Getting Your Students Involved in the Writing Process

Getting Your Students Involved in the Writing ProcessReflective sample essays are a great way to get your students involved early on in the writing process. Some students are nervous and scared of the writer's block that comes from pulling their own words together and do not want to risk writing something that is not 'perfect.' However, reflecting on how they can improve their writing and looking for the good points is a great way to help them feel confident in writing. Reflective sample essays give students the opportunity to begin writing the essay in the first place.Reflective samples also allow students to see some samples that have already been written. As students take notes, they can see what other students are doing. Reflective essay samples let students begin the process of becoming experts in reviewing again. The benefit of review is that it is often beneficial to recognize errors or areas where they need to revise. By reviewing previous essays, students are less likely to make the same errors in their own essays.As students become more comfortable with writing and reviewing, they can then move onto a reflective sample. There are many types of reflective sample, but a simple one to get started with is to choose a well-known company or personality and write about how they would help the student's class or subject. You could also include student opinions about their characteristics or what the student thinks makes them so successful. You can go as far as to include specific examples of them in person or on television.Reflective sample essays can range in length. A sample as short as one page is really all it takes to get students involved in the entire process. Some people will ask for a long reflective essay sample in addition to a short one. However, a shorter reflective sample will give them something to read and look at in comparison to a longer reflective essay sample. It is all about testing students' ability to read and revise and increasing thei r confidence in their ability to write.As students learn to do this, you can turn the reflective sample into a long essay. The process continues until they no longer have the fear or nervousness. At this point, they are writing better than they ever imagined they could. It is then time to turn the reflective sample into a long essay. As the student writes the essay, there is the chance for the reflective sample to serve as a resource for him or her to have some fun.One of the most important steps in writing a reflective sample is learning how to keep it moving along. The essay needs to be moving forward. The process of writing should move the students toward their goal of improving their writing skills. Remember that the student has not yet written the essay. Sometimes they may have a lot of ideas on what to say but are not sure how to structure their words, what they should be writing in the first place.When these ideas come to mind, the reflective essay allows them to think about them and work on the concepts they have. This makes them ready to write. In addition, they can use the reflective essay as a support when they go back and revise. They know where they started, so they can come back to an idea or question and continue writing without having to look up an answer.Writing a reflective essay on purpose is very different than writing one off the cuff. As students become more comfortable with writing, it is important to get the concept across in the right format. This process helps them develop the skill of making a basic essay move forward and makes the students more confident in their own writing. This makes the essay a reflection of their development as writers.