What is an “Initial Reflection?” It certainly implies that there will be a Final Reflection, and you are correct! There will be final reflection at the end of the course. Reflective writing is one way for you to see how your knowledge, understanding, and goals evolve over time. This assignment is designed to give you a anchor point for who you are and what you know about aging as you enter this course. You are “reflecting” on what you know – in other words, describing for yourself and me, a little of all the good things in your brain/heart at this point in time about aging. Then, at the end of the course, you will have a similar assignment so you can “reflect” on what has changed and what has not.

This is also your first formal writing assignment of the semester. So be sure you are using APA style, professional language, and your most polished grammar. One exception to your APA for this assignment – you may use “I.” This is about you after all! So let’s get started on this…

For this assignment, write a minimum of 3 paragraphs (roughly 300-500 words) but you may have more than 3 if you wish. You will be writing in a narrative style which means, don’t just list the following questions with an accompanying answer. Your writing should flow more like a story or a case study. The way that I am writing these instructions is an example of the style/tone I’m describing to you. In your paper incorporate all of the following items: 

• What are some of your current beliefs about aging? How did you come to believe these things?
• What do you currently know about aging and health?
• What do you know about older adults in your community?
• Describe what you consider to be the biggest challenges for older adults.
• What are you biggest questions and/or concerns about aging in yourself and those older adults in your community? Is there a relationship?
• What do you expect to learn in this course?
• What would you like to learn in this course?
• What do you anticipate being the most challenging aspect of this course?

Remember, this is a formal writing assignment. You are required to use APA formatting. If you are unfamilar with APA,  Use this resource along with your APA manual to properly format this and all of your formal writing assignments for this course. Also remember to follow the protocol in your syllabus for labeling and uploading your assignment.