California State University Channel Islands English Program

Below we offer a typical example of a thoughtful reflective essay that effectively and substantively captures the writer's growth with time at CSUCI. We claim that you have not yet addressed and which may be relevant to your growth as a reader, writer, or thinker that you write your own essay before reading either of these models-then, having completed your first draft, read these over to consider areas in your own background.

Any reference to either of the essays should be correctly cited and attributed; failure to do this constitutes plagiarism and will bring about a grade that is failing the portfolio and possible other serious consequences as previously mentioned when you look at the CSUCI Code of Conduct.

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Sample Reflective Essay number 1
Author: would rather remain anonymous

As an English major I have discovered to understand the peaceful, yet exhilarating moment when my mind engages with an author's ideas on a full page. As Toni Morrison says within the Dancing Mind , "reading is to experience an individual's own mind dancing with another's." Within my early days as a college student, I wanted to learn the "true" meaning of a work or what the author intended, however, I have now realized this might void literature of its most complexities that are noteworthy. Individual interpretations bring varied insights to a work and it is also interesting to indicate messages the author may not s/he have realized within the piece.

I have for ages been a thinker, but throughout my coursework, I have greatly sharpened my critical analysis skills. As opposed to centering on proposed meanings or background that is biographical I have learned to continuously ask "why" on many different levels. I challenge myself to dig into a text as deeply as possible and unpack every detail to build up a satisfying close read. Also, by reading multiple novels because of the author that is same have discovered to spot different writing styles and make connections that weave texts together; this helped me develop a deeper knowledge of the novels. Whenever I have a look at one of my freshman level novels and see clean pages, I understand that I did not actively browse the book. I assume you might say that I have learned to learn with a pen, which includes drastically taken my writing to a different level because I am in a position to connect back with my initial insights marked from the page.

Writing had for ages been one of my strengths, nonetheless it was challenging to take that initial step past the twelfth grade, five-paragraph essay form that constricted my ideas for way too long. Moving past this form, however, has greatly opened my mind. My thoughts can now be much more complex because We have learned how exactly to sustain a logical argument in an manner that is organized. My writing is actually increasingly more concise and I not any longer have room for added "fluff" or "padding." Another improvement is my capacity to point out complexities that are multiple a text, as opposed to sticking to one-sided arguments within my papers. Furthermore, learning how to find peer reviewed journal articles and order books through interlibrary loan has significantly widened the scope of my research, that has lead to more scholarly papers with credible references. My writing is really so much more interesting than it used to be.

It is difficult to determine gaps in my own knowledge as an English major, only because I feel like I have learned so much. I feel I need to be prepared to teach high school students their required literature that I have largely expanded my literary analysis and writing skills, but. I do believe it might be useful to identify commonly taught novels inside our local schools that are high study them myself. By studying the desired literature and thinking on how to teach it, i shall have a sturdy foundation to work from once I am when you look at the classroom.

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The English program at California State University Channel Islands prepares students for a range that is wide of and rewarding careers, including:

• English teacher
• Social media marketing strategist
• Media production (film, TV, internet)
• Print and publishing that is digital
• Law
• Corporate communications
• Foreign service
• Human resources
• Foundations/non-profit management