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Critical Reflection

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Writing Critical Reflection

Reflective writing is a common genre in classrooms across disciplines. Reflections often take the form of narrative essays that summarize an experience or express changes in thinking over time. Initially, reflective writing may seem pretty straightforward; but since reflective writing summarizes personal experience, reflections can easily lose their structure and resemble stream-of-consciousness journals capturing disjointed musings focused on only the self or the past.   

Critical reflection still requires a writer to consider the self and the past but adopts an argumentative structure supported by readings, theories, discussions, demonstrated changes in material conditions, and resources like post-collaboration assessments, testimonial evidence, or other data recorded during the collaboration . Common arguments in critical reflections present evidence to demonstrate learning, contextualize an experience, and evaluate impact. While critical reflections still require authors to reflect inwardly, critical reflection go es beyond the self and examine s any relevant contexts that informed the experience. Then, writers should determine how effectively their project addressed these contexts. In other words, critical reflection considers the “impact” of their project: How did it impact the writer? How did it impact others? Why is the project meaningful on a local, historical, global, and/or societal level? H ow can that impact be assessed?  

In short: reflection and critical reflection both identify the facts of an experience and consider how it impacts the self. Critical reflection goes beyond this to conceive of the project’s impact at numerous levels and establish an argument for the project’s efficacy. In addition, critical reflection encourages self-assessment—we critically reflect to change our actions, strategies, and approaches and potentially consider these alternative methods.  

Collecting Your Data: Double-Entry Journaling

Double-entry journaling is a helpful strategy for you to document data, observations, and analysis throughout the entire course of a community-based project. It is a useful practice for projects involving primary research, secondary research, or a combination of both. In its most basic form, a double-entry journal is a form of notetaking where a writer can keep track of any useful sources, notes on those sources, observations, thoughts, and feelings—all in one place.  

For community-based projects, this might involve:  

• Recording your observations during or after a community partner meeting in one column of the journal.  
• Recording any of your thoughts or reactions about those observations in a second column.   
• Writing any connections you make between your observations, thoughts, and relevant readings from class in a third column.  

This allows you to document both your data and your analysis of that data throughout the life of the project. This activity can act as a blueprint for your critical reflection by providing you with a thorough account of how your thinking developed throughout the life of a project.   

The format of a double-entry journal is meant to be flexible, tailored to both your unique notetaking practice and your specific project. It can be used to analyze readings from class, observations from research, or even quantitative data relevant to your project.  

Just the Facts, Please: What, So What, Now What

Getting started is often the hardest part in writing. To get your critical reflection started, you can identify the What , So What , and Now What? of your project. The table below presents questions that can guide your inquiry . If you’re currently drafting, we have a freewriting activity below to help you develop content.  

Freewrite your answers to these questions; that is, respond to these questions without worrying about grammar, sentence structure, or even the quality of your ideas. At this stage, your primary concern is getting something on the page. Once you’re ready to begin drafting your critical reflection, you can return to these ideas and refine them.  

Below are some additional prompts you can use to begin your freewriting. These reflection stems can organize the ideas that you developed while freewriting and place them in a more formal context.  

• I observed that...  
• My understanding of the problem changed when...  
• I became aware of (x) when....  
• I struggled to...  
• The project's biggest weakness was…  
• The project's greatest strength was…   I learned the most when...  
• I couldn't understand...  
• I looked for assistance from...  
• I accounted for (x) by...  
• I connected (concept/theory) to...  
• (Specific skill gained) will be useful in a professional setting through…  

Analyzing Your Experience: A Reflective Spectrum

Y our critical reflection is a space to make an argument about the impact of your project . This means your primary objective is to determine what kind of impact your project had on you and the world around you. Impact can be defined as the material changes, either positive or negative, that result from an intervention , program , or initiative . Impact can be considered at three different reflective levels: inward, outward, and exploratory.

Inward reflection requires the writer to examine how the project affected the self. Outward reflection explores the impact the project had on others. Additionally, you can conceptualize your project’s impact in relation to a specific organization or society overall, depending on the project’s scope. Finally, exploratory reflection asks writers to consider how impact is measured and assessed in the context of their project to ultimately determine: What does impact look like for the work that I’m doing? How do I evaluate this? How do we store, archive, or catalog this work for institutional memory? And what are the next steps?  

This process is cyclical in nature; in other words, it’s unlikely you will start with inward reflection, move to outward reflection, and finish with exploratory reflection. As you conceptualize impact and consider it at each level, you will find areas of overlap between each reflective level.   

Finally, if you’re having trouble conceptualizing impact or determining how your project impacted you and the world around you, ask yourself:   

• What metrics did I use to assess the "impact" of this project? Qualitative? Quantitative? Mixed-methods? How do those metrics illustrate meaningful impact?  
• How did the intended purpose of this project affect the types of impact that were feasible, possible, or recognized?  
• At what scope (personal, individual, organizational, local, societal) did my outcomes have the most "impact"?  

These questions can guide additional freewriting about your project. Once you’ve finished freewriting responses to these questions, spend some time away from the document and return to it later. Then, analyze your freewriting for useful pieces of information that could be incorporated into a draft.  

Drafting Your Critical Reflection

Now that you have determined the “What, So What, Now What” of your project and explored its impact at different reflective levels, you are ready to begin drafting your critical reflection.  

If you’re stuck or find yourself struggling to structure your critical reflection, the OWL’s “ Writing Process ” [embe ded link ] resource may offer additional places to start. That said, another drafting strategy is centering the argument you intend to make.  

Your critical reflection is an argument for the impact your project has made at multiple levels; as such, much of your critical reflections will include pieces of evidence to support this argument. To begin identifying these pieces of evidence, return to your “reflection stem” responses . Your evidence might include :  

• H ow a particular reading or theory informed the actions during your partnership ;  
• How the skills, experiences, or actions taken during this partnerhsip will transfer to new contexts and situations;  
• Findings from y our evaluation of the project;  
• Demonstrated changes in thoughts, beliefs, and values, both internally and externally;  
• And, of course, specific ways your project impacted you, other individuals, your local community, or any other community relevant to the scope of your work.  

As you compile this evidence, you will ulti mately be compiling ways to support an argument about your project’s efficacy and impact .  

Sharing Your Critical Reflection

Reflective writing and critical reflections are academic genres that offer value to the discourse of any field. Oftentimes, these reflective texts are composed for the classroom, but there are other venues for your critical reflections, too.  

For example, Purdue University is home to the Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement ( PJSL ) which publishes student reflective texts and reflections with research components. Although PJSL only accepts submissions from Purdue students, other journals like this one may exist at your campus. Other venues like the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Impact publish reflective essays from scholars across institutions, and journals in your chosen discipline may also have interest in reflective writing.  

Document explaining the theories, concepts, literature, strategies that informed the creation of this content page.  

We’re reviewing our resources this spring (May-August 2024). We will do our best to minimize disruption, but you might notice changes over the next few months as we correct errors & delete redundant resources. 

Critical Reflection

A Critical Reflection (also called a reflective essay) is a process of identifying, questioning, and assessing our deeply-held assumptions – about our knowledge, the way we perceive events and issues, our beliefs, feelings, and actions. When you reflect critically, you use course material (lectures, readings, discussions, etc.) to examine our biases, compare theories with current actions, search for causes and triggers, and identify problems at their core.   Critical reflection is   not   a reading assignment, a summary of an activity, or an emotional outlet.   Rather,   the goal is   to change your thinking about a subject, and thus change your behaviour.

Tip: Critical reflections are common in coursework across all disciplines, but they can take very different forms. Your instructor may ask you to develop a formal essay, produce weekly blog entries, or provide short paragraph answers to a set of questions. Read the assignment guidelines before you begin.

How to Critically Reflect

Writing a critical reflection happens in two phases.

• Analyze:   In the first phase, analyze the issue and your role by asking critical questions. Use free writing as a way to develop good ideas. Don’t worry about organized paragraphs or good grammar at this stage.
• Articulate:   In the second phase, use your analysis to develop a clear argument about what you learned. Organize your ideas so they are clear for your reader.

First phase: Analyze

A popular method for analyzing is the three stage model: What? So What? Now what?

In the  What?  stage, describe the issue, including your role, observations, and reactions. The   what?   stage helps you make initial observations about what you feel and think. At this point, there’s no need to look at your course notes or readings.

Use the questions below to guide your writing during this stage.

• What happened?
• What did you do?
• What did you expect?
• What was different?
• What was your reaction?
• What did you learn?

In the second  So What?   stage, try to understand on a deeper level why the issue is significant or relevant. Use information from your first stage, your course materials (readings, lectures, discussions) -- as well as previous experience and knowledge to help you think through the issue from a variety of perspectives.

Tip:  Since you’ll be using more course resources in this step, review your readings and course notes before you begin writing.

Below are three perspectives you can consider:

• Academic perspective: How did the experience enhance your understanding of a concept/theory/skill? Did the experience confirm your understanding or challenge it? Did you identify strengths or gaps in your knowledge?
• Personal perspective:   Why does the experience matter? What are the consequences? Were your previous expectations/assumptions confirmed or refuted? What surprised you and why?
• Systems perspective:   What were the sources of power and who benefited/who was harmed? What changes would you suggest? How does this experience help you understand the organization or system?

In the third   Now what?   stage, explore how the experience will shape your future thinking and behaviour.

Use the following questions to guide your thinking and writing:

• What are you going to do as a result of your experiences?
• What will you do differently?
• How will you apply what you learned?

Second phase: Articulate

After completing the analysis stage, you probably have a lot of writing, but it is not yet organized into a coherent story. You need to build an organized and clear argument about what you learned and how you changed. To do so,   develop a thesis statement , make an   outline ,   write , and   revise.

Develop a thesis statement

Develop a clear argument to help your reader understand what you learned. This argument should pull together different themes from your analysis into a main idea. You can see an example of a thesis statement in the sample reflection essay at the end of this resource.

Tip: For more help on developing thesis statements, see our   Thesis statements  resource

Make an outline

Once you have a clear thesis statement for your essay, build an outline. Below is a straightforward method to organize your essay.

• Background/Context of reflection
• Thesis statement
• Introduce theme A
• Writer's past position/thinking
• Moment of learning/change
• Writer's current/new position
• Introduce theme B
• Introduce theme C
• Summarize learning
• Discuss significance of learning for self and others
• Discuss future actions/behaviour

Write and revise

Time to get writing! Work from your outline and give yourself enough time for a first draft and revisions.

Even though you are writing about your personal experience and learning, your audience may still be an academic one. Consult the assignment guidelines or ask your instructor to find out whether your writing should be formal or informal.

Sample Critical Reflection

Below are sample annotated paragraphs from one student’s critical reflection for a course on society and privilege.

Introduction

Background/context of reflection : I became aware of privileged positions in society only in recent years. I was lucky enough, privileged enough, to be ignorant of such phenomena, but for some, privilege is a daily lesson of how they do not fit into mainstream culture. In the past, I defined oppression as only that which is obvious and intentional. I never realized the part I played. However, during a class field study to investigate privileged positions in everyday environments, I learned otherwise.   Thesis:   Without meaning to, I caused harm by participating in a system where I gained from others’ subtle oppression. In one of these spaces, the local mall, everything from advertisements to food to products, to the locations of doorways, bathrooms and other public necessities, made clear my privilege as a white, heterosexual male.

Body paragraph

Topic sentence : Peggy McIntosh describes privilege as an invisible knapsack of tools and advantages. This description crystalized for me when I shopped for a greeting card at the stationary store. There, as a white, heterosexual male, I felt comfortable and empowered to roam about the store as I pleased. I freely asked the clerk about a mother’s day card.   Writer’s past position:   Previously, I never considered that a store did anything but sell products. However, when I asked the sales clerk for same sex greeting cards, she paused for a few seconds and gave me a look that made me feel instantly uncomfortable. Some customers stopped to look at me. I felt a heat move over my face. I felt, for a moment, wrong for being in that store.  I quickly clarified that I was only doing a report for school, implying that I was not in fact homosexual.   Writer’s current position:   The clerk’s demeanor changed. I was free to check, she said.  It was the only time during the field study that I had felt the need to explain what I was doing to anyone. I could get out of the situation with a simple clarification. But what if I really was a member of the homosexual community? The looks and the silence taught me that I should be feared.  I realized that, along with its products, the store was selling an image of normal. But my “normality” was another person’s “abnormality.”  After I walked out of the store I felt guilty for having denied being homosexual.

Summary of learning:   At the mall I realized how much we indirectly shame nonprivileged groups, even in seemingly welcoming spaces. That shame is supported every time I or any other privileged individual fails to question our advantage. And it leads to a different kind of shame carried by privileged individuals, too.   Value for self and others:   All of this, as Brown (2003) documents, is exacerbated by silence. Thus, the next step for me is to not only question privilege internally, but to publicly question covert bias and oppression. If I do, I may very well be shamed for speaking out. But my actions might just encourage other people to speak up as well.

Sample paragraphs adapted from James C. Olsen's Teaching Portfolio from Georgetown University .

Scholarship and Speculation

A blog by Jodie Taylor

A blog about pedagogy, research and reflection by Jodie Taylor

Critical Reflection and Reflective Practice

Reflective practice encourages active and thoughtful engagement in our creative processes. This evolving compilation of resources has been specially curated to guide reflective thinking and writing for students and teachers who aspire to be reflective practitioners. Creative practitioners and artistic researchers will also find useful information on reflective practice and critical reflection, outlining some of the ways we might use it in our work. If you’re new to reflective practice start with the featured resource. You can sort resources to suit your skill level and specific interests by clicking on the ‘tags’ function below.

Reflective Practice Playlist

A playlist of reflective practice explainer videos.

Introduction to Reflection (A short online lesson)

Reflection is the act of directing your thoughts to focus your attention on a subject or an experience. While it can feel uncomfortable to formally reflect, reflection is something we do naturally. The skill with reflection is understanding how we do it and this is important as you are probably already reflecting informally every day without even realising it!

This short online lesson from Hull University will help you identify what reflective thinking is and how to evidence this in your reflective writing! I highly recommend anyone new to the idea of reflective practice to read through this and complete the activities.

Reflection Toolkit | The University of Edinburgh

This site is for people who want to reflect - maybe you already reflect or you have to do reflection in a course. Here you will find resources, models, and questions that can help you start your reflections as well as structuring them.

Reflection can happen anywhere and anytime and doesn’t require anything but yourself and your mind. Sometimes it can be helpful to capture it, whether that is in conversation, in writing, drawing, or something completely different.

The aim of this site is that you will have a look around and get a sense of what is useful when reflecting and then pick out the information and questions that work for you. You are your own expert.

However, if you are producing reflections for a course, make sure you know what they are asking for and follow their assessment criteria – they might have specific requirements.

In either case, reflective practice examines our thoughts, actions and experience and ask why they happened that way with the goal of improving ourselves or our understanding. This is clearly seen in the definition found on the homepage of the Reflection Toolkit.

Reflective Practice

How can I make a difference in the world?  What is “good change” and how do I contribute to it? What is reflective practice? Reflective practices are methods and techniques that help individuals and groups reflect on their experiences and actions in order to engage in a process of continuous learning. Reflective practice enables recognition of the paradigms – assumptions, frameworks and patterns of thought and behaviour – that shape our thinking and action.

