginning of this semester. There is still a lot of room to grow and develop for me as a writer. However, I am glad for being able to grow in understanding of others, and confidence in myself. Note: This is an online student who repeatedly celebrated reading the writing of the community and learning to leave feedback. I love the power of reflective feedback loops!
• what changed gradually and unexpectedly was my understanding that writing isn’t just about communicating ideas it’s about discovering my own views, opinions, and beliefs. Through composing poems and experimenting with form, I learned to think critically, evaluate my assumptions, and to make internal decisions that strengthened my beliefs as well as my confidence. Note: While so many of my colleagues are complaining about the AI slop their students are turning in I am seeing original thinking/writing in my classroom and reflections like this reinforce that creative/authentic writing assignments are the answer.