So you have to reflect on what you have learned and how this is being demonstrated through your work now?
I remember taking a couple of courses as an undergraduate in my first year at uni. I had to go and watch films/find advertisements and the like and then do all these little exercises. At the time it seemed like a complete waste of time. I could see no value. It wasn’t until I became a postgrad and started having to understand the process of what I was doing that it clicked…this is what those courses were about. Providing me with analytical tools and skills. Nobody said that though. Nobody explicitly said the purpose of this course is not to let you watch Flash Gordon etc. but is to…
I have seen (and experienced this myself) students who have been getting top marks across all their assignments but when they become postgrads and someone says “so what is your argument?” or “how can you demonstrate this through your writing?” they say “I don’t know. I don’t even really know how I got those marks”. We (academics) need to make sure we are clearly explaining what we are aiming to achieve through our teaching and how you can see and monitor your own improvement. Not just in terms of specific content but also in terms of the process of learning/analysis/comprehension.
It seems to me this professor is at least trying to get you to understand some of these elements. Is the essay an exploration of your process? Of how your understanding of analysis etc. has improved over the course?