Reflecting on 'Reflective Practice' (Full Text Article)

This paper explores current ideas and debates relating to reflective practice. In the first two sections, I review key definitions and models of reflection commonly used in professional practice. Then, in the reflective spirit myself, I critically examine the actual practice of the concept, highlighting ethical, professional, pedagogic and conceptual concerns. I put forward the case that reflective practice is both complex and situated and that it cannot work if applied mechanically or simplistically. On this basis, I conclude with some tentative suggestions for how educators might nurture an effective reflective practice involving critical reflection.

Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on 'Reflective practice.' Discussion paper 52 prepared for the Practice-based Professional learning group and the The Open University's Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/resources/pbpl-resources/finlay-l-2008-reflecting-reflective-practice-pbpl-paper-52

Reflective Writing

A great deal of your time university will be spent thinking; thinking about what people have said, what you have read, what you yourself are thinking and how your thinking has changed. It is generally believed that the thinking process involves two aspects: reflective thinking and critical thinking. They are not separate processes; rather, they are closely connected (Brookfield 1987).

Reflective questions, self-questioning and managing professionally situated practice

Reflective self-questioning arises within the workplace when people are confronted with professional problems and situations. This paper focuses on reflective and' situated reflective' questions in terms of self-questioning and professional workplace problem solving. In our view, the situational context, entailed by the setting, social and personal/individual perspectives, is interactional. The supporting empirical data is drawn from our work with two groups in their tertiary phase of education: professional trainers within a large corporate organisation and para-professionals within a large college system; each embraces phenomenological principles. The discussions of situated reflective practice (SRP) entail those circumstances where change is visited upon the individual by forces outside their immediate control. The positive sense of SRP is that it can prepare an individual for anticipated change, and is therefore considered a method of change management. The situation acts as a catalyst for the thought.

How to Reveal the Creative Process Through Reflection - The Art of Ed

So how do we build reflection time into our classroom routines? And how do we use that time to help our students better understand the creative process? Let’s find out.

A reflective practice framework for creative facilitators

This framework outlines the key elements and strategies to emerge from a research project by Amanda Moffatt, as part of her Doctor of Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology. This online resource is an amalgamation of practitioners' voices, the historical development of reflective practice theory and Amanda's own professional reflection as a practitioner working in the field.

On Reflecting and Making in Artistic Research

Following the integration of artistic disciplines within the university, artists have been challenged to review their practice in academic terms. This has become a vigorous epicentre of debates concerning the nature of research in the artistic disciplines. The special issue “On Reflecting and Making in Artistic Research Practice” captures some of this debate. This editorial article presents a broad-brush outline of the debates raging in the artistic disciplines and presents three discernible trends in those debates. The trends highlight different core questions: (1) Art as research: Can artistic practice represent forms of inquiry acceptable within academic settings? (2) Academically-attuned practice-led research: Can art practice and research practice cooperate as equal partners within the university context? (3) Artistic research: Can the academic notion of research be extended to include the unique results possible through artistic research? The articles in the special issue offer a discussable overview of the current stage in the development of artistic research, demonstrating how creative practice and research practice can come together.

Practicing Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook (Full Text Book)

Fook, J., & Gardner, F. (2007). Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook . McGraw-Hill International. Critical reflection in professional practice is popular across many different professions as a way of ensuring ongoing scrutiny and improved practice skills. This accessible handbook focuses on a description and analysis of the theoretical input as well as the approach involved in critical reflection. It also demonstrates some skills, strategies and tools which might be used to practise it. Accompanying the text is a website containing a variety of useful resources www.openup.co.uk/fook&gardner including, extracts from workshops, interviews and lectures, additional articles and readings and sample material for workshop preparation.

Reflective Practice Discussion and Examples for Southern Cross University

Reflective practice occurs when you explore an experience you have had to identify what happened, and what your role in the experience was – including your behaviour and thinking, and related emotions. This allows you to look at changes to your approach for similar future events. If reflective practice is performed comprehensively and honestly, it will inevitably lead to improved performances.

Critical Reflection: A review of Contemporary Literature and Understandings (Full Text Chapter)

This chapter begins by attempting to review our understandings of critical reflection from literature drawn from different disciplines and professions, and from a range of countries as well. After a review of the types of literature and of the emerging understandings of the idea of critical reflection, the chapter also explores associated terms and ideas. In the last part of the chapter criticisms of critical reflection are reviewed, key issues outlined and suggestions for further directions are made.

White, S., Fook, J., & Gardner, F. (2006). Critical reflection : a review of contemporary literature and understandings. In S. White, J. Fook, & F. Gardner (Eds.), Critical reflection in health and social care . (pp. 3-20). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Reflective writing in Arts

What is reflective or reflexive writing?

Reflective writing is examining the knowledge acquired through reading or through an experience and making connections with other concepts that you have encountered in your learning.

Reflexive writing is a deeper, self-critical practice, that examines your underlying assumptions and attitudes and how they have been impacted by your learning. It is more personal than reflective writing.

This resource will step you through the what, why and how of reflection and includes practical lessons so you can test your skills.

Becoming a Reflexive Researcher - Using Our Selves in Research

Available also via SAE Ebrary subscription.

'This is an optimistic book which advocates and describes a different research paradigm to be practiced and developed. Read it and research!' - Lapidus 'She has achieved her aim of the book being readable and giving insight into the processes of doing research through the lenses of the personal stories of researchers, whilst still writing a text that could be used as a core research method text for those who are themselves becoming reflective researchers. No matter what your background in the social sciences this original book, grounded in the reflexive practice of an experienced teacher and researcher, is well worth checking out'. - Escalate 'Etherington (U, of Bristol) uses several narratives, including her own research diary and conversations with students and academics to demonstrate the way reflective research works in practice. Illustrating her points with poetry, paintings, metaphors and dreams, she suggests that recognizing the role of self in research can open up opportunities for creative and personal transformations. She also explores the use of reflexivity in counseling and psychotherapy practice and research.' - Book News This book raises important questions about whether or not researchers can ever keep their own lives out of their work. In contrast to traditional impersonal approaches to research, reflexive researchers acknowledge the impact of their own history, experiences, beliefs and culture on the processes and outcomes of inquiry. In this thought-provoking book, Kim Etherington uses a range of narratives, including her own research diary and conversations with students and academics, to show the reader how reflexive research works in practice, linking this with underpinning philosophies, methodologies and related ethical issues. Placing her own journey as a researcher alongside others, she suggests that recognising the role of self in research can open up opportunities for creative and personal transformations, and illustrates this idea with poetry, paintings and the use of metaphors and dreams. She explores ways in which reflexivity is used in counselling and psychotherapy practice and research, enabling people to become agents in their own lives. This book encourages researchers to reflect on how self-awareness can enrich relationships with those who assist them in their research. It will inspire and challenge students and academics across a wide range of disciplines to find creative ways of practising and representing their research.

Practice as Research: Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry (Full Text)

Practice-led research is a burgeoning area across the creative arts, with studio-based doctorates frequently favoured over traditional research. Yet until now there has been little published guidance for students embarking on such research. This is the first book designed specifically as a pedagogical tool and is structured on the model used by most research programmes. A comprehensive introduction lays out the book's framework and individual chapters provide concrete examples of studio-based research in art, film and video, creative writing and dance, each contextualised by a theoretical essay and complete with references. More than a handbook, the volume draws on thinkers including Deleuze, Bourdieu and Heidegger in its examination of the relationship between practice and theory, demonstrating how practice can operate as a valid alternative mode of enquiry to traditional scholarly research. Taking pains to elaborate methodologies, contexts and outcomes, and emphasising the process of enquiry and its relationship to the research write-up or exegesis, this is an indispensable tool for educators and students.

Practice-led Research Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts (Full Text)

This book addresses an issue of vital importance to contemporary practitioners in the creative arts: the role and significance of creative work within the university environment and its relationship to research practices. The turn to creative practice is one of the most exciting and revolutionary developments to occur in the university within the last two decades and is currently accelerating in influence. It is bringing with it dynamic new ways of thinking about research and new methodologies for conducting it, a raised awareness of the different kinds of knowledge that creative practice can convey and an illuminating body of information about the creative process. As higher education become more accepting of creative work and its existing and potential relationships to research, we also see changes in the formation of university departments, in the way conferences are conducted, and in styles of academic writing and modes of evaluation.

Reflective Practice Learning Patterns

Reflective practice is a way of studying one's own experiences to improve the way one works. The act of reflection is a great way to increase confidence and become a more proactive and qualified professional.

Teaching Critical Reflection (Full Text Article)

There is evidence to show that reflective techniques such as critical portfolios and reflective diaries can help students to consolidate and assess their learning of a discipline and its practices. Yet, there are also known drawbacks of critical reflection, including over selfcritical inspection and the infinite regress of reflection on action. This paper offers a theoretically informed model of critical reflection which encompasses different purposes (thinking, learning and assessment of self and social systems), together with different forms of reflection (personal, interpersonal, contextual and critical). Explicitly teaching critical reflection is a logical step towards students being able to recognise and negotiate complex ethical and professional issues. However, teaching critical reflection creates challenges for curricula design, assessment and professional development.

Smith, E. (2011). Teaching critical reflection. Teaching in Higher Education , 16(2), pp. 211 — 223.

Teaching Critical Reflection to Graduate Students (Full Text Article)

Critical reflection is a highly valued and widely applied learning approach in higher education. There are many benefits associated with engaging in critical reflection, and it is often integrated into the design of graduate-level courses on university teaching, as a life-long learning strategy to help ensure that learners build their capacity as critical reflective teaching practitioners. Despite its broad application and learning benefits, students often find the process of engaging in critical reflection inherently challenging. This paper explores the challenge associated with incorporating critical reflection into a graduate course on University Teaching at the University of Guelph.

Amplify Reflection

Reflection is an important component of the learning process. It can NOT be seen as an add-on, something to be cut if time is running short. We have all heard John Dewey’s quote: “We don’t learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on the experience”

Reflection also takes on an important role in documenting learning, blogging as pedagogy and formative assessment. Asking a teacher to simply “reflect” on a lesson taught or asking students to “reflect” on their learning, will often be met with blank stares. Being able to reflect is a skill to be learned, a habit to develop. Reflection requires metacognition (thinking about your thinking), articulation of that thinking and the ability to make connections (past, present, future, outliers, relevant information, etc.).

Reflective practice for creative students

Developing strategies for methodical and systematic reflection and reflective practice in art, design and media education to improve development.

Gibbs' Reflective Cycle: Helping People Learn From Experience

Many people find that they learn best from experience. However, if they don't reflect on their experience, and if they don't consciously think about how they could do better next time, it's hard for them to learn anything at all. This is where Gibbs' Reflective Cycle is useful. You can use it to help your people make sense of situations at work, so that they can understand what they did well and what they could do better in the future.

Critical Reflection | Centre for Teaching Excellence

Critical reflection is a “meaning-making process” that helps us set goals, use what we’ve learned in the past to inform future action and consider the real-life implications of our thinking. It is the link between thinking and doing, and at its best, it can be transformative (Dewey, 1916/1944; Schön, 1983; Rodgers, 2002). Without reflection, experience alone might cause us to “reinforce stereotypes…, offer simplistic solutions to complex problems and generalize inaccurately based on limited data” (Ash & Clayton, 2009, p.26). Engaging in critical reflection, however, helps us articulate questions, confront bias, examine causality, contrast theory with practice and identify systemic issues all of which helps foster critical evaluation and knowledge transfer (Ash & Clayton, 2009, p. 27).  While critical reflection may come more easily for some students than others, it is a skill that can be learned through practice and feedback (Dewey, 1933, Rodgers, 2002).  

Narrative writing: reflective enquiry into professional practice

An effective mode of reflective practice and reflexivity is through personal professional narrative and story exploration. All professional and personal experience is naturally storied; telling or writing stories are prime human ways of understanding, communicating and remembering. Narratives of vital or key areas of professional experience can be communicated and explored directly and simply through expressive writing. These might be expressed fictionally; each story stands metonymically for that clinician’s practice. Uncritically accepted metaphors, with deep impact upon practice and experience, can also be noticed and evaluated. This article offers a richly exemplified argument for how confidential, carefully facilitated groups of professionals can be supported critically, yet gently examining their own and others’ practice, through written narrative and poetry. Implicit ethics and values can be perceived and enquired into, and professional identity and boundaries unthreateningly questioned and even challenged. Practitioners can gain greater observational powers and sense of authority over their work, and more of a grasp of its inherently complex political, social and cultural impact.

Reflective writing: A basic overview

This handout models some basic ideas about reflective writing. It's not comprehensive but it's succinct and and great quick guide for students.

“Doing Reflexivity: An Introduction” by Jon Dean (2017)

Doing Reflexivity: An Introduction (Policy Press, 2017) by Jon Dean, a senior lecturer in politics and sociology at Sheffield Hallam University, explores and explains reflexivity as one of the essential concepts in modern social research. The book draws on the work of Pierre Bourdieu as its starting point, but broadens out the definition of reflexivity to include a range of critical perspectives, particularly those associated with feminist standpoint epistemologies. The book also engages with the practice of research, setting out examples from Dean’s own work, on culture and on non-profits, along with detailed case studies of different types of reflexivity in different social research settings.

Listen to the author discuss the work on the podcast linked here.

Reflective Practice | SAGE Companion

Here you can find a wide range of downloadable resources to extend you reflective writing. Click on the topic below to reveal more the relevant resources.What is reflective practice writing?Reflective practice is critical enquiry into any aspect of our practice, deepening and clarifying understanding of it and our relationship with it.  It involves reflection, an important aspect of which is reflexivity.

The benefits of reflective journal writing

As a practicum student at McGill’s Teaching and Learning Services, I have been examining the role of reflective journals in post-secondary classrooms.  Throughout the course of my research, it has come to my attention that, while they are used frequently in the instruction of disciplines like English and Theatre, reflective journals can actually be a…

Reflection Methods

Reflection Methods. Tools to make learning more meaningful. Practical Guide for Trainers and Facilitators.

This handbook summarises methods that can be used to facilitate the process of reflection on the knowledge and experiences people acquire during a capacity development trajectory or training event. We believe that by explicitly integrating reflection in the learning process the learning will become clearer and better articulated and will contribute more strongly to meaningful change. Therefore we advise facilitators to deliberately include reflective learning sessions in their process design and implementation. This handbook can inspire you to do so and provides many methods which help to facilitate this.

When you reflect are you also being reflexive?

Sample reflection questions.

A great set of questions to prompt reflection on learning.

Reflection Question Generator

CLICK HERE FOR A RANDOM QUESTION TO APPEAR. Reflection is an essential part of learning. Yes, it often hard to fit in the time for reflection. It's also challenging to make reflection something that doesn't seem boring and tedious. To help make reflection a little more fun, I've made a reflection question generator and dice that can help students express their responses. Both the generator and dice use QR codes and serendipity to call up reflection questions and avenues for responding. 

A Reflective Practice blog by David L Page

Want to know what reflective practice looks like? Check out David's blog which features all things related to reflective practice: stopping, reflecting on one's creative practice, noting in detail workflow that was undertaken, and considering other options that may be integrated in to one's practice.

