Rubrics

Use these prompts to guide reflective writing that deepens self-awareness and critical thinking. Encourage writers to explore experiences, emotions, and ideas, connecting past and present to gain insight. Reflection thrives on honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to question and grow.

UNIV 101
  1. Outline the parts of the reading. What is effective or ineffective about the way the writer structured the material?
  2. What elements from the reading do you want to remember ten years from now?
  3. How will you use what you learned from the reading in your life or in your career?
  4. Interview a classmate and write a summary of how the reading impacted that person.
  5. Discuss what we just talked about with a partner (or a small group) and then write what you think is important and describe how you might integrate the idea(s) into your life and career.
  6. What is the social significance of what we just read or talked about?
  7. Earlier in the semester we talked about X and today we talked about Y. Write about the connections you perceive between these two subjects (or ideas).
  8. What did you disagree with in what we just read (or talked about)? What do you agree with?
  9. If humanity lost the ideas in this reading (or in what we just talked about) what would change in the world?
  10. What had to be discovered before the writer could create what we read (or talked about) today?
  11. After thinking about the reading (or what we discussed), project what might be the next great discovery be in this area.
  12. If people believed what we just read (or talked about) how might their behavior change?
  13. Describe three ways you might implement the ideas we talked about or read about today?
  14. What experiences have you had that either support or discredit what we read or talked about today?
  15. What assumptions do you notice in the reading that cause the writer to have a blind spot? Does the writer in any way compensate for that blind spot?
UNIV 101

UNIV 101

UNIV 101

UNIV 101

UNIV 101

Grading Advice

The following prompts are too general. They need to be adapted to a program’s specific group and educational objectives. This can be done by linking specific participant concerns (social life, career objectives, personal issues) with the activity.

  1. Describe experiences from your past that make you who you are.
  2. How can this experience (hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing, etc.) help you in your life or career?
  3. What will you remember from this experience ten years from now?
  4. Is hiking an individual or a communal act?
  5. What did you learn about the link between your mind and body (soul and body) from this experience?
  6. How does field work help you understand insects (geography, mathematics, other cultures, etc.) in ways that classroom work cannot?