Reflect on the most important things that you know about effective writing and research. What are some key things that you know or believe? What do you think you still need to learn?
Reflect on what you know about yourself as a writer and researcher. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What’s your writing process (real and ideal)? What kind of writing do you like and dislike doing? What are you concerned or excited about with regard to this class?
Think about what you most want to get from this class (what you want to accomplish, learn, or improve this semester), and list goals for yourself. Be mindful of the course when creating your goals (for example, a poetry writing goal is not relevant to this course) and do not write “improve my writing” or “be a better researcher”; instead, think about what those things mean for you and be specific.