Write a 2-3 page analytical reflection paper analyzing this experience

Step One

Set aside roughly 36 hours where you will completely disconnect from any and all forms of virtual communities and social media. Please plan ahead so that you are able to do this without complication. Virtual communities and social media includes all of the following: text messages, messenger apps, Facebook, Twitter, other social networking sites, online apps, online games, email, forums, podcasts, live streaming, etc. Take notes on this experience, as necessary.

Tip: A simple way to do this might be to turn off the Wifi capability on your smart devices and laptops.

Step Two

Write a 2-3 page analytical reflection paper analyzing this experience.

In the paper, focus on one effect that you experienced as a result of disconnecting from virtual communities/social media. Be specific and describe this effect by sharing experiences in detail, providing concrete examples whenever possible! If you are not sure what qualifies as “an effect experienced from disconnecting,” see readings from the first five weeks of class — any of these theories and concepts could be things that you experienced.

In this part of the paper, the reader should be able to visualize your experience and see what the effect was like. This may, therefore, require that you take some detailed notes of your experience during your 36-hour disconnect. Think about specific events, occurrences, feelings, emotions, thoughts, incidences, engagements, etc. that were significant in your 36 hours and retell that story with some level of analytical detail. This is similar to an ethnographic account of key stories/events during those 36 hours.

After providing this deep descriiption, relate this/these event(s) to one of the assigned readings from the first five weeks of class. Connect your experience to a specific part of the reading by comparing and/or contrasting your experiences with what the reading is discussing. For example, you could answer the following question(s):

How does the reading/concept deepen your understanding or interpretation of what you experienced?
How does your experience challenge or deepen your understanding of the reading?
As you can tell from these questions, you can disagree with the reading’s perspective. The valuable thing about your connection to the reading should be discussing these similarities/differences between your experience and the reading/concept. You should try to “show off” here — either showing how the reading helps deepen your analysis of your own disconnect experience or showing how your experience deepens how you understand the reading’s concept.

Also, when you make the connection between your experience and the assigned reading, please be as specific as possible in this connection. This does not mean you have to quote from the reading (in fact, most of the time, a paraphrase is better than direct quoting), but a citation with a page number may be helpful to show that you are engaging specifically with a part of the reading (and not just the concept in general). The purpose of asking you to be specific is so that you will interrogate deeper connections and more specific analysis in your paper.

You will be graded on the level of specificity in describing your experience. You will also be graded on the level of insight, self-reflection, and meaningful connection you make to a specific part of the assigned reading(s). Of course, you only have 2-3 pages, so really think before you start writing and consider choosing just one effect you experienced as well as one specific aspect of the reading to focus your connection on.

See the rubric for more details on grading.

Important

Please check your submission after uploading to make sure 1) it was the correct file and 2) the format of your file was readable. You are responsible for submitting the correct and readable file before the due date.

Sample Outline

You can use this document as an example for your structure. Most of the quotes are example sentences, but they do not link up or necessarily make perfect sense. It should still give you some idea of what’s expected.

FAQs

What if I cannot complete my 36 hours of disconnecting?

First of all, do the very best you can. You will not be penalized for not having completed the full 36 hours!

But do try your best. Make preparations. Notify people. Ask for permission if you need to. Choose days where this is easiest. Etc.

Second, do not lie in your paper. It’s okay for you to tell us that you tried to do it for 36 hours but you failed multiple times. If you fail in one instance, keep trying, but instead of “lying” and saying you did the whole thing, reflect on the fact that you were unable to do so. You can use that as some of your reflection and discussion.

In other words, consider what it means that you were unable to disconnect for 36 hours. 36 hours isn’t that long, and the fact that you either tried and failed or could only set aside X hours instead is telling. It is potentially something you could write about in your paper if you so choose (again: you will not be penalized for not having completed the full 36 hours).

Can I write about more than one experience or effect from disconnecting?

Because the paper is only 2-3 pages double-spaced, this is rather short and space is rather tight. I think that you could write about multiple examples, but the examples should probably all be about the same effect/experience of disconnecting.

For example, if you said you felt isolated, then you would provide multiple concrete, specific examples of when and how you felt isolated (what was the trigger, when did you feel this way, how would you deal with it, etc.). But if you were to write about that AND also write about another completely different effect, then I think you’ll run out of room to analyze or you probably did not do a good enough job of providing specific, concrete examples of the first effect.

What is a specific part of the reading and how do I connect my experience to it?

The readers have no idea if you did the reading. You should be able to tell that you did the reading (and not just went to lecture and heard a summary) from reading your paper. In other words, look for a page of the reading where they discuss or define a concept in more detail. Then compare your experience to whatever the article talked about. Make these connections clear and explicit — for example, “AUTHOR defines X as Y. In my experience I definitely also experienced Y. When I was…, this is an example of Y because…”.

We do not need you to quote the reading directly — in most cases, a paraphrase and a citation, possibly with a page number, is more than enough. Quotes should only be used if you plan on directly discussing the quotation in some detail because of the specific wording.

What if I go over the 3-page limit?

Do your best to stay under. If you are just a little over (half a page or 2/3 of a page), you won’t be penalized, but if you are over 2/3 of a page over the limit, this is a problem. Readers will have to compare your longer paper to other papers that fit within the limit and still did a good job. In other words, be careful and do your best to make sure every sentence counts!

This means a simple introduction and a simple conclusion is more than fine. Get to the point (thesis) of your paper and get to answering the two questions. If it is not in the rubric, then you won’t be graded for that, so try to stay focused on things that will help you score well on the rubric.

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