Writing News Reflections: Instructions and Guidelines

Writing Your News Reflections: Keep in mind that as a reflective assignment, you will write in first person, and it is OK to say “I” and to state what you think and why. I want that, and I want you to relate what you are reading and learning to your personal and professional life.

The first paragraph of each journal entry should include

(1) The name of the news article,

(2) The source of the news article,

(3) The author (if there is one), and

(4) The date of the news article.

(Essentially, you are providing the citation information for your article, but you aren’t writing it in APA style). Additionally, you will tell me the general topic (e.g., minimum wage, domestic violence, relationships, etc.) of the article and tell me how this article relates to the course content. 
       

Then, follow the directions below to write the rest of this assignment, the news journal reflection:

(1) In no more than 3 or 4 sentences, summarize the content of this news story. For instance, what was this news story about? (Note: The summary should not comprise half of your paper; if it does, you aren’t doing enough reflecting.). Do not cut and paste from the article. Do not quote information from the article for your summary. This should be in your own words.

(2) Identify at least one important concept, finding, theory, or idea that you learned while reading this news story or completing this reflection activity.

(3) Identify why you believe that this concept, finding, theory, or idea in this news story… is important (to you, for women, for society, etc.)? Why did you choose this story?

(4) How is this news story relevant to this class? To other classes you have had? To your life? (Note that this part is three separate questions.)

(5) Apply what you have learned from this article or news piece to some aspect of your life. Be specific about how this information may affect you and your life in some way. How can you use this information?

(6) Include your thoughts about this issue or news piece. Be specific—not just “I liked it.” or “This was interesting.” Remember that this course is a senior-level upper division psychology course; your thoughts should reflect that.

(7) What question(s) has the information in this news story raised for you? What are you still wondering about? (Please note that answering “nothing” will get you nothing in the way of credit, as will skipping answering this question.). Take some initiative to learn more about this story from another source if your question can be answered that way.

(8) Finally, what is your role or place in affecting change or improvement regarding this issue (i.e., what can you do with this information?)? As a civically engaged adult, you should be involved in your community and able to affect change.