Paul Catchlove: The habit that could improve your career | TED Talk

Paul Catchlove believes strongly in the power of reflection. Through every career he's held -- from priest to opera singer to senior management consultant -- he's benefitted from a habit of considering and analyzing his goals, needs and performance. Learn more about how a regular practice of reflection can improve your decision-making, career and relationships.

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Writing a good reflective commentary

I recently a ran an online workshop on what a good RC might include, so for those of students who were unable to attend (and for those who did attend, but would like a refresher), here’s a summary of my suggestions.

First of all, I think it’s helpful to remember the differences between notebooks, your writing diary and a Reflective Commentary:

Notebooks are where you start writing creatively, whether in the form of ideas and notes or sketches and early drafts. Notebook writing can form the basis of the projects and creative writing assignments that you will send to your tutor. You may find yourself starting numerous notebooks for different areas of interest.

No one will read your notebooks except you. Privacy is important because the thought of anyone reading your writing may inhibit you. Notebooks can be paper or electronic (many people use their phones for jotting down ideas), or a combination of both – it’s totally up to you.

Writing Diary:

Your writing diary is where you record your thoughts on your writing and your developing writing skills. You can discuss and reflect on concepts related to the writing craft here and reflect on what you feel your own strengths and weaknesses are. What are you good at? What do you need to work on? How can you improve these skills? Which writers can you learn from? What have you been reading?

When you are generating new writing material, you’ll be partly learning on an intuitive level. A writing diary will help you to be more conscious of your learning process and more aware of the different skills you’re developing. If you add to your diary regularly, it will form a record of your writing journey. 

Like your notebooks, your writing diary is for you alone and you can keep it in whatever format you prefer.

You can use your writing diary to help you write your Reflective Commentaries, but they aren’t the same thing. 

Reflective Commentaries:

A Reflective Commentary is either a short piece of reflective writing (500 words for Levels 1, 2 and 3; or 350 words at Foundation Level) considering the particular assignment it accompanies, or it’s a longer piece of reflective writing which you submit at the end of the unit in which you reflect on your learning over the unit as a whole, with reference to particular assignments (especially the final assignment).

A few dos and don’ts:

Don’t discuss how you came up with your idea.

Don’t discuss pieces you started and discarded.

Don’t summarise the story, poem, script etc. – your tutor has just read it..

Do focus on the creative work you’ve just submitted to your tutor.

Do focus on a few writing techniques you’ve used in the work. You can’t cover everything, so choose those that are particularly pertinent.

Do say what writing techniques you used and why they were effective.

So, don’t say: “I wrote my story in first person” and leave it at that. Instead say: “I wrote my story in first person because I wanted the feeling of intimacy of the narrator talking directly to the reader about the events. This was important for my story because….”

Discussing Writing Techniques:  

The term ‘writing techniques’ may seem rather abstract, but all it means is those techniques you used to write your creative piece. Here’s a selection of writing techniques you could consider:

Techniques in fiction: 

Descriptive writing, metaphors and similes, setting, character, use of dialogue, structure, narrative pacing, point of view, tense (usually past or present), use of flashback (or, occasionally, flashforward), voice, word choice, register (formal or casual), information reveal (what do you tell the reader and when), psychic distance, use of free indirect discourse, sentence structure (e.g. a short sentence at the end of a paragraph for impact). 

Techniques in poetry: 

Use of stanzas, use of punctuation, imagery, word choice, tone, structure, point of view, use of sound (e.g. rhyme, or assonance, alliteration), rhythm.

These are just a few of the techniques you could discuss – there may be others that are more relevant to your particular piece of creative work.

The tone of the RC:

The reflective commentary is not an academic essay, so you don’t need to use academic jargon. Use first person, because it’s a personal reflection on your work.

However, don’t be too colloquial and chatty either – your tone needs to be moderate and considered. Don’t say “I tried to do X but it was rubbish”. Instead, say you thought it wasn’t successful as a technique and explain why.

Similarly, when discussing your reading, don’t just say “I loved this book” or “It was fab”. Instead, explain what you thought was good about it and why. Give your opinion, but support it with careful analysis.

Reflecting on your reading: 

In the assessment criteria, a proportion of marks are allocated for Contextual Knowledge. Your final RC is your opportunity to demonstrate that you’ve read other writers and engaged with them seriously, not just as a reader, but as another writer. 

In your final RC you should refer to both primary materials (e.g. novels, poems, stories, plays, films, memoirs, poetry performances, etc – depending on what form you’re writing in) and secondary materials (e.g. books, articles, blogs, videos, etc. about the craft of writing). 

Get into good habits early on by referring to some primary and some secondary materials in your short RCs submitted with each assignment.

Think about what you’ve learnt from your reading in terms of craft – this is much more impressive than just saying you were inspired to write about the same subject. 

So don’t say, “I enjoyed Vicki Feaver’s poem ‘Ironing’ and decided to write a poem about ironing of my own.” This might be true and you can put this in your writing diary, but in your RC try to think about what you learnt about the craft of writing poetry from your reading. 

Include short quotations from your reading to demonstrate your points, but a short phrase or single sentence usually suffices (remember you’ve only 500 words for the short RCs).

The Final RC:

The Final RC is longer and in it you should consider what you’ve learnt from the unit as whole, as well as referring to particular assignments. You will now be close to preparing your work for assessment, so you should discuss your redrafting process – what you’ve changed and why – and also demonstrate your engagement with your tutor’s feedback.

Reflecting on redrafting:

Be precise. Don’t just say “I cut extraneous words” or “I rewrote Assignment 4 a lot”. Give examples of what you changed and why .

Use quotations from your own work when discussing what you’ve changed, but be brief: just a pertinent sentence or phrase.

Don’t just give a quotation from your assignment that shows it before redrafting, and then one after. Discuss the changes made and say why you think it is an improvement.

Reflecting on tutor feedback:

You don’t need to agree with every suggestion or comment from your tutor, but you do need to show you’ve thought about your tutor’s feedback. 

Similarly, don’t say you changed something just because your tutor told you to – only change it if you think it’s the right change to make, and say why you think so.

A quirk of the system is that at Level 1 you are likely to write this final reflective commentary before receiving feedback on Assignment Five. You’ll need to redraft your final RC and add comments about your tutor feedback’s on Assignment Five and your redrafting process, before you submit this final RC for assessment.

Submit both your tutor-annotated final RC and a redrafted version at assessment.

Referencing: 

Include a bibliography/reference list at end of all sources referred to in your RC (but don’t include anything you’ve not directly referred to), and use the Harvard Referencing Style.

The Bibliography does not form part of your word count.

Why write RCs:

Writing the reflective commentaries is an important part of the creative writing degree and the RCs serve several purposes. They are useful for tutors as they help us to understand students’ aims in a particular piece of writing. They should demonstrate students’ critical engagement with other writers as well as with books, articles, blogs etc. about the craft of writing, which helps us make better reading suggestions and to understand where our students are on their learning journey.

But, and arguably much more importantly, they’re a crucial part of your learning process, as they require a conscious engagement with the writing craft and a reflection on your writing skills, all of which will help you to think ‘like a writer’.

11 thoughts on “ Writing a good reflective commentary ”

Thank you Vicky. The workshop helped me have a better understanding of reflective commentaries.

This is an interesting article. I am studying photography and part of the work involves writing critiques of other people’s work. The guidelines set out above are relevant to any critique, whatever the subject matter. Thank you. I will be putting these suggestions into practice in my future work.

Thanks Vicky. I like the way you start with the Don’ts before the Dos!

Great advice Vicky! It would be lovely to see another workshop covering Reflective Commentaries. For some reason I struggle to get these right when doing my own R.Cs for the Art of Poetry.

This book called called: “Creative Writing and Critical Reflective Commentary.” was the only recent book I could find. It was really helpful to me It has an example in it and what else to include like references and how to write reflecively with underpinning critical theories.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098MXYY54

https://celoe.telkomuniversity.ac.id/

“Your blog always provides valuable insights. Thank you for sharing!”

“I noticed you mentioned a study in this article. Do you have a link to the source for more information?”

It is critical to recognize the differences between notebooks, writing diaries, and Reflective Commentaries. Your workshop overview is important to both attendees and those who were unable to participate. Such clear thoughts greatly boost our writing experience. Thank you for sharing this enlightened viewpoint!

I’m really intrigues to know why you say so emphatically not to write about how you cam up with an idea – I would have thought his was crucial to the reflective process. Could you explain?

Your blog is appreciated for its usefulness and informative content. IFDA is the best institute for Computer Courses in Delhi and after that any courses completed IFDA is providing paid internship & 100% job placement. Best Computer Course in Delhi

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What Is Reflective Writing? (Explained W/ 20+ Examples)

I’ll admit, reflecting on my experiences used to seem pointless—now, I can’t imagine my routine without it.

What is reflective writing?

Reflective writing is a personal exploration of experiences, analyzing thoughts, feelings, and learnings to gain insights. It involves critical thinking, deep analysis, and focuses on personal growth through structured reflection on past events.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about reflective writing — with lots of examples.

What Is Reflective Writing (Long Description)?

Table of Contents

Reflective writing is a method used to examine and understand personal experiences more deeply.

This kind of writing goes beyond mere description of events or tasks.

Instead, it involves looking back on these experiences, analyzing them, and learning from them.

It’s a process that encourages you to think critically about your actions, decisions, emotions, and responses.

By reflecting on your experiences, you can identify areas for improvement, make connections between theory and practice, and enhance your personal and professional development. Reflective writing is introspective, but it should also be analytical and critical.

It’s not just about what happened.

It’s about why it happened, how it affected you, and what you can learn from it.

This type of writing is commonly used in education, professional development, and personal growth, offering a way for individuals to gain insights into their personal experiences and behaviors.

Types of Reflective Writing

Reflective writing can take many forms, each serving different purposes and providing various insights into the writer’s experiences.

Here are ten types of reflective writing, each with a unique focus and approach.

Journaling – The Daily Reflection

Journaling is a type of reflective writing that involves keeping a daily or regular record of experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

It’s a private space where you can freely express yourself and reflect on your day-to-day life.

Example: Today, I realized that the more I try to control outcomes, the less control I feel. Letting go isn’t about giving up; it’s about understanding that some things are beyond my grasp.

Example: Reflecting on the quiet moments of the morning, I realized how much I value stillness before the day begins. It’s a reminder to carve out space for peace in my routine.

Learning Logs – The Educational Tracker

Learning logs are used to reflect on educational experiences, track learning progress, and identify areas for improvement.

They often focus on specific learning objectives or outcomes.

Example: This week, I struggled with understanding the concept of reflective writing. However, after reviewing examples and actively engaging in the process, I’m beginning to see how it can deepen my learning.

Example: After studying the impact of historical events on modern society, I see the importance of understanding history to navigate the present. It’s a lesson in the power of context.

Critical Incident Journals – The Turning Point

Critical incident journals focus on a significant event or “critical incident” that had a profound impact on the writer’s understanding or perspective.

These incidents are analyzed in depth to extract learning and insights.

Example: Encountering a homeless person on my way home forced me to confront my biases and assumptions about homelessness. It was a moment of realization that has since altered my perspective on social issues.

Example: Missing a crucial deadline taught me about the consequences of procrastination and the value of time management. It was a wake-up call to prioritize and organize better.

Project Diaries – The Project Chronicle

Project diaries are reflective writings that document the progress, challenges, and learnings of a project over time.

They provide insights into decision-making processes and project management strategies.

Example: Launching the community garden project was more challenging than anticipated. It taught me the importance of community engagement and the value of patience and persistence.

Example: Overcoming unexpected technical issues during our project showed me the importance of adaptability and teamwork. Every obstacle became a stepping stone to innovation.

Portfolios – The Comprehensive Showcase

Portfolios are collections of work that also include reflective commentary.

They showcase the writer’s achievements and learning over time, reflecting on both successes and areas for development.

Example: Reviewing my portfolio, I’m proud of how much I’ve grown as a designer. Each project reflects a step in my journey, highlighting my evolving style and approach.

Example: As I added my latest project to my portfolio, I reflected on the journey of my skills evolving. Each piece is a chapter in my story of growth and learning.

Peer Reviews – The Collaborative Insight

Peer reviews involve writing reflectively about the work of others, offering constructive feedback while also considering one’s own learning and development.

Example: Reviewing Maria’s project, I admired her innovative approach, which inspired me to think more creatively about my own work. It’s a reminder of the value of diverse perspectives.

Example: Seeing the innovative approach my peer took on a similar project inspired me to rethink my own methods. It’s a testament to the power of sharing knowledge and perspectives.

Personal Development Plans – The Future Blueprint

Personal development plans are reflective writings that outline goals, strategies, and actions for personal or professional growth.

They include reflections on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Example: My goal to become a more effective communicator will require me to step out of my comfort zone and seek opportunities to speak publicly. It’s daunting but necessary for my growth.

Example: Identifying my fear of public speaking in my plan pushed me to take a course on it. Acknowledging weaknesses is the first step to turning them into strengths.

Reflective Essays – The Structured Analysis

Reflective essays are more formal pieces of writing that analyze personal experiences in depth.

They require a structured approach to reflection, often including theories or models to frame the reflection.

Example: Reflecting on my leadership role during the group project, I applied Tuckman’s stages of group development to understand the dynamics at play. It helped me appreciate the natural progression of team development.

Example: In my essay, reflecting on a failed project helped me understand the role of resilience in success. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s part of its process.

Reflective Letters – The Personal Correspondence

Reflective letters involve writing to someone (real or imagined) about personal experiences and learnings.

It’s a way to articulate thoughts and feelings in a structured yet personal format.

Example: Dear Future Self, Today, I learned the importance of resilience. Faced with failure, I found the strength to persevere a nd try again. This lesson, I hope, will stay with me as I navigate the challenges ahead.

Example: Writing a letter to my past self, I shared insights on overcoming challenges with patience and persistence. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come and the hurdles I’ve overcome.

Blogs – The Public Journal

Blogs are a form of reflective writing that allows writers to share their experiences, insights, and learnings with a wider audience.

They often combine personal narrative with broader observations about life, work, or society.

Example: In my latest blog post, I explored the journey of embracing vulnerability. Sharing my own experiences of failure and doubt not only helped me process these feelings but also connected me with readers going through similar struggles. It’s a powerful reminder of the strength found in sharing our stories.

Example: In a blog post about starting a new career path, I shared the fears and excitement of stepping into the unknown. It’s a journey of self-discovery and embracing new challenges.

What Are the Key Features of Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing is characterized by several key features that distinguish it from other types of writing.

These features include personal insight, critical analysis, descriptive narrative, and a focus on personal growth.

• Personal Insight: Reflective writing is deeply personal, focusing on the writer’s internal thoughts, feelings, and reactions. It requires introspection and a willingness to explore one’s own experiences in depth.
• Critical Analysis: Beyond simply describing events, reflective writing involves analyzing these experiences. This means looking at the why and how, not just the what. It involves questioning, evaluating, and interpreting your experiences in relation to yourself, others, and the world.
• Descriptive Narrative: While reflective writing is analytical, it also includes descriptive elements. Vivid descriptions of experiences, thoughts, and feelings help to convey the depth of the reflection.
• Focus on Growth: A central aim of reflective writing is to foster personal or professional growth. It involves identifying lessons learned, recognizing patterns, and considering how to apply insights gained to future situations.

