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Weekly Reflection
Handout #008

In a weekly reflection, you summarize the work you did during the previous week. A weekly reflection is related to keeping a research log except that it is not as detailed.

Your weekly reflection should include at least three components. First, you should state what you actually accomplished during the previous week while giving particular emphasis on what you learned.

Second, you should include questions you have as a researcher. There are two potential audiences for these questions: yourself or your instructor. Questions addressed to yourself demonstrate where your research is heading. Questions directed to your instructor would spring from difficulties you encountered during the research process and for which you need your instructor’s assistance to solve.

Third, you should lay out a plan for how you intend to proceed with your research during the next week.

Finally, you should estimate how much time you spent working on the course.

Some instructors might want you to submit your weekly reflection via e-mail, as a formal business letter, or in BlackBoard’s digital drop box.

In addition to helping yourself organize your materials, by providing a brief weekly reflection for your instructor, you will get better feedback from him or her concerning your progress in the course. Because “students who get behind and in trouble are often the ones tempted to cheat” (Carbone), the weekly reflection is important because it will be less likely that you will fall behind in the course.

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Avoiding Plagiarism

Often, plagiarism is a spontaneous strategy used by as student to solve an immediate problem caused by poor planning. By requiring a weekly reflection, your instructor can monitor your progress to make sure that appropriate progress is being made in the course.


References and Resources

blue bullet used to denote item in a listBerg, Steven L. “Keeping a Researh Log.” 8 January 2004. Writing Fellows Worksheet #003, Schoolcraft College.

blue bullet used to denote item in a listCarbone, Nick. “Some Ideas to Help Avoid Plagiarism in Your Classes.” nd. Caldwell Writing Center at Colorado State University.

blue bullet used to denote item in a listStripling, Barbara K. “Learning-Centered Libraries: Implications from Research.” School Library Media Quarterly 23.3 (1995): 163-170. Cited in Lathrop, Ann and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.


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This page was last updated on November 12, 2004.
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