Objective
For this assignment, you will complete a 1250-word reflective essay about a significant mistake made by either yourself or someone you know.
This essay aims to explore not just the mistake itself but the lessons learned from it. By adopting a growth mindset, you will analyze how this mistake served as a valuable learning experience.
Prerequisites
- Format: please utilize the MLA Checklist to ensure your paper or essay is in correct MLA format. If MLA format is incorrect, you will be asked to resubmit in correct format. You will receive a zero until the resubmission is received.
Requirements
When your essay is complete, it should include the following elements.
1. An Effective Introduction Paragraph:
- Hook: Begin with a hook to engage the reader.
- Bridge: Provide some background information about the event or the mistake.
- Thesis Statement: End with a clear Thesis Statement that introduces the mistake and what was learned from the mistake. Your Thesis Statement should be based on the criteria and template listed below.
2. An Effective Body:
- Three paragraphs minimum: You need at least three paragraphs in your body. NOTE: a minimum of three paragraphs is required. More than three is very common. Focus on establishing a clear topic sentence for each body paragraph, which introduces the main focus you will discuss in the paragraph.
- Lesson Learned Paragraph:Write at least one paragraph where you explain the lesson(s) learned from the mistake you’re writing about. What did the mistake teach you? Would you do something different now?
- Growth Mindset Paragraph: Write at least one paragraph where you discuss how the mistake might be viewed through the lenses of fixed & growth mindset. Does your feeling about the mistake change based on mindset? Why or why not? Review the Lecture Notes: Growth Mindset page for more information about Growth Mindset.
- At least one additional paragraph: Write at least one additional paragraph about your mistake.
3. An Effective Conclusion Paragraph:
- Restatement of Thesis: restate your thesis statement to remind readers about your main idea or claim.
- Summary of Findings: summarize the work you did in your body. Pay particular attention to the topics you identified in your topic sentences.
- Call To Action: Ask the reader to take some sort of action based on the information in your essay, such as considering a different choice if they find themselves in a similar situation.
Grading Criteria
For the Progress Check:
- Word Count (100 points): 750 or more words
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For the Final Draft:
- Word Count (30 points): 1250 or more words
- An Effective Introduction (20 points).
- An Effective Body with a minimum of three paragraphs (30 points total):
- A lesson learned paragraph (10 points).
- A growth mindset paragraph (10 points).
- At least one other paragraph (10 points).
- An Effective Conclusion (20 points).
Thesis Statement Criteria
One of the graded items for your Big Mistake essay is a thesis statement.
If you review the Lecture Notes: Mastering Thesis Statements page, you see that there are some basic criteria to remember when constructing your thesis statement.
- Your thesis statement should introduce the main claim of your essay or paper.
- Your thesis statement should come at the end of your introduction paragraph.
- Your thesis statement should be only one sentence long.
- Your thesis statement should be specific and concise.
Thesis Statement Template
In this section, let’s discuss a basic template to use to construct your thesis statement.
This template is presented as a guide only, to help you start constructing effective thesis statements. If you develop a thesis statement that doesn’t fit this template, that’s fine, but it’s usually worthwhile to consider the reasons for going in a different direction.
When we think about the focus of your Big Mistake, it’s clear there are two main ideas being introduced. First, clearly you’ll want to discuss your big mistake, and second (as will become clear in the weeks to come), we’ll want to discuss what was learned from the mistake. Using this information, we can combine these two big ideas into a thesis statement that will likely follow this template:
[your big mistake] + [lesson(s) you learned]
Examples Using The Thesis Statement Template
Of course you’ll need to use your own story in your essay, but here are some examples to get you thinking:
1) I lied to my best friend, then came to regret it, and that taught me the importance of being honest and valuing friendship.
2) Driving my motorcycle too fast while I was angry helped me see that I need to be less impulsive, and more careful when it comes to driving safety.
3) Getting too wrapped up in social media and failing my Algebra test made me realize I need to work harder to balance school and extracurricular activities.
Conclusion
Reflecting on our mistakes provides invaluable learning opportunities and can serve as stepping stones for personal growth. By analyzing these events, we learn not just to avoid similar errors, but also to approach challenges and setbacks as opportunities for development.
Good luck, and I look forward to reading your insights!