These features combine to make reflective writing a powerful tool for learning and development.

It’s a practice that encourages writers to engage deeply with their experiences, challenge their assumptions, and grow from their reflections.

What Is the Structure of Reflective Writing?

The structure of reflective writing can vary depending on the context and purpose, but it typically follows a general pattern that facilitates deep reflection.

A common structure includes an introduction, a body that outlines the experience and the reflection on it, and a conclusion.

• Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for the reflective piece. It briefly introduces the topic or experience being reflected upon and may include a thesis statement that outlines the main insight or theme of the reflection.
• Body: The body is where the bulk of the reflection takes place. It often follows a chronological order, detailing the experience before moving into the reflection. This section should explore the writer’s thoughts, feelings, reactions, and insights related to the experience. It’s also where critical analysis comes into play, examining causes, effects, and underlying principles.
• Conclusion: The conclusion wraps up the reflection, summarizing the key insights gained and considering how these learnings might apply to future situations. It’s an opportunity to reflect on personal growth and the broader implications of the experience.

This structure is flexible and can be adapted to suit different types of reflective writing.

However, the focus should always be on creating a coherent narrative that allows for deep personal insight and learning.

How Do You Start Reflective Writing?

Starting reflective writing can be challenging, as it requires diving into personal experiences and emotions.

Here are some tips to help initiate the reflective writing process:

• Choose a Focus: Start by selecting an experience or topic to reflect upon. It could be a specific event, a general period in your life, a project you worked on, or even a book that made a significant impact on you.
• Reflect on Your Feelings: Think about how the experience made you feel at the time and how you feel about it now. Understanding your emotional response is a crucial part of reflective writing.
• Ask Yourself Questions: Begin by asking yourself questions related to the experience. What did you learn from it? How did it challenge your assumptions? How has it influenced your thinking or behavior?
• Write a Strong Opening: Your first few sentences should grab the reader’s attention and clearly indicate what you will be reflecting on. You can start with a striking fact, a question, a quote, or a vivid description of a moment from the experience.
• Keep It Personal: Remember that reflective writing is personal. Use “I” statements to express your thoughts, feelings, and insights. This helps to maintain the focus on your personal experience and learning journey.

Here is a video about reflective writing that I think you’ll like:

Reflective Writing Toolkit

Finding the right tools and resources has been key to deepening my reflections and enhancing my self-awareness.

Here’s a curated toolkit that has empowered my own reflective practice:

• Journaling Apps: Apps like Day One or Reflectly provide structured formats for daily reflections, helping to capture thoughts and feelings on the go.
• Digital Notebooks: Tools like Evernote or Microsoft OneNote allow for organized, searchable reflections that can include text, images, and links.
• Writing Prompts: Websites like WritingPrompts.com offer endless ideas to spark reflective writing, making it easier to start when you’re feeling stuck.
• Mind Mapping Software: Platforms like MindMeister help organize thoughts visually, which can be especially helpful for reflective planning or brainstorming.
• Blogging Platforms: Sites like WordPress or Medium offer a space to share reflective writings publicly, fostering community and feedback. You’ll need a hosting platform. I recommend Bluehost or Hostarmada for beginners.
• Guided Meditation Apps: Apps such as Headspace or Calm can support reflective writing by clearing the mind and fostering a reflective state before writing.
• Audio Recording Apps: Tools like Otter.ai not only allow for verbal reflection but also transcribe conversations, which can then be reflected upon in writing.
• Time Management Apps: Resources like Forest or Pomodoro Technique apps help set dedicated time for reflection, making it a regular part of your routine.
• Creative Writing Software: Platforms like Scrivener cater to more in-depth reflective projects, providing extensive organizing and formatting options.
• Research Databases: Access to journals and articles through databases like Google Scholar can enrich reflective writing with theoretical frameworks and insights.

Final Thoughts: What Is Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing, at its core, is a deeply personal practice.

Yet, it also holds the potential to bridge cultural divides. By sharing reflective writings that explore personal experiences through the lens of different cultural backgrounds, we can foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of diverse worldviews.

Read This Next:

• What Is a Prompt in Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 200 Examples)
• What Is A Personal Account In Writing? (47 Examples)
• Why Does Academic Writing Require Strict Formatting?
• What Is A Lens In Writing? (The Ultimate Guide)

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Writing a critical reflection

• Welcome to SEB104
• Reflection on your Interview with a Scientist (10%)
• Annotated bibliography (10%)
• Writing an annotated bibliography
• Locating information resources for your annotated bibliography
• SEB104 Discussion Forum (5%)
• Locating information resources for your research essay
• Working in groups
• Designing your poster
• Preparing your presentation
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• Finding useful journal articles
• The Conversation: Climate Change and Natural Disasters
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• The Conversation: Space Exploration
• Evaluating information and notetaking
• Academic Honesty and Plagiarism This link opens in a new window
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• Tell us what you think...

SEB104 Reflection on interview with a Scientist

Reflective writing :  What is it? What does it mean to reflect?

Reflecting on an experience involves drawing on current understandings to think deeply and purposefully about what can be learned from the experience.

The purpose of academic or professional reflection is to transform practice in some way, whether it is the practice of learning or the practice of the discipline or the profession.

Generally, a reflection is written in 'first person' (e.g. I/ me/ we/ us) and the writer discusses in detail their personal thoughts, feelings, reactions to or opinions about the subject.

I've done my interview. How should I approach writing the reflection?

One way to approach writing a reflection piece is to follow a simple 3 step procedure:

• describe the issue or experience;
• explore your response to it;
• consider what you've learnt from the experience and how you might apply that new knowledge in future practice.

For ideas on how to organise ideas into sentences, look at the resource link below.

• SEB104 language of reflection

A commonly used structure for reflective writing is the "4 Rs".  They are:

• Report  on the experience;
• Relate  the experience to your previous knowledge or personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, etc.;
• Reason  why your thoughts are this way;
• Reconstruct  with what you've learnt and look to the future.

NOTE: you don't necessarily have to write 4 distinct paragraphs, but using this formula will help organise your ideas coherently. See the slide show below for some prompting questions for each of the 4Rs.

'4Rs' prompt questions - click through the slides

Clarifying reflective writing

Reflective writing IS :

•  your response to  experiences, opinions, events  or  new information
•  your response to  thoughts  and  feelings
•  a way of thinking to  explore your learning
•  an opportunity to  gain self-knowledge
•  a way to achieve  clarity  and better  understanding  of what you are learning
•  a chance to develop and reinforce  writing skills
•  a way of  making meaning out of what you study
•   written in the first person

Reflective writing is NOT :

•  navel-gazing, pure opinion or simply an emotional response
•  just  conveying information , instruction or argument
•  pure  description , though there may be descriptive elements
•  straightforward  decision or judgment  ( e.g. whether something is good or bad)
•  simple  problem-solving
•  a  summary  of course notes
•  a standard university  essay
• << Previous: Reflection on your Interview with a Scientist (10%)
• Next: Annotated bibliography (10%) >>
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Study Skills

Reflective practice toolkit, introduction.

• What is reflective practice?
• Everyday reflection
• Models of reflection
• Barriers to reflection
• Free writing
• Reflective writing exercise
• Bibliography

Many people worry that they will be unable to write reflectively but chances are that you do it more than you think!  It's a common task during both work and study from appraisal and planning documents to recording observations at the end of a module. The following pages will guide you through some simple techniques for reflective writing as well as how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls.

What is reflective writing?

Writing reflectively involves critically analysing an experience, recording how it has impacted you and what you plan to do with your new knowledge. It can help you to reflect on a deeper level as the act of getting something down on paper often helps people to think an experience through.

The key to reflective writing is to be analytical rather than descriptive. Always ask why rather than just describing what happened during an experience. 

Remember...

Reflective writing is...

• Written in the first person
• Free flowing
• A tool to challenge assumptions
• A time investment

Reflective writing isn't...

• Written in the third person
• Descriptive
• What you think you should write
• A tool to ignore assumptions
• A waste of time

Adapted from The Reflective Practice Guide: an Interdisciplinary Approach / Barbara Bassot.

You can learn more about reflective writing in this handy video from Hull University:

Created by SkillsTeamHullUni

• Hull reflective writing video transcript (Word)
• Hull reflective writing video transcript (PDF)

Where might you use reflective writing?

You can use reflective writing in many aspects of your work, study and even everyday life. The activities below all contain some aspect of reflective writing and are common to many people:

1. Job applications

Both preparing for and writing job applications contain elements of reflective writing. You need to think about the experience that makes you suitable for a role and this means reflection on the skills you have developed and how they might relate to the specification. When writing your application you need to expand on what you have done and explain what you have learnt and why this matters - key elements of reflective writing.

2. Appraisals

In a similar way, undertaking an appraisal is a good time to reflect back on a certain period of time in post. You might be asked to record what went well and why as well as identifying areas for improvement.

3. Written feedback

If you have made a purchase recently you are likely to have received a request for feedback. When you leave a review of a product or service online then you need to think about the pros and cons. You may also have gone into detail about why the product was so good or the service was so bad so other people know how to judge it in the future.

4. Blogging

Blogs are a place to offer your own opinion and can be a really good place to do some reflective writing. Blogger often take a view on something and use their site as a way to share it with the world. They will often talk about the reasons why they like/dislike something - classic reflective writing.

5. During the research process

When researchers are working on a project they will often think about they way they are working and how it could be improved as well as considering different approaches to achieve their research goal. They will often record this in some way such as in a lab book and this questioning approach is a form of reflective writing.

6. In academic writing

Many students will be asked to include some form of reflection in an academic assignment, for example when relating a topic to their real life circumstances. They are also often asked to think about their opinion on or reactions to texts and other research and write about this in their own work.

Think about ... When you reflect

Think about all of the activities you do on a daily basis. Do any of these contain elements of reflective writing? Make a list of all the times you have written something reflective over the last month - it will be longer than you think!

Reflective terminology

A common mistake people make when writing reflectively is to focus too much on describing their experience. Think about some of the phrases below and try to use them when writing reflectively to help you avoid this problem:

• The most important thing was...
• At the time I felt...
• This was likely due to...
• After thinking about it...
• I learned that...
• I need to know more about...
• Later I realised...
• This was because...
• This was like...
• I wonder what would happen if...
• I'm still unsure about...
• My next steps are...

Always try and write in the first person when writing reflectively. This will help you to focus on your thoughts/feelings/experiences rather than just a description of the experience.

Using reflective writing in your academic work

Many courses will also expect you to reflect on your own learning as you progress through a particular programme. You may be asked to keep some type of reflective journal or diary. Depending on the needs of your course this may or may not be assessed but if you are using one it's important to write reflectively. This can help you to look back and see how your thinking has evolved over time - something useful for job applications in the future. Students at all levels may also be asked to reflect on the work of others, either as part of a group project or through peer review of their work. This requires a slightly different approach to reflection as you are not focused on your own work but again this is a useful skill to develop for the workplace.

You can see some useful examples of reflective writing in academia from Monash University ,  UNSW (the University of New South Wales) and Sage . Several of these examples also include feedback from tutors which you can use to inform your own work.

Laptop/computer/broswer/research by StockSnap via Pixabay licenced under CC0.

Now that you have a better idea of what reflective writing is and how it can be used it's time to practice some techniques.

This page has given you an understanding of what reflective writing is and where it can be used in both work and study. Now that you have a better idea of how reflective writing works the next two pages will guide you through some activities you can use to get started.

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Critical reflection for assessments and practice

• Critical reflection writing

Critical reflection for assessments and practice: Critical reflection writing

• Reflective practice
• Critical reflection
• How to reflect
• Recount and reflect

Critically reflective language and writing

"Our language is the reflection of ourselves..."

Mahatma Ghandi -  Cries of Never  (1916)

Our language is part of our identity. How we speak or write or paint or move when communicating shapes our sense of self and our presence in this world.  Critical reflection uses particular language and writing styles.

What is reflective writing? 

Critical reflection uses particular language and writing styles, often linked to your study area. For example, critical reflection in Health disciplines is linked to evidence-based practice and therefore uses a combination of clinical language and first-hand clinician perspective. In contrast, critical reflective writing for a dance student may have technical terms and creative language. Regardless of area, reflective writing at uni needs you to link your reflection to theories. This means that there is a formal tone to reflective writing assessments.    

What does critical reflective writing include?

Critical reflective writing is not just a summary or description of an event or something that you have observed. Description is needed for context in a critical reflection but the core of good reflective writing is exploring the significance of events (the ‘why’ and ‘how’) by providing analysis and insights into your thinking.  

In critical reflective writing you need to:

This helps you to develop new insights and perspectives which can inform your future practice. 

Language of reflective writing

The language used in reflective writing allows you to discuss your personal experiences, feelings and ideas. It’s fine to refer to yourself and use “I”, “my” and “me”. 

You can also use action verbs when writing about your feelings and opinions, for example, “I felt…”, “I think…”, “I realise…”. 

Remember you also need to include theory to support what you are saying. Take a look at the  language of reflective writing  for more support in this area. 

What? So What? Now What? Model 

Just as there are models to help you critically reflect on your actions, thoughts and feelings, there are also models to help you write critical reflections. 

The 'What? So What? Now What?' model guides your own reflections and learning from events that are significant for you. It gives you prompts to help you identify and discuss the different components of critical reflective writing. 

Click on the plus symbols (+)  below to see what is discussed in each section. 

Text version

Activity overview

This interactive hotspot activity outlines the sections of the 'What? So What? Now What? model. The hotspots are displayed as plus (+) icons that can be clicked to reveal the sections, as follows

Section 1: What?

A brief description of the incident/experience: who, what, why, when, where.

Section 2: So What?

This is the sense-making section where you discuss the significance, your position, understanding, feelings and relate to literature/theories.

Section 3: Now What?

This section makes connections from the experience to inform future actions. What you would do differently or the same. Also relates to literature/theories.

What? So What? Now What? template

To help you put this model into practice for your own context, download the template provided below to use for assessments. 

• What? So What? Now What? template

Essay versus critical reflection essay

At uni a common form of critical reflection writing is the critical reflection essay. For a quick recap on the major differences, look at this table.

Try to express your reactions, feelings, attitudes and views in an open and honest way. Avoid writing what you think others ‘want to hear’.

Remember that a critical reflection should describe, analyse and evaluate? Use this checklist to shape up a draft critical reflection based on a recent experience. Don’t forget to use the SWOT model to help prompt your writing

• A brief description of the event or context
• What you noticed
• What you were thinking and feeling
• Why this learning is significant to you
• What you have learnt from this experience
• How this will inform future practice.
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How To Write A Critical Reflection Assignment

29 April, 2022

13 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

The act of discovering, examining, and evaluating our deep-seated beliefs and writing about these is known as critical reflection (also known as reflective essay). The assignment can concern our knowledge, our perceptions of events and issues, and our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. When you critically reflect, you utilize study material (lectures, books, discussions, etc.) to […]

The act of discovering, examining, and evaluating our deep-seated beliefs and writing about these is known as critical reflection (also known as reflective essay). The assignment can concern our knowledge, our perceptions of events and issues, and our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors.

