Seneca suggests calm daily meditation on all the things that might go wrong helps reduce frustration and anger—do you think this pessimism works? Try to put his theory into practice and see what happens! Make a list the night before you try to put his idea into practice: contemplate your upcoming day and meditate on everything that could possible go wrong. When you write your paper, explain Seneca’s theory, describe your experiment with it, and discuss the extent to which you think his theory worked. Were you psychologically prepared for frustration? Did this preparation reduce feelings of anger or disappointment?

Required Criteria for Reflection Papers
• 25 points (late penalty 5 points per day and returned without comments)
• due Thursday by midnight 
• 500-700 words (about one page single spaced 12 pt font)
• Essay structure with thesis and organized paragraphs
• Must make use of the readings through paraphrase and direct quotations
• Proofread for punctuation and spelling (I will not read papers with spelling errors, and they will be returned with late penalties until you run the spell check resubmit) 

General Advice
These papers may be short, but they are not easy. You must think about what you want to say and be organized. Do not ramble or treat these like diary pages or forum posts. Use the prompt and write a thoughtful, direct response organized around a central main idea.

Keep in mind that ideas are easiest to follow when sorted out and organized into meaningful paragraphs. A paragraph has ONE main idea expressed in a topic sentence. That idea is specific and needs to be explained or developed so the reader understands what you mean. The sentences that follow the topic sentences are there to describe, develop, and explain what you mean. Use active verbs, precise nouns and descriptive adjectives to make your ideas clear and interesting to the reader. Connect your ideas with transitions so the conversation runs smoothly and is logical, and when you have developed that main point, move on to the next paragraph.

In a one page paper, don’t spend too much time on your introduction and conclusion. Just jump right in and develop your thesis.

Introduce the quotations you use with signal phrases. These help the reader follow what you are doing, they help them know who is speaking, and they allow you to give credit your sources.

Cite your sources using MLA citation format. For a quick overview of the basics see, MLA In-Text Citations | MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources | MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources | MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format