SAMPLE REFLECTION PAPER
SAMPLE REFLECTION PAPER
(submitted by a student in CRIM 1006E, Fall term 2003)
I found the article written by Sonia Bodi was very informative and interesting. Although many of the ideas she presented I agreed with, there were also a few points that I'd like to argue against. First I would like to answer the question that was proposed in the title of this article: How do we bridge the gap between what we ( professors) teach and what they ( students) do? To fill in that gap, both sides need to work together. Students need to push themselves to expand their knowledge and help themselves become more inquisitive, critical, and reflective. Professors, on the other hand, should push and challenge the students to become better thinkers and help them use what skills they know to their advantage. When students and professors are thinking on the same page, they will start to understand each other's viewpoint, thus making researching a paper more easier.
I agree that students do have a more difficult time to deal with the pressure of writing a research essay. "Choosing a topic and its focus is perhaps the most difficult task in research." This statement is very true. I sometimes complain when I have to write an essay focusing on a specific topic that a professor has assigned, but in reality, writing an essay on a topic you can pick yourself is even harder. Sometimes I have so many ideas to write down on paper I become overwhelmed and stressed; even though I am researching a topic that I myself have freely chosen. This is the time where, as stated in the Bodi article, that students "experience uncertainly and confusion." This quote was made after studying high school students' behavior while researching topics. I thought about this statement while I read the rest of the article and came to a conclusion about the truth of this quote. Although I understand how to now, I was never taught how to write a proper research paper in high school; and I am sure that many people
(submitted by a student in CRIM 1006E, Fall term 2003)
I found the article written by Sonia Bodi was very informative and interesting. Although many of the ideas she presented I agreed with, there were also a few points that I'd like to argue against. First I would like to answer the question that was proposed in the title of this article: How do we bridge the gap between what we ( professors) teach and what they ( students) do? To fill in that gap, both sides need to work together. Students need to push themselves to expand their knowledge and help themselves become more inquisitive, critical, and reflective. Professors, on the other hand, should push and challenge the students to become better thinkers and help them use what skills they know to their advantage. When students and professors are thinking on the same page, they will start to understand each other's viewpoint, thus making researching a paper more easier.
I agree that students do have a more difficult time to deal with the pressure of writing a research essay. "Choosing a topic and its focus is perhaps the most difficult task in research." This statement is very true. I sometimes complain when I have to write an essay focusing on a specific topic that a professor has assigned, but in reality, writing an essay on a topic you can pick yourself is even harder. Sometimes I have so many ideas to write down on paper I become overwhelmed and stressed; even though I am researching a topic that I myself have freely chosen. This is the time where, as stated in the Bodi article, that students "experience uncertainly and confusion." This quote was made after studying high school students' behavior while researching topics. I thought about this statement while I read the rest of the article and came to a conclusion about the truth of this quote. Although I understand how to now, I was never taught how to write a proper research paper in high school; and I am sure that many people