When you critically reflect, you utilize study material (lectures, books, discussions, etc.) to analyze the prejudices, compare theories with present behaviors, seek reasons and triggers, and discover underlying problems.

A critical reflection essay is neither a reading assignment, a description of events, nor an outlet for emotions. Rather, the goal is to alter people’s perceptions of the issue and, as a result, their behavior.

Why Are Critical Reflection Assignments So Popular?

Critical thinking writing is frequent in student assignments, although it can take several forms. Your teacher may require you to submit a common essay, make weekly blog updates, or respond to a series of questions in a limited amount of time.

Together with the tasks, you’ll have to do during your college and university courses, and this activity allows you to express yourself the most. It motivates you to see things from many angles and discuss your perspectives with others.

Without exaggeration, it is useful for both academic advancement and your journey of self-knowledge. So, let’s see how to create a paper that would amaze everyone.

The Main Purposes Of Critical Reflection

Rather than merely providing information, a critical reflection essay allows you to take a personal perspective and voice your ideas on the subject. It might be about anything, from your favorite movie to touring the Grand Canyon and debating evolution theories. An educational, professional, or personal critical reflection paper is possible.

They all have somewhat different styles:

• Answer to a previously studied book, video, or lecture is educational.
• Professional – a typical duty for teachers and social workers, focuses on analyzing a person’s conduct.
• Personal one shows how you feel about a more personal topic.

Which to select is determined by the subject. If you’re having trouble with this, talk to your supervisor.

How To Write A Critical Reflection Essay: Step-by-Step Guide

There are two steps to writing a good critical reflection essay:

• Analyze the situation and your involvement in it by asking critical questions. Freewriting is a great approach to coming up with new ideas. Don’t bother about paragraph organization or grammar at this point.
• To correctly formulate, use your analysis to clarify what you’ve learned in the second phase. Organize your thoughts so that the reader can understand them.

To help you, we’ll provide you with a general guide on how to choose a topic.

Come Up With the Topic

As a beginning point, consider any major moments in life that have significantly impacted you, either favorably or badly.

Real-life experience, imagined experience, a remarkable object or location, a person who has inspired you, or something you have ever seen or read are all common critical reflection essay topics.

If you’re writing a critical reflection essay for college, your professor will probably want you to focus on a certain incident. It’s also worth noting that in a critical reflection essay, the event’s impacts are vital. If you don’t include them, you’ll just be telling stories.

Uncover The Topic

It may seem self-evident, but the act of reflection is the foundation for writing such a paper. Therefore you must get it right from the start. It would be best to consider how the experience you have chosen to focus on has affected or changed you. Determine the effects for you individually using your recollections and experiences.

Once you’ve decided on an essay topic, start researching it thoroughly and devote a significant amount of time thinking about it. Make a list of everything you remember about the experience, explaining it as clearly and completely as possible.

Remember your sentiments and utilize terms to describe the experience when doing so. You can write notes using brief words at the start of writing, but you must ensure that you are capturing all responses, views, and experiences.

Make The Analysis Of Main Ideas And Problems Of The Critical Reflection Assignment Topic

It would help if you began thinking to evaluate your memory’s contents effectively. Picking a few questions to consider is a good way to start. They will assist you in delving deeper into your experiences. Here are some good questions to think about:

• What did your experience or event analysis teach you?
• Did you change as a result of it? How?
• Has it influenced your life positively or negatively?
• What would you do if you could go back in time?
• Why do you believe you made the decision you did? Do you believe it was the best decision you could have made?
• What did you think of the whole experience? Has it been beneficial for you? What specific talents or views have you gained?

These starter questions should assist you in beginning your reflective process. Remember that the key to thinking thoroughly and critically about your experiences is to ask yourself many questions. It is a crucial talent for creating a fantastic critical reflection essay.

Develop Logical Chains Between Research Stages

The creation of logical chains helps to remember and comprehend a large amount of information to identify the pattern of any events or phenomena. Logical chains are necessary for developing critical thinking and the ability to think logically.

A logical chain is a chain of sequential judgments and conclusions leading from the initial factors to the conclusion of logical construction.

The logical chain in the critical reflection essay is always present. Always, even if the judgment seems illogical. A judgment may come from incorrect factors, erroneous information – and therefore be incorrect, but there should be logic in any judgment and conclusion of a critical reflection essay.

Create a Critical Reflection Assignment Checklist

It is worth analyzing your article on three levels to produce a decent checklist.

Level of criticality

• Is there any relevant theory or professional references in the text?
• Are you able to back up the claims with evidence?
• Has the event touched your professional experience?

Level of description

• Is your professional experience consistent with your personal experiences?
• Is it accurate in its information?
• Is it a problem or an opportunity to solve it?
• Is it a description of one or two solutions to a problem?

Level of analysis

• Is your text able to describe both the immediate and deeper causes?
• Is it an issue or an opportunity for other people to solve it?
• Do you have any immediate concerns about your career progress due to the experience?

Try to figure out the aim of your reflective writing. Different goals necessitate different materials, organization, and styles.

The necessity to show proof of learning based on experience is common in all varieties of critical reflection papers.

Aim for a mix of descriptive, analytical, and critical reflective writing aspects.

Template For Critical Reflection Essay

Traditional and creative (which are quite useful but hazardous) techniques for writing critical reflection essays are available:

• In a traditional way, the thesis should state the key concept, develop it throughout the main paragraphs with supporting reasons, and finish with the facts confirming the thesis.
• If you want to use creative options, begin a discussion on the subject and imply a conclusion. Assume where the discussion will lead, but leave some uncertainty. Make and write the personal analysis. Consider a conclusion that differs marginally or totally from what the audience expected at the start.

You will be able to write your critical reflections without problems if you use this or that option. By choosing one of the options, you can easily start writing a template for your paper.

Introduction Of Critical Reflection Paper

The most significant aspect of writing a critical reflection essay is expressing your views about a topic. Just don’t get too worked up over it. Instead of being emotional, you should convey your ideas logically. 

Give the reader a sense of what to expect in the next few paragraphs. Create a compelling concept: encapsulate the important statement in one sentence to draw attention.

It is when you delve deeper into the thesis. In a few paragraphs, you must describe the essential. Use a three-paragraph structure. Tell the audience more about your experience and how it influenced you. 

Compare and contrast other people’s experiences. Then tell the audience what you’ve discovered as a result of it.

The conclusion must be comprehensive and persuasive. The document’s conclusion demonstrates that your thoughts are completely developed. 

Strong accents are used to bring the conversation to an end. To offer readers food for thought, make a creative image of your experience.

Correct Formatting Of Critical Reflection Paper

The essay writer primarily discusses life experiences. The objective of writing such a paper is to allow the authors to explore how they have changed or learned from a particular life experience and how that experience has changed them.

You can present the critical reflection assignment in various ways, but learning logs or diary entries are the most common. Diary entries, in particular, are utilized to show how the author’s thoughts changed over time.

Everyone who has written at least one scientific paper in the past is familiar with the reflection paper format.

• A4 paper is the most popular.
• Each side of the field is 1 inch.
• The material is divided into 12 paragraphs.
• The font is easy to read (Arial, Helvetica, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.)
• Two spaces separate the lines.
• Citations in APA, Chicago, and other styles are available (determined by the supervisor).
• The word count ranges from 250 to 750.

Depending on the intended audience, the format might change. The critical reflection essay can be scientific or given more general meaning, such as as a component of a larger work. Although the presentation structure may alter, the goal remains the same. Teachers hope to encourage students to think thoroughly and critically about a specific learning experience or series of events.

It is all you know how to write critical reflection paper.

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Reflective writing is a process of identifying, questioning, and critically evaluating course-based learning opportunities, integrated with your own observations, experiences, impressions, beliefs, assumptions, or biases, and which describes how this process stimulated new or creative understanding about the content of the course.

A reflective paper describes and explains in an introspective, first person narrative, your reactions and feelings about either a specific element of the class [e.g., a required reading; a film shown in class] or more generally how you experienced learning throughout the course. Reflective writing assignments can be in the form of a single paper, essays, portfolios, journals, diaries, or blogs. In some cases, your professor may include a reflective writing assignment as a way to obtain student feedback that helps improve the course, either in the moment or for when the class is taught again.

How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8.

Benefits of Reflective Writing Assignments

As the term implies, a reflective paper involves looking inward at oneself in contemplating and bringing meaning to the relationship between course content and the acquisition of new knowledge . Educational research [Bolton, 2010; Ryan, 2011; Tsingos-Lucas et al., 2017] demonstrates that assigning reflective writing tasks enhances learning because it challenges students to confront their own assumptions, biases, and belief systems around what is being taught in class and, in so doing, stimulate student’s decisions, actions, attitudes, and understanding about themselves as learners and in relation to having mastery over their learning. Reflection assignments are also an opportunity to write in a first person narrative about elements of the course, such as the required readings, separate from the exegetic and analytical prose of academic research papers.

Reflection writing often serves multiple purposes simultaneously. In no particular order, here are some of reasons why professors assign reflection papers:

• Enhances learning from previous knowledge and experience in order to improve future decision-making and reasoning in practice . Reflective writing in the applied social sciences enhances decision-making skills and academic performance in ways that can inform professional practice. The act of reflective writing creates self-awareness and understanding of others. This is particularly important in clinical and service-oriented professional settings.
• Allows students to make sense of classroom content and overall learning experiences in relation to oneself, others, and the conditions that shaped the content and classroom experiences . Reflective writing places you within the course content in ways that can deepen your understanding of the material. Because reflective thinking can help reveal hidden biases, it can help you critically interrogate moments when you do not like or agree with discussions, readings, or other aspects of the course.
• Increases awareness of one’s cognitive abilities and the evidence for these attributes . Reflective writing can break down personal doubts about yourself as a learner and highlight specific abilities that may have been hidden or suppressed due to prior assumptions about the strength of your academic abilities [e.g., reading comprehension; problem-solving skills]. Reflective writing, therefore, can have a positive affective [i.e., emotional] impact on your sense of self-worth.
• Applying theoretical knowledge and frameworks to real experiences . Reflective writing can help build a bridge of relevancy between theoretical knowledge and the real world. In so doing, this form of writing can lead to a better understanding of underlying theories and their analytical properties applied to professional practice.
• Reveals shortcomings that the reader will identify . Evidence suggests that reflective writing can uncover your own shortcomings as a learner, thereby, creating opportunities to anticipate the responses of your professor may have about the quality of your coursework. This can be particularly productive if the reflective paper is written before final submission of an assignment.
• Helps students identify their tacit [a.k.a., implicit] knowledge and possible gaps in that knowledge . Tacit knowledge refers to ways of knowing rooted in lived experience, insight, and intuition rather than formal, codified, categorical, or explicit knowledge. In so doing, reflective writing can stimulate students to question their beliefs about a research problem or an element of the course content beyond positivist modes of understanding and representation.
• Encourages students to actively monitor their learning processes over a period of time . On-going reflective writing in journals or blogs, for example, can help you maintain or adapt learning strategies in other contexts. The regular, purposeful act of reflection can facilitate continuous deep thinking about the course content as it evolves and changes throughout the term. This, in turn, can increase your overall confidence as a learner.
• Relates a student’s personal experience to a wider perspective . Reflection papers can help you see the big picture associated with the content of a course by forcing you to think about the connections between scholarly content and your lived experiences outside of school. It can provide a macro-level understanding of one’s own experiences in relation to the specifics of what is being taught.
• If reflective writing is shared, students can exchange stories about their learning experiences, thereby, creating an opportunity to reevaluate their original assumptions or perspectives . In most cases, reflective writing is only viewed by your professor in order to ensure candid feedback from students. However, occasionally, reflective writing is shared and openly discussed in class. During these discussions, new or different perspectives and alternative approaches to solving problems can be generated that would otherwise be hidden. Sharing student's reflections can also reveal collective patterns of thought and emotions about a particular element of the course.

Bolton, Gillie. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development . London: Sage, 2010; Chang, Bo. "Reflection in Learning." Online Learning 23 (2019), 95-110; Cavilla, Derek. "The Effects of Student Reflection on Academic Performance and Motivation." Sage Open 7 (July-September 2017): 1–13; Culbert, Patrick. “Better Teaching? You Can Write On It “ Liberal Education (February 2022); McCabe, Gavin and Tobias Thejll-Madsen. The Reflection Toolkit . University of Edinburgh; The Purpose of Reflection . Introductory Composition at Purdue University; Practice-based and Reflective Learning . Study Advice Study Guides, University of Reading; Ryan, Mary. "Improving Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Social Semiotic Perspective." Teaching in Higher Education 16 (2011): 99-111; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8; What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse; Rykkje, Linda. "The Tacit Care Knowledge in Reflective Writing: A Practical Wisdom." International Practice Development Journal 7 (September 2017): Article 5; Using Reflective Writing to Deepen Student Learning . Center for Writing, University of Minnesota.

How to Approach Writing a Reflection Paper

Thinking About Reflective Thinking

Educational theorists have developed numerous models of reflective thinking that your professor may use to frame a reflective writing assignment. These models can help you systematically interpret your learning experiences, thereby ensuring that you ask the right questions and have a clear understanding of what should be covered. A model can also represent the overall structure of a reflective paper. Each model establishes a different approach to reflection and will require you to think about your writing differently. If you are unclear how to fit your writing within a particular reflective model, seek clarification from your professor. There are generally two types of reflective writing assignments, each approached in slightly different ways.

1.  Reflective Thinking about Course Readings

This type of reflective writing focuses on thoughtfully thinking about the course readings that underpin how most students acquire new knowledge and understanding about the subject of a course. Reflecting on course readings is often assigned in freshmen-level, interdisciplinary courses where the required readings examine topics viewed from multiple perspectives and, as such, provide different ways of analyzing a topic, issue, event, or phenomenon. The purpose of reflective thinking about course readings in the social and behavioral sciences is to elicit your opinions, beliefs, and feelings about the research and its significance. This type of writing can provide an opportunity to break down key assumptions you may have and, in so doing, reveal potential biases in how you interpret the scholarship.

If you are assigned to reflect on course readings, consider the following methods of analysis as prompts that can help you get started :

• Examine carefully the main introductory elements of the reading, including the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework being used to test assumptions, and the research questions being addressed. Think about what ideas stood out to you. Why did they? Were these ideas new to you or familiar in some way based on your own lived experiences or prior knowledge?
• Develop your ideas around the readings by asking yourself, what do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge about this topic come from? What are the observations or experiences in my life that influence my understanding of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the main arguments, recommended course of actions, or conclusions made by the author(s)? Why do I feel this way and what is the basis of these feelings?
• Make connections between the text and your own beliefs, opinions, or feelings by considering questions like, how do the readings reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How the readings challenge these ideas or assumptions? How does this text help me to better understand this topic or research in ways that motivate me to learn more about this area of study?

2.  Reflective Thinking about Course Experiences

This type of reflective writing asks you to critically reflect on locating yourself at the conceptual intersection of theory and practice. The purpose of experiential reflection is to evaluate theories or disciplinary-based analytical models based on your introspective assessment of the relationship between hypothetical thinking and practical reality; it offers a way to consider how your own knowledge and skills fit within professional practice. This type of writing also provides an opportunity to evaluate your decisions and actions, as well as how you managed your subsequent successes and failures, within a specific theoretical framework. As a result, abstract concepts can crystallize and become more relevant to you when considered within your own experiences. This can help you formulate plans for self-improvement as you learn.

