Personal Introspection
PERSONAL INTROSPECTION PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
COU3313 Human Sexuality
PURPOSE: The purpose of this assignment is to help students practice introspection as they seek to understand
their own thoughts, own sexuality, and how their perspectives inform and influence their counseling and
interaction with others in the areas related to sexuality.
FORMAT/LENGTH: The paper should be 2-3 pages of content (not including the title page, reference pages,
etc.). It must be in APA format with correctly formatted citations and references, and submitted as a Word
document. Other submission formats will not be accepted. An abstract is optional, and a reference page is only
required if you use external sources, though you likely will not for this paper. Your paper should follow good
writing and grammar practices, and include at least an introductory statement or paragraph, and a conclusion
paragraph or section. These should not be lengthy however. Your paper must include at least level 1 headings
identifying each section of your content. The content areas to include are as follows.
CONTENT:
Identify and write about your past and present experiences and influences on beliefs about sexuality.
These should include personal thoughts, experiences, etc., and can include any sexual experiences,
observations, family/parent/peer influences, or anything else that you see has led you to your current
belief system. This section is generally very personal, and often contains more private information. It
will not be shared with the class. Still, share what you are comfortable sharing, but do so in a general or
specific/personal terms and details as you are comfortable doing. This will usually be the longest
section.
Write how your past and present has informed your view of sexuality in others, including those who
share your values and those who do not. In this section, you want to connect your past and personal
thoughts and beliefs to how you view and work with others. Be sure to show how introspection helps
you understand others in the context of your own thoughts, beliefs, biases, etc.
How will your past and present experiences, beliefs, and influences inform your counseling. Include
general information on how these give you knowledge and skills to help others, perhaps those with
similar experiences to yours? Also include how they will inform and influence you if you were to
counsel with others who hold very different beliefs as yours, perhaps even things you may disagree with
or view as immoral.
PERSONAL INTROSPECTION PAPER RUBRIC
CRITERIA POSSIBLE ACTUAL
APA paper format (margins, line
spacing, spelling / grammar,
reference page, etc.) 20
Good personal introspection,
personal story, connection to present 30
Clear connections to how
introspection informs views of others
and interactions with others. 25
Application of personal introspection
to counseling others and issues 25
late penalty 0 0
TOTAL 100 0
