Reflection papers allow students the chance to reinforce what they have learned through coursework, lectures and personal experience.

CAM Project Reflective Essay

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to encourage the student to try a form of complementary/alternative therapy and to the assess the value of the experience as well as the benefit of incorporating this CAM practice into the student’s life.

Audience: This paper should be written in first person for a college professor.

Formatting: The essay must be at least 1,000 words (about 3-3.5 pages), typed, double-spaced with .8-inch margins and in Times New Roman or Calibri font, size 12.

Put the title of your paper on the first line and fill the remaining 3-3.5 pages with writing. Instructions

Reflection papers allow students the chance to reinforce what they have learned through coursework, lectures and personal experience. Although reflection papers focus on the writer’s personal feelings and experiences, they often require multiple sources and frequent use of concrete examples. The reflective paper should show what the student learned about herself/himself as she/he worked through the project.

A reflective essay typically includes:

• an introduction,
• at least three body paragraphs that both detail your experience and evaluate your response to it,
• a conclusion

To structure a well-organized paper, make an outline with notes about the details of the experience. What progress have you made? What evidence illustrates your development?

Be careful not to let the story itself dominate the essay; Queensland University of Technology suggests focusing on only the most crucial details so you have room left to reflect on happened during your experience.

The body of your paper should address most of the following questions:

1. Why was this topic chosen?
2. What experiences (classes, people, books, etc.) directed the choice of topic?
3. Were you satisfied with your topic choice? Why or why not?
4. What have you learned about your topic?
5. What did you learn from your 3 credible sources that helped you understand your topic?
6. What values, opinions, beliefs have changed?
7. What did you learn about yourself through this experience?
8. Was the learning something unexpected?
9. How will the experience apply to your plan for wellness?
10. How did this service experience affect you personally?
11. What was the most important lesson learned?
12. How has your belief system been challenged?
13. What was effective?
14. How did your academic knowledge prepare you for your experience?
15. How did this experience contribute to your understanding of the course material?

Be sure to finish with a conclusion. Throughout your reflection, you should make a case for how the experience has stimulated your personal growth. Also address how you plan on using this experience in the future, and if you plan on trying something completely different, continuing this practice, taking another step, etc.

By the conclusion, readers should have a clear, specific idea of how the experience affected you; what you have learned from this experience and how you plan to use this new information in your life.

Lastly, include proof of your participation. This could be in the form of a receipt, a picture, etc.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Paper Grading Rubric

Total: 40 points

Points	Checklist
Format 4 points	___Paper is neatly typed ___Double-spaced ___12-point TNR/Calibri font ___One-inch margins ___3 pages in length.
Grammar and Spelling 4 points	___No spelling errors ___No grammatical errors ___Correct word selection ___Written for a college professor
Introduction 4 points	___Engaging intro ___Thesis statement ___Sets tone for the rest of the paper
Body 16 points	___ Shows strong evidence of reason, reflection and depth ___ Details experience ___ Evaluates response to the experience ____Addresses at least 8 of the questions listed on the instruction sheet
Conclusion 8 points	___ Synthesizes the writer’s thoughts and experiences ___Addresses personal growth from the experience ___Clarity regarding: How the experience affected you What you have learned How you plan to use this experience in the future ___Next steps and lessons learned from this experience Do you intend to continue this practice, investigate other therapies, etc?
Proof of attendance 4 points	___Includes proof of attendance