If you are assigned to reflect on your experiences, consider the following questions as prompts to help you get started :

• Contextualize your reflection in relation to the overarching purpose of the course by asking yourself, what did you hope to learn from this course? What were the learning objectives for the course and how did I fit within each of them? How did these goals relate to the main themes or concepts of the course?
• Analyze how you experienced the course by asking yourself, what did I learn from this experience? What did I learn about myself? About working in this area of research and study? About how the course relates to my place in society? What assumptions about the course were supported or refuted?
• Think introspectively about the ways you experienced learning during the course by asking yourself, did your learning experiences align with the goals or concepts of the course? Why or why do you not feel this way? What was successful and why do you believe this? What would you do differently and why is this important? How will you prepare for a future experience in this area of study?

NOTE: If you are assigned to write a journal or other type of on-going reflection exercise, a helpful approach is to reflect on your reflections by re-reading what you have already written. In other words, review your previous entries as a way to contextualize your feelings, opinions, or beliefs regarding your overall learning experiences. Over time, this can also help reveal hidden patterns or themes related to how you processed your learning experiences. Consider concluding your reflective journal with a summary of how you felt about your learning experiences at critical junctures throughout the course, then use these to write about how you grew as a student learner and how the act of reflecting helped you gain new understanding about the subject of the course and its content.

ANOTHER NOTE: Regardless of whether you write a reflection paper or a journal, do not focus your writing on the past. The act of reflection is intended to think introspectively about previous learning experiences. However, reflective thinking should document the ways in which you progressed in obtaining new insights and understandings about your growth as a learner that can be carried forward in subsequent coursework or in future professional practice. Your writing should reflect a furtherance of increasing personal autonomy and confidence gained from understanding more about yourself as a learner.

Structure and Writing Style

There are no strict academic rules for writing a reflective paper. Reflective writing may be assigned in any class taught in the social and behavioral sciences and, therefore, requirements for the assignment can vary depending on disciplinary-based models of inquiry and learning. The organization of content can also depend on what your professor wants you to write about or based on the type of reflective model used to frame the writing assignment. Despite these possible variations, below is a basic approach to organizing and writing a good reflective paper, followed by a list of problems to avoid.

Pre-flection

In most cases, it's helpful to begin by thinking about your learning experiences and outline what you want to focus on before you begin to write the paper. This can help you organize your thoughts around what was most important to you and what experiences [good or bad] had the most impact on your learning. As described by the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre, preparing to write a reflective paper involves a process of self-analysis that can help organize your thoughts around significant moments of in-class knowledge discovery.

• Using a thesis statement as a guide, note what experiences or course content stood out to you , then place these within the context of your observations, reactions, feelings, and opinions. This will help you develop a rough outline of key moments during the course that reflect your growth as a learner. To identify these moments, pose these questions to yourself: What happened? What was my reaction? What were my expectations and how were they different from what transpired? What did I learn?
• Critically think about your learning experiences and the course content . This will help you develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding about why these moments were significant or relevant to you. Use the ideas you formulated during the first stage of reflecting to help you think through these moments from both an academic and personal perspective. From an academic perspective, contemplate how the experience enhanced your understanding of a concept, theory, or skill. Ask yourself, did the experience confirm my previous understanding or challenge it in some way. As a result, did this highlight strengths or gaps in your current knowledge? From a personal perspective, think introspectively about why these experiences mattered, if previous expectations or assumptions were confirmed or refuted, and if this surprised, confused, or unnerved you in some way.
• Analyze how these experiences and your reactions to them will shape your future thinking and behavior . Reflection implies looking back, but the most important act of reflective writing is considering how beliefs, assumptions, opinions, and feelings were transformed in ways that better prepare you as a learner in the future. Note how this reflective analysis can lead to actions you will take as a result of your experiences, what you will do differently, and how you will apply what you learned in other courses or in professional practice.

Basic Structure and Writing Style

Reflective Background and Context

The first part of your reflection paper should briefly provide background and context in relation to the content or experiences that stood out to you. Highlight the settings, summarize the key readings, or narrate the experiences in relation to the course objectives. Provide background that sets the stage for your reflection. You do not need to go into great detail, but you should provide enough information for the reader to understand what sources of learning you are writing about [e.g., course readings, field experience, guest lecture, class discussions] and why they were important. This section should end with an explanatory thesis statement that expresses the central ideas of your paper and what you want the readers to know, believe, or understand after they finish reading your paper.

Reflective Interpretation

Drawing from your reflective analysis, this is where you can be personal, critical, and creative in expressing how you felt about the course content and learning experiences and how they influenced or altered your feelings, beliefs, assumptions, or biases about the subject of the course. This section is also where you explore the meaning of these experiences in the context of the course and how you gained an awareness of the connections between these moments and your own prior knowledge.

Guided by your thesis statement, a helpful approach is to interpret your learning throughout the course with a series of specific examples drawn from the course content and your learning experiences. These examples should be arranged in sequential order that illustrate your growth as a learner. Reflecting on each example can be done by: 1)  introducing a theme or moment that was meaningful to you, 2) describing your previous position about the learning moment and what you thought about it, 3) explaining how your perspective was challenged and/or changed and why, and 4) introspectively stating your current or new feelings, opinions, or beliefs about that experience in class.

It is important to include specific examples drawn from the course and placed within the context of your assumptions, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. A reflective narrative without specific examples does not provide an effective way for the reader to understand the relationship between the course content and how you grew as a learner.

Reflective Conclusions

The conclusion of your reflective paper should provide a summary of your thoughts, feelings, or opinions regarding what you learned about yourself as a result of taking the course. Here are several ways you can frame your conclusions based on the examples you interpreted and reflected on what they meant to you. Each example would need to be tied to the basic theme [thesis statement] of your reflective background section.

• Your reflective conclusions can be described in relation to any expectations you had before taking the class [e.g., “I expected the readings to not be relevant to my own experiences growing up in a rural community, but the research actually helped me see that the challenges of developing my identity as a child of immigrants was not that unusual...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can explain how what you learned about yourself will change your actions in the future [e.g., “During a discussion in class about the challenges of helping homeless people, I realized that many of these people hate living on the street but lack the ability to see a way out. This made me realize that I wanted to take more classes in psychology...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can describe major insights you experienced a critical junctures during the course and how these moments enhanced how you see yourself as a student learner [e.g., "The guest speaker from the Head Start program made me realize why I wanted to pursue a career in elementary education..."].
• Your reflective conclusions can reconfigure or reframe how you will approach professional practice and your understanding of your future career aspirations [e.g.,, "The course changed my perceptions about seeking a career in business finance because it made me realize I want to be more engaged in customer service..."]
• Your reflective conclusions can explore any learning you derived from the act of reflecting itself [e.g., “Reflecting on the course readings that described how minority students perceive campus activities helped me identify my own biases about the benefits of those activities in acclimating to campus life...”].

NOTE: The length of a reflective paper in the social sciences is usually less than a traditional research paper. However, don’t assume that writing a reflective paper is easier than writing a research paper. A well-conceived critical reflection paper often requires as much time and effort as a research paper because you must purposeful engage in thinking about your learning in ways that you may not be comfortable with or used to. This is particular true while preparing to write because reflective papers are not as structured as a traditional research paper and, therefore, you have to think deliberately about how you want to organize the paper and what elements of the course you want to reflect upon.

ANOTHER NOTE: Do not limit yourself to using only text in reflecting on your learning. If you believe it would be helpful, consider using creative modes of thought or expression such as, illustrations, photographs, or material objects that reflects an experience related to the subject of the course that was important to you [e.g., like a ticket stub to a renowned speaker on campus]. Whatever non-textual element you include, be sure to describe the object's relevance to your personal relationship to the course content.

Problems to Avoid

A reflective paper is not a “mind dump” . Reflective papers document your personal and emotional experiences and, therefore, they do not conform to rigid structures, or schema, to organize information. However, the paper should not be a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness narrative. Reflective papers are still academic pieces of writing that require organized thought, that use academic language and tone , and that apply intellectually-driven critical thinking to the course content and your learning experiences and their significance.

A reflective paper is not a research paper . If you are asked to reflect on a course reading, the reflection will obviously include some description of the research. However, the goal of reflective writing is not to present extraneous ideas to the reader or to "educate" them about the course. The goal is to share a story about your relationship with the learning objectives of the course. Therefore, unlike research papers, you are expected to write from a first person point of view which includes an introspective examination of your own opinions, feelings, and personal assumptions.

A reflection paper is not a book review . Descriptions of the course readings using your own words is not a reflective paper. Reflective writing should focus on how you understood the implications of and were challenged by the course in relation to your own lived experiences or personal assumptions, combined with explanations of how you grew as a student learner based on this internal dialogue. Remember that you are the central object of the paper, not the research materials.

A reflective paper is not an all-inclusive meditation. Do not try to cover everything. The scope of your paper should be well-defined and limited to your specific opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what you determine to be the most significant content of the course and in relation to the learning that took place. Reflections should be detailed enough to covey what you think is important, but your thoughts should be expressed concisely and coherently [as is true for any academic writing assignment].

Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Critical Reflection: Journals, Opinions, & Reactions . University Writing Center, Texas A&M University; Connor-Greene, Patricia A. “Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning.” Teaching of Psychology 27 (2000): 44-46; Good vs. Bad Reflection Papers , Franklin University; Dyment, Janet E. and Timothy S. O’Connell. "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors." Innovative Higher Education 35 (2010): 233-244: How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Amelia TaraJane House. Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas; Ramlal, Alana, and Désirée S. Augustin. “Engaging Students in Reflective Writing: An Action Research Project.” Educational Action Research 28 (2020): 518-533; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; McGuire, Lisa, Kathy Lay, and Jon Peters. “Pedagogy of Reflective Writing in Professional Education.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2009): 93-107; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; How Do I Write Reflectively? Academic Skills Toolkit, University of New South Wales Sydney; Reflective Writing . Skills@Library. University of Leeds; Walling, Anne, Johanna Shapiro, and Terry Ast. “What Makes a Good Reflective Paper?” Family Medicine 45 (2013): 7-12; Williams, Kate, Mary Woolliams, and Jane Spiro. Reflective Writing . 2nd edition. London: Red Globe Press, 2020; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. “Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing.” Higher Education Research and Development (2022): 1-16.

Writing Tip

Focus on Reflecting, Not on Describing

Minimal time and effort should be spent describing the course content you are asked to reflect upon. The purpose of a reflection assignment is to introspectively contemplate your reactions to and feeling about an element of the course. D eflecting the focus away from your own feelings by concentrating on describing the course content can happen particularly if "talking about yourself" [i.e., reflecting] makes you uncomfortable or it is intimidating. However, the intent of reflective writing is to overcome these inhibitions so as to maximize the benefits of introspectively assessing your learning experiences. Keep in mind that, if it is relevant, your feelings of discomfort could be a part of how you critically reflect on any challenges you had during the course [e.g., you realize this discomfort inhibited your willingness to ask questions during class, it fed into your propensity to procrastinate, or it made it difficult participating in groups].

Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas.

Another Writing Tip

Helpful Videos about Reflective Writing

These two short videos succinctly describe how to approach a reflective writing assignment. They are produced by the Academic Skills department at the University of Melbourne and the Skills Team of the University of Hull, respectively.

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Introduction to Reflection

There are many ways to produce reflection in writing. Try using these examples to kick-start your reflective writing.

Open each drop-down to see a different reflective writing example and exercise. 

The Six Minute Write (Bolton, 2014)

If you are being asked to write reflectively you may feel that you do not know where to begin. Bolton’s Six Minute Writing exercise is a useful way to help get you started.

Peter has just started a course to train to be a counsellor and his tutor is asking every student to reflect on their learning and the development of their interpersonal skills. Peter is unsure where to start as reflective writing is a new thing for him, so he decides to try the Six Minute Write.

“Well, I’ve never written anything like this before! When I wrote at school I was always told to be really careful – make sure your spelling and grammar are correct, don’t use abbreviations, make it sound formal. This feels quite liberating! But, is it any good? The tutor says ‘Just write what’s in your head’ so here goes.

Today we did our first role play exercises and how scary was that? I always knew that the course would involve this and I do enjoy talking with people, but trying out listening skills and asking open questions is all really difficult. I felt so nervous and forgot what to do. The people I was working with seemed so much better than me – I know I’ve got so much to learn it’s frightening. Will I ever be able to do this? I really don’t know, but I do know I’m going to try.”

Use Bolton’s (2014, p. 136) Six Minute Write exercise to begin any writing exercise, whether academic or reflective, personal or formal.

Here are Bolton’s pointers:

• Write for six minutes without stopping.
• Write whatever comes to mind and let your writing flow freely.
• Keep writing and do not pause to think too much about what you are writing.
• Do not pause to analyse what you have written, otherwise you will be tempted to write what you think you should write rather than what you want to write.
• Keep writing even if it does not make much sense to you.
• Do not worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar or jargon.
• Allow yourself to write anything.
• This is your writing and whatever you write is correct because it is yours. Remember, no-one else needs to read what you have written.
• Stop after six minutes and look at how much you have been able to write.

If we pay attention to how we think, we’ll soon notice that we are often in conversation with ourselves.

We have a kind of internal dialogue as we go about our day, making decisions (“The red top or the blue one?”) observing the world (“Beautiful day. But chilly. Where did I put my gloves?”) and maintaining self-awareness (“Oh goodness, she’s heading this way. You’re nervous? Interesting. Calm down. Be polite.”).

Reflective writing can take the shape of dialogue and be structured as a conversation with different aspects of yourself. We all have multiple identities (child, parent, student, employee, friend etc.) and each aspect of ourselves can take a different perspective on a situation.

Dialogic reflection harnesses these multiple perspectives to explore and inquire about ourselves in a certain situation, often when the purpose or outcome is unknown.

So now they’re encouraging us to try different types of reflective writing. I like the idea of this dialogical writing thing – feels like having a conversation with myself, so I think I’ll have a go. Not sure how it will pan out but I’m going to imagine talking with my organised self (OS) and my critical self (CS) and see how it goes.

OS – so doing really well at the moment, feeling pretty much on track with things and definitely on top.

CS – so how long do you think that will last? I know what you’re like! You always do this – think things are ok, sit back, relax and then get behind.

OS – do I? Umm… suppose you might be right…

CS – what do you mean, might be right?

OS – ok, you are right!

CS – and we know where this ends up, don’t we? Panic mode!

OS – and I need to avoid that. So, let’s think about what I can do. Look at the coming week and month and start planning!

Focus on an issue or concern that you have relating to your studies or practice. Imagine you are having a conversation with a friend about the issue because you want to get their perspective. Write a dialogue with “them” that explores your concerns. Raise any questions you’d like answered.

If need be, write another dialogue on the same issue with another “friend” to explore another perspective.

Once you’ve finished, re-read your conversation. Did your “friend” offer any new perspectives on the issue that hadn’t occurred to you before you began writing? Are any of these worth reflecting on further?

Driscoll (2007) What?, So what?, Now what?

Driscoll’s (2007) ‘What?’ model is a straightforward reflective cycle of 3 parts. Evolved from Borton’s (1970) Developmental Framework, it has 3 stages that ask us to consider What?, So what?, and Now what?

