Module One Reflection Essay

Topic:
Course Objectives and Professionalism

Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce students to course objectives and to encourage
their thoughtful consideration of how those course objectives relate to their professional and
academic experiences, understanding, and values.

Your first major writing assignment for this course is a reflection paper, which might seem
strange that at this point you have very little course content to reflect upon. You’re asked here
to reflect upon your attitudes, values, and experiences as you begin work in this capstone
course. Good reflective writing allows an audience to recognize a writer and allows a writer to
clarify his/her thinking. There are no “right” or “wrong” responses to the guiding questions for
a reflection paper; rather, those questions are meant to spur your thinking about what has
brought you to a point and about how you will go forward from that point.

Instructions:
● Broadly, you are asked to examine what this capstone course and project “mean” to you
and discuss (with both an academic and professional lens) the potential benefits of
working through this capstone:
o This course stresses the interdisciplinary nature of your college experience: What
does “interdisciplinary” mean to you? How has your post-secondary education
brought together different disciplines? Outside your major course of study, what
classes (in other academic disciplines) have been especially meaningful to you?
What is the value of learning of the different perspectives and frames of
reference that different academic disciplines bring to the forefront?
o This course stresses ethics and how personal and corporate ethics are
interwoven with personal and corporate actions: Have you taken a course in
ethics? What did you learn, what do you remember? What values and attitudes
do you hold that persuade you to act in an ethical manner? How important is an
ethical code in your personal life? In your future professional life? In our

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 community/social interactions? Why? How has your personal code of ethics,
your “creed” been shaped by your education and other factors?
o This course stresses the notion that academic experience isn’t “merely”
academic but prepares students for vibrant and successful careers in the
professions of their choice: How will your course work at Baker prepare you for
life beyond college? What “transferable” skills help a person move from student
status to professional status? How important is it to you to leave Baker College
with a “toolbox” of those transferable skills? How and why could this course,
which stresses interdisciplinarity and ethics, serve you well as you enter the
workforce? i.e., how can you “sell” your skills to a potential employer?

Formatting:
● 2-3 pages, double-spaced, 12-font, Times New Roman (Do not be afraid to exceed the
suggested page length!)
● APA document formatting and citations (You are not required to incorporate outside
sources, but if you do, cite them appropriately)
● Reflection papers can be quite personal (first-person pronouns welcome!), but this is
still a college-level paper, so spelling, grammar, and mechanics “count.”

Strategies for good writing:

● Please do not attempt to answer each of the questions posed above; they are meant to
help you develop your coherent and comprehensive thoughts on the matters at hand.
● Develop your body paragraphs with plenty of discussion; personal experience,
examples, and analogies help your reader understand your thinking.
● Organize your paper and use transitional words and phrases to lead your reader through
its pathway.
● Be honest; if you don’t quite know something or haven’t quite decided something, it is
good to acknowledge that fact.
● Remember that the goal of writing this paper is two-fold: to help you clarify your
thinking as you embark on this capstone course and to let your reader know you.

Enjoy thinking and writing this paper; your instructor will enjoy reading it!