Many national reports have documented students' writing deficiencies and the need to develop rigorous writing curricula that moves the needle forward in training young professionals to write. The quasi-experimental study described herein explains the effect reflection had on journalistic writing students' media writing self-perception scores. We found that students who participated in metacognitive reflection exercises after each major journalistic writing assignment scored significantly higher on the writing self-efficacy construct and the overall media writing self-perceptions scale. Reflection was one way the students in the study began to perceive themselves as media writers and transform from novices to professionals.