Step 1 – What? – involves writing a description of an event or an experience.

Step 2 – So what? – here we reflect on the event or experience and start to analyse selected aspects of it, considering why they were important and how they impacted the whole.

Step 3 – Now what? – a range of proposed action points are devised following the experience, focusing on what has been learned.

Dan is training to be a nurse in elderly care and wants to reflect on the experiences he is gaining on his placement. Dan decides to use the questions in Driscoll’s model to help him to begin to analyse what he is learning.

Step 1 – What?

Today I was observing an experienced community nurse change a dressing on a man’s leg that is badly infected. The man was nervous and became very distressed – he has had dressings replaced regularly and knows that the process is very painful. I felt awful about causing him more pain. The community nurse seemed very calm and spoke to him in a reassuring way. She asked him if he would like some pain relief and he said yes. She sat with him for ten minutes to make sure that the pain relief was working and spoke with him about his grandson’s visit that he was looking forward to at the weekend. This definitely seemed to put him at ease.

Step 2 – So what?

She made it all look so easy. How would I cope if I had to do this? As a nurse I am meant to relieve pain not cause it. She focused on the patient while I focused on myself.

Step 3 – Now what?

I learned a lot from the community nurse. She was very caring but firm. She knew the man’s dressing needed to be changed but did everything in a very calm and kind way. She distracted him and helped him to relax. These are all strategies that I can try in the future if I have to do this. Nursing isn’t only about my clinical skills; my interpersonal skills are vital, as is compassion and understanding for my patients.

Driscoll has formulated some useful questions to help us to use the model effectively, including:

Step 1 – What? – how did I react and what did others do who were involved?

Step 2 – So what? – do I feel troubled in any way, and if so, how?

Step 3 – Now what? – how can I change my approach if I face a similar situation again and what are my main learning points? What different options are there for me?

Write some notes about an experience you have had recently where you feel you have learned a lot. Can you use the stages of Driscoll’s cycle to develop this into a short reflection?

Note: Driscoll’s model is useful when you are new to professional practice and it seems like there is so much to learn. In particular, the question ‘Do I feel troubled in any way?’ is useful as our feelings can act as a prompt to deeper thinking. However, after a while you may find that you want to explore at a more complex level and move on to other approaches. It’s important to allow space for your reflective skills to develop in the same way as your professional skills.

Some small scale reflective questions :

• What were 3 things that went well today/this week? How do you know?
• What was a situation today/this week where I could have done better? How?
• What was your biggest challenge today/this week? How did you overcome it?
• What was the predominant feeling you had today/this week? Why?
• What made you happy/sad/frustrated/angry/etc today/this week? Can you find some way of having more or less of the identified aspects?

Some larger scale reflective questions :

• Am I optimising my time, energy and performance according to my values, goals and objectives?
• Am I making the most of opportunities available to me? Am I working effectively within any fixed restrictions? Where there are barriers, am I identifying them and tackling or circumventing them where possible?
• Do my values, goals and objectives still align with each other? Is this reflected in how I am spending my time?
• Are my goals still the right ones to deliver on my values? Should/Can I refine or revise the strategies I am using for fulfilling my values and goals?

Where you have been

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Masters Degree Creative Writing: A Journal

Studying the craft of writing

An Example Critical Commentary

Our latest assignments came back within four days of submission—a fast turnaround. Mine scored a high merit. Its main weaknesses were:

• I should have mentioned more works of dystopian literature, rather than other media such as film and television drama. I had brought in the other media because part of the essay relates to how ‘script’ has influenced my work. There had been a reference to Fahrenheit 451 which I removed to save words, and I couldn’t talk about Brave New World or The Handmaid’s Tale because I discussed them in TMA 3. Instead, I focused on 1984 with mention of Vox and The Circle. If I had the chance to rewrite this, I would cut out references to film structure and replace them with more analysis of dystopian literature.
• The essay talks about characterisation and narrative voice, before appearing to return to character, which the tutor felt showed a lack of control. I had meant the last discussion about ‘psychic distance’ to be part of the point-of-view section rather than character, but obviously that didn’t come across.
• The word count was dangerously close. Agreed! Our essay was meant to be 3,000 words, with a 10% leeway either side. That means we could write between 2,700 and 3,300 words. I went up to 3,300. Once, on a course years ago, a tutor told me I could have used the word limit to expand an argument, but generally tutors don’t like it (more work for them), and going right up to the limit is dangerous as word processors count differently.
• This didn’t affect me, but I heard from someone else who wrote too much about the influence of another genre—creative nonfiction—and was marked right down for it.

I’m including my TMA below in the hope that it might help people next year. We had no examples to go on this time—just very broad guidance notes, which makes it difficult to know what’s expected. Bear in mind that every tutor is different.

The names of other students are masked to protect their privacy.

TMA 06: A Critical Commentary

My EMA project continues a theme that I’ve been following throughout the Masters, beginning with The Sponsor (Daykin, 2017). It involves looking at modern cultural trends and spinning a narrative about the future. The Sponsor dealt with the social effects of automation. All Souls (Daykin, 2018a) explored how social media can empower toxic ideologies. Rebel Generation (Daykin, 2018b) asked what would happen if the elderly drastically outnumbered the young. My latest project, True Britain (Daykin, 2019c), is inspired by current political developments and predicts a swing to authoritarian government. Below, I will refer to these pieces and two stories outside the dystopian genre, Child of the Moors ( Daykin, 2019a) and The Grey Runner (Daykin, 2019b). In demonstrating how my writing has evolved, I focus on awareness of genre, character, narrative modes and the influence of script and creative nonfiction. I will show how feedback from others and the habit of ‘reading as a writer’ have informed my work.

For this project, I chose to write the opening of a novel. I had found the short story format insufficient to explore complex ideas in speculative fiction. Writing All Souls, for example, I struggled to provide a satisfactory ending, and a reviewer commented that the story ‘opened some doors to interesting social themes, but did not really engage with these themes in any depth’ (X, 2018). With True Britain, I am writing a much longer narrative exploring politics and history. As the project has to be seen in the context of the novel, some plot points not included in the EMA will be described here to explain decisions I have made.

A writer needs to be aware of the elements of genre, as readers have expectations about character, writing and plot (Neale, 2009, p3). Previously, I wrote intuitively without studying the conventions of genre. The Sponsor must have been inexact in its genre, as one reviewer asked if it was science fiction (XXXX, 2017). Dystopia is a subgenre of science fiction ‘because it depicts future fictive societies’ (Utopia and Dystopia, 2019), but in order for fiction to be clearly dystopian, certain elements have to be in place. One of these is that it is ‘built on the imperfections of the author’s world, created to be considerably worse’ (Ezzi, 2018). The intention of The Sponsor was to take current technological trends to their logical conclusion. In retrospect, the links to today’s society could have been emphasised more clearly, as I am attempting to do in True Britain .

I submitted two different openings of True Britain for peer review. The original began almost in media res, with a brief scene occurring before the army descended on Jake’s estate. Reviewers understood that this was a dystopia, but felt that the message and background were not clear (XXXX, 2019). My second attempt made Emily the character in focus, showing through her role as a teacher how the regime was indoctrinating the young. This provided more opportunity to demonstrate how and why Britain evolved from the present to a quasi-dictatorship. I conveyed information through a classroom debate on ‘favourite prime ministers’, but this extract was heavy in exposition, over-emphasising dialogue and giving the story a didactic, repetitive feel (XXXX, 2019b). Successful dystopias tend to introduce their circumstances through action. For example, in 1984 (Orwell, 1989) Orwell conveys the impoverished, oppressive nature of his society by following Winston Smith as he returns home. Orwell also inserts long extracts from another text which further explain the dystopia, but this seems a risky strategy as it stalls the action, and I have decided against using this technique in True Britain. Jake and Emily have more freedom to show their world through action than Smith.

One reviewer asked how True Britain would be ‘developed and distinguished from other fictions set in dystopian near futures’ (XXXX, 2019). One way I tried to achieve this was by blending genres. Once genre is understood, playing with it can ‘fuel reading enjoyment’ (Anderson, 2006, p162) and mixing genres has become more popular in publishing (Coles, 2019). True Britain is primarily a dystopia, but it includes elements of the action genre, and also weaves in brief historical passages written by a main character, Emily. Emily not only teaches history but identifies herself and others with its stories—an image of Elizabeth I in battle dress hangs by her desk, and she pictures other characters as Victorian waifs or Medieval scholars. Her historical fiction is included as a nested narrative, underscoring a central idea—that nothing is inevitable. In giving this importance to history, I drew inspiration from The Secret History (Tartt, 1993), a modern day detective story with characters immersed in the culture of the ancient past.

Soon after I had begun my project, I had the opportunity of comparing it with a near future scenario broadcast by the BBC, Years and Years (2019). This was useful in comparing techniques, for example in opening the story, but it also illustrated how different approaches could be applied to the same subject. True Britain was an opportunity to combine my interests in speculative fiction and history. While Years emphasises radical new technology and ideas such as transhumanism, the government of True Britain glamorises history, turning it into a crucial part of young people’s identities. As the Party slogan in 1984 goes: ‘who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’ (Orwell, 1989, p260). In True Britain technological progress has gone backwards, something so unusual in near future dystopias that it was questioned by a reviewer (XXXX, 2019). In part, this is because a characteristic of dystopias is a reduction in living standards (Utopia and Dystopia, 2019), but it also reflects a government strategy to limit the means of communication.

Elements of the action genre distinguish True Britain from traditional dystopias such as 1984, bringing it closer to recent young adult dystopias like The Hunger Games (Collins, 2009). This action-oriented fiction includes bold, active protagonists, training sequences and physical confrontation. While Emily is a more typical character in dystopia, timidly questioning, Jake embraces a world of escalating violence. He joins the resistance movement, undergoes training and embarks on missions—although he is no Jack Reacher, and the consequences are messy.

Jake is in fact an ordinary lad who has grown up obeying orders in Britain’s newly authoritarian climate. This is a story with a message, but it remains important to ensure that characters are complex and credible. They are not replicas of any in my previous dystopias. Although Jake is of the same age and under similar pressures to Deivos in Rebel Generation, he lacks Deivos’s nihilism, and is driven by the wish to save his family and community rather than to take revenge. Emily resembles Maddie in All Souls in that she opposes a new orthodoxy, but she does it on intellectual grounds, and also has a greater sense of self-preservation. It has been suggested that she could begin as right-wing herself, gradually awakening to injustice (XXXX, 2019b). However, I see her as somebody with strong ideas that, at first, she can only express cautiously. As Sokoloff explains, a protagonist should have conflicting internal and external motivations: this tension and the eventual triumph of the internal motivation will drive the plot (Sokoloff, 2015, p46). In Emily’s case, her external motivation is to stay safe; but her internal motivation drives her to defy the regime and its intellectual stranglehold.

One problem I have had in the past is writing strong lead characters. A protagonist cannot be passive, but must be capable of changing both themselves and the situation (Moon, 2013). When I created Jenny in Child of the Moors , I tried to explore a flawed personality, but Jenny’s faults did not give her agency; she caved to her domineering mother in a way that strained credibility (XXXX, 2019a). It has been suggested that there is a cultural reluctance to portray flawed female protagonists. Heroines are often simply ‘good’, without the capacity for selfishness seen in male anti-heroes (The New Yorker, 2013). Female protagonists are relatively rare in dystopias written for adults, and those that exist seem less capable of resistance; for example, Mae in The Circle (Eggers, 2014) never questions the oppressive nature of the corporation she works for (Petri, 2016). In my first piece, The Sponsor, I notice that although Summer is the main character, crucial decisions—to reject the sponsorship and then to flee—are made by her husband, Zach. In True Britain, however , Emily is as active and potentially unlikeable as Jake; she rescues Jake, then pushes him away; she is an atheist, but seeks refuge with evangelicals. Sokoloff argues that the most satisfying character arc results in a person becoming less selfish (Sokoloff, 2015, p106), and this is what happens to both Emily and Jake, with Emily sacrificing the precarious remnants of her security to save Jake a second time.

Protagonists require enemies who will try to thwart their goals. In dystopias, the antagonist is often the setting (Revis, 2010). Burroway argues that across all genres, ‘setting is often to some degree symbolic’ and ‘suggestive of a larger meaning’ (Burroway, 2011, p141). This is particularly true of a dystopia, where Jake and Emily’s environment—the ubiquitous flags, the jingoistic posters and the strained faces of it citizens—all contribute to an atmosphere of enforced patriotism. This focus on the setting as the enemy can lead to unimpressive human antagonists, mere cogs in the machine. For example, in Vox (Dalcher, 2018), the villain is annoying rather than terrifying. However, it is still important that the villain has his own motivations: ‘the best villain would be a hero—just not in this version of the story’ (Coe, 2016). In True Britain , both Emily and Jake have antagonists whose goals conflict with their own. Emily is faced by her fanatical pupil Alex, who immediately introduces conflict. In past work I have always tried to show the motivation of antagonists, but haven’t always succeeded; the self-righteous, wealthy characters in The Sponsor, for instance, ‘were more one sided, which made them seem less human’ (XXXX, 2017). In True Britain, Alex’s mixture of pride and rage must be psychologically real; his own voice will join the discourse of the story, reflecting David Lodge’s idea that in a novel, ‘no ideological or moral position is immune from challenge’ (Lodge, 2011, p129).

One area that needs improvement in my writing is a tendency to introduce too many characters. In Rebel Generation, the story followed three strands, each with multiple characters whose lives intersect. Reviewers felt that some characters failed to make an impression, with their voices merging (XXXX, 2018) and a lack of control in focus (XXXX, 2018). In True Britain I again met criticism for bringing in too many characters, which was confusing for the reader (XXXX, 2019). Robert Wood suggests that a story should have ‘as few characters as necessary,’ and that each should have a unique role and emotional outlook (Wood, 2016). When editing True Britain, I cut out those characters whose roles were not clearly needed while increasing the narrative presence of those whose role would be important later on. This latter group includes Jake’s girlfriend, whose pregnancy inspires his desperate attempts to return to his family, culminating in his second intrusion into Emily’s life.

During my development as a writer, I have increasingly used multiple narrators in order to cover conflicting perspectives. In True Britain, the tone of Jake and Emily’s stories contrast: one characterised by violent adventure, the other by careful negotiation. I am currently experimenting with different points of view for the narrative. One option is to have Emily narrate, retrospectively, in first person. This is necessary if the story is in past tense, as Jake doesn’t survive. Past tense, here, echoes the theme of history. The Secret History also uses first person and past tense; Mullan suggests that this ‘opens a gap’ between the past and present versions of the narrator, emphasised by occasional slips in tense as the narrator tries to make sense of their past actions (Mullan, 2006, p45). This is useful in Emily’s case; her personality and circumstances have undergone significant changes. However, it is unusual to have a combination of first and third person narrators: one example is found in the short stories of Jennifer Egan, but the effect there is not continuity but inferred connections (Masters, 2018). Jason Black suggests that this combination can be useful if one character should be kept close and the other ‘an enigma’ (Black, 2017), but there is no narrative reason for Jake to be a mystery. One of the novels I’m reading as part of background research is Anatomy of a Scandal (Vaughan, 2018) , which not only gives insights into the British political establishment, but also alternates between first and third person perspectives. Here, the effect is to create a feeling of closeness with a character whose actions unravel the mystery generated by the others. There is a very specific reason for this; she is also one of the characters narrated in third person. This treatment of point of view in Anatomy has been well received by critics, with one commenting that the ‘shifts in perspective add considerable suspense’ (Sethi, 2018). In True Britain , the justification for mixing narrative approaches would be different, and I am still trying various strategies. Given the theme of history, it seems fitting for Emily to act as a historian, not only of herself but of Jake and the entire country. Alternatively, I could revert to the more conventional style of alternating third person narrators, which Skinner argues is suited to plot-driven stories and has the advantage of creating ‘dramatic irony’ because the reader will know more than the characters (Skinner, 2018, p74). In this case, neither Jake nor Emily would be aware of how catastrophic their decisions might be, but the reader, with a wider vantage point, would see it.

A major criticism of my project has been that the characters are ‘buried because there is so much story to cover’ (XXXX, 2019). This related to the action scene filtered through Jake’s third-person perspective. Readers found themselves emotionally detached from Jake, and on rereading the piece I can see that the psychic distance is too remote, creating a rather cold effect. For example, when Jake sees a neighbour ‘lying motionless on his sloping lawn, one leg buckled and a dark smudge on his cheek’ (Daykin, 2019c), there is no indication of how Jake feels about this. There were too many ‘thought verbs’, which Palahniuk argues pushes the narrative towards telling rather than showing (Palahniuk, 2011). In an action sequence such as this, as Shultz suggests, ‘psychic distance should be drawn closer’ (Shultz, 2017). Details conveyed to the reader reflect the focal character’s personality and state of mind (Ellis, 2019). I will try to use the technique I experimented with in The Grey Runner, ‘zooming in’ to the protagonist, John, in a way that encompassed his internal monologue and stream of consciousness. For example, John hallucinates: ‘That’s odd, it reminds him of. Of something. Himself, as a child?’ (Daykin, 2019b).

In addition to studying fiction, I have also learned from the genres of creative nonfiction and script. Nonfiction requires research, with an emphasis on truth presented in a literary style, and this was a prerequisite for True Britain . The story has at times a documentary feel, with information conveyed by news footage and studio interviews as well as classroom debates. My factual research covers subjects ranging from English history (Jenkins, 2012) to the experience of teaching (Crossley-Holland, 2009). A misunderstanding of current political trends or a factual misstep by a character obsessed with history could alienate readers. This is the most extensive research I have carried out for a project, and it has also involved developing methods to catalogue the information.

A major influence has been script, which I’ve largely studied independently, taking particular inspiration from Alexandra Sokoloff, who describes how cinematic techniques can be applied to fiction (Sokoloff, 2015). Sokoloff draws on the template of the ‘hero’s journey’ (Bronzite, 2019). Using the film script structure of sequences and Acts, I mapped out the True Britain novel, gaining a better understanding of where the dramatic climaxes should be and what elements the reader will unconsciously expect to see in place at every stage. With this analysis, the EMA would represent most of the First Act, in which setting, allies, antagonists and goals are established, and the protagonists ‘step over the threshold’ into the big adventure of Act Two. Jake’s eviction by the authorities is the inciting incident; Emily’s offer to shelter him forms the Sequence One climax. Sequence Two involves growing tension, culminating with Jake, abandoned by Emily, joining a resistance group at the climax of Act One. Both protagonists have ‘crossed the threshold’. To give a parallel, 1984 is divided into three Acts; Act One ends after Winston encounters Julia in the street, marking the first step in their doomed relationship.

The question of how to open the novel has been difficult. After the first attempt was dismissed as too unsubtle, I had Emily introduce the situation from her perspective a year later, when, although this was not stated, she is living in America. However, this was felt to have ‘a distancing effect—closer to the viewpoint of a historian’ (XXXX, 2019). I watched the openings of a range of dystopian films, noting different ways of beginning: some used exposition (text or voiceover), while others employed the device of an interview, debate or speech, and the rest plunged straight into the action. News footage and rapid montages of sound and images were very common. My original approach was similar to that in Years and Years —a family watching television, oblivious to forewarnings of their own impending doom. I’m now considering an opening in which Emily drives into town to meet an old friend, a sequence made more sinister by the fact that the friend doesn’t show up. The first paragraph would resemble the establishing shot in a film, demonstrating the changed landscape and its fearful atmosphere without the need for exposition. As in Children of Men (2006) , billboards could be used to convey cultural information. Anthony Powell, an early adopter of cinematic techniques in novels, also opened with a panoramic image that communicated his themes (Radner, 2019).

Another aspect emphasised in script is ‘plants and pay-offs’, the cinematic equivalent of foreshadowing. Chekhov argued that ‘if there is a gun hanging on the wall, you should make quite sure that it is going to be used’ (Miyamoto, 2017). In past work, I’ve been less conscious of this, and overloaded scenes with unnecessary detail: for example in Child , a memorial cross ‘needed to be foregrounded to strengthen the connection to the child revelation’ (XXXX, 2019a) but was instead obscured by irrelevancies. Every detail must play its part, and although some of them support mood and setting, others have greater significance. For instance, when Emily drives into town in the opening scene, she is witnessing the subtle build up to a purge that will strike the area next day—rather akin to the first signs of disturbance in a psychological horror film.

In some ways True Britain mirrors The Sponsor, an earlier dystopian story with interlinking narrative strands. However, I hope it is a more mature work, informed by feedback from others and from my reading of other texts from the perspective of a writer. It reflects a greater awareness of the importance of genre conventions and how to use them creatively; the significance of detail, the need for active protagonists and strategies for controlling points of view. As well as studying the craft of fiction writing, I have been absorbing influences from other genres and have considered the techniques used in successful novels and films.

Word count: 3300 words

Bibliography

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XXXX. (2019) Workshop review of True Britain [Online] Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/workshop/assessment.php?asid=19512 (Accessed May 2019).

Bronzite, Dan (2019) The Hero’s Journey – Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth [Online] Movie Outline. Available at: http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html (Accessed July 2019).

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Children of Men . 2006. [Film]. Alfonso Cuarón. dir. Place of production: Strike Entertainment/Hit and Run Productions.

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Crossley-Holland, Oenone. (2009) Hands Up!, London: John Murray.

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Daykin, Ruth. (2019) Child of the Moors, extract from a novel, Open University

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XXXX (2018) Workshop review of All Souls [Online] Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/workshop/assessment.php?asid=13249 (Accessed May 2018)

XXXX. (2017) Forum review of The Sponsor https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=2440384#p17685649 (Accessed November 2017)

XXXX. (2019) Workshop review of True Britain [Online] Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/workshop/assessment.php?asid=19514 (Accessed May 2019)

Jenkins, Simon. (2012) A Short History of England, London: Profile Books.

Lodge, David. (2011[1992]) The Art of Fiction London: Vintage Books.

XXXX. (2019) Workshop review of True Britain [Online] Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/workshop/assessment.php?asid=19513 (Accessed May 2019)

Masters, Ben. (2018) 4.3 ‘Multiple points of view (continued)’ in Block 2 Fiction: Chapter 4: Experiments with characters [Online] The Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1317460&section=3 (Accessed December 2018)

Mullan, J. (2006) How Novels Work , Oxford, Oxford University Press.

XXXX.(2017) TMA01 Tutor Comments and Advice to Students (‘The Sponsor’)

XXXX.(2018) TMA02 Tutor Comments and Advice to Students (‘Rebel Generation’)

XXXX.(2019) TMA02 Tutor Comments and Advice to Students (‘Child of the Moors’)

XXXX.(2019) TMA05 Tutor Comments and Advice to Students (‘True Britain’)

Miyamoto, Ken. (2016) Best “Plant and Payoff” Scenes Screenwriters Can Learn From [Online] Screencraft. Available at: https://screencraft.org/2017/09/17/best-plant-and-payoff-scenes-for-screenwriters/ (Accessed July 2019)

Moon, Elizabeth. (2013) Weak Characters, Strong Characters [Online] Book Country. Available at: https://www.bookcountry.com/Community/Discussion/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=8589934864 (Accessed July 2019)

Neale, D. (2009) A Creative Writing Handbook: Developing Dramatic Technique, Individual Style and Voice , London, A. & C. Black/The Open University.

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O’Reilly, Sally. (2018) 19.5 ‘Genre and Predictability’ in Block 3 Fiction: Chapter 19: Genre [Online] The Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1112779&section=1.3 (Accessed February 2018)

Orwell, George. (1989 [1949]) 1984, London: Penguin Books

Palahniuk, Chuck. (2011) Nuts and Bolts: Thought Verbs. Available at

https://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolts-%E2%80%9Cthought%E2%80%9D-verbs (Accessed July 2019)

Petri, Sarah Michele. (2016) The Dystopian Protagonist [Online] Penn State. Available at : https://sites.psu.edu/petricircle/2016/10/13/the-dystopian-protagonist/ (Accessed July 2019)

Radner, Sanford (2019 [1964]) Anthony Powell: Film Techniques in the Art of the Novel [Online] JSTOR. Available at : https://www-jstor-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/stable/355950sid=primo&origin=crossref&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents (Accessed July 2019)

Revis, Beth. (2010) How to make your setting a character in your dystopian novel [Online] Gizmodo. Available at: https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-to-make-your-setting-a-character-in-your-dystopian-5552590 (Accessed July 2019).

Richardson, Heather. (2019) 9.1 ‘Introduction’ in Block 4 Fiction: Chapter 9: Exploring Genre [Online] The Open University. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1317551 (Accessed March 2019)

Sethi, Anita. (2018) Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan review – a political page-turner [Online] Guardian. Available at : https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/14/anatomy-of-a-scandal-sarah-vaughan-review (Accessed July 2019)

Shultz, David. (2017) Psychic Distance [Online] Available at: https://davidfshultz.com/2017/03/28/psychic-distance/ (Accessed July 2019).

Skinner, Richard. (2018) The Secret History, London: Faber & Faber.

Sokoloff, Alexandra. (2015) Screenwriting Tricks for Authors (and Screenwriters!): STEALING HOLLYWOOD: Story structure secrets for writing your BEST book: Volume 3 California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Tartt, Donna. (1993) The Secret History, London: Penguin Books.

The New Yorker (2013) Would You Want To Be Friends With Humbert Humbert?: A Forum on “Likeability” , The New Yorker, 16 May [Online]. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/would-you-want-to-be-friends-with-humbert-humbert-a-forum-on-likeability (Accessed May 2017).

Utopia and Dystopia (2019) Dystopian Elements and Characteristics – Basic Building Blocks of Dystopia [Online] Utopia and Dystopia http://www.utopiaanddystopia.com/dystopia/distopian-elements-and-characteristic (Accessed July 2019)

Vars, Jonathan. (2016) Six Important Elements of Dystopian Fiction [Online] Available at: http://www.novelpublicity.com/2016/12/six-important-elements-of-dystopian-fiction/ (Accessed July 2019).

Vaughan, Sarah. (2018) Anatomy of a Scandal, London: Simon & Schuster UK.

Wood, Robert (2016) How Many Characters Should A Novel Have? [Online] Standout Books. Available at: https://www.standoutbooks.com/how-many-characters-should-a-novel-have/ (Accessed July 2019)

Years and Years. (2019) BBC. 14 May – 18 June 2019

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3 thoughts on “ an example critical commentary ”.

Hi Ruth, In the final ‘year’ of my distance BA(Hons) in Creative Writing with the University for the Creative Arts (formerly Open College of the Arts), I had my final tutor annotated draft returned which comprised my Final Reflective Commentary and Creative Reading Commentary with so many blued-out boxes of comments and strikethroughs that my head span. My tutor had encouraged me, said work needed to be done, told me to still expect a ‘good mark’ for this final piece and said I’d been an exemplary, committed student. I’d heard words like this before when I was failing my English Lit A-Level and my teacher had suggested I drop it and concentrate on Art/Art History, which infuriated me. (I didn’t drop it; I went full Terminator on it and passed with a B instead of the predicted ‘F’). So with this Commentary I knew I could do something better but I didn’t know how. Research. Right? If in doubt, research until your eyes bleed. Even if it’s for technical competence and not anything fiction/craft/technique-related. So I Googled. For days, searching for a decent equivalent to the Commentary that I felt I could do so much better with. Enter yours. HALLELUJAH! Don’t worry, plagiarism doesn’t come into play here, I just needed to see how a good Commentary flowed, how it was constructed, how referencing text books as well as the books being studied needed to appear on the page; how much was primary, secondary reference materials, how to include internet references, and your piece shone such a bright light on where I was (I hasten to say ‘going wrong’, because it’s all a learning curve, right?) able to improve. I read and re-read and used different coloured highlighter pens to mark where and how many references you used and this – your EMA commentary – became my Bible. Once I’d re-written the whole thing (and I mean REWRITTEN so it was almost indistinguishable from the original although obviously the title/theme remained) I told my tutor and asked if she could have a quick look to see if it sounded/read/felt any better to the previous. She said she couldn’t (as you know) tutors can only read through so many times, and my times were up. I submitted it. I could’ve tidied the original one up, changed parts where my tutor had suggested, expanded on areas, deleted other rafts of areas and got a ‘good mark’, but I didn’t. I preferred this one (and I have very little self-confidence at the best of times) and as this was my final final FINAL, what did I have to lose? We had our results through last month and – and I mean this SINCERELY – thanks (in a whole big part) to YOU – I’m graduating with a First. Furthermore, this commentary which nobody had read or played a part in, is going to be printed in future coursework books for students as an exemplar in how to write a good commentary. I’m sorry this is so long and rambling, but I had to say thank you. For putting your work out there (into the void of webspace) and allowing this writer-student to find it, and to improve her technique. I’m keeping the pages I printed off with all the highlighted parts because I know that without this I’d have been disappointed in myself and my mediocre mark. Sharing is caring and I’m so glad you did that I wanted to share right back. Very warm wishes, Debs

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Hi Debs! Thanks for your amazing feedback. It’s great to know that this little blog has helped someone. Congratulations on your First, and on getting your commentary printed in coursework books – your work will be making a difference to others!

Good luck in the future. The thing now is to keep going. Keep writing, keep studying technique, keep looking for opportunities and sending off your work. That’s something I need to do myself – too many distractions this year! But it sounds like you’re a very dedicated person, and I’m sure we’ll see your name again. 🙂

Maybe we’ll bump into one another on the writers’ circuit (if there is such a thing!) I’ve just started a separate blog for the Masters http://www.masteringcreativewriting.wordpress.com – it’s not quite ‘there’ yet, so if you do vitis (and you’d be the first) please excuse the state of the place! Deborah x

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Examples of Reflective Writing

Types of reflective writing assignments.

A journal  requires you to write weekly entries throughout a semester. May require you to base your reflection on course content.

A learning diary is similar to a journal, but may require group participation. The diary then becomes a place for you to communicate in writing with other group members.

A logbook is often used in disciplines based on experimental work, such as science. You note down or 'log' what you have done. A log gives you an accurate record of a process and helps you reflect on past actions and make better decisions for future actions.

A reflective note is often used in law. A reflective note encourages you to think about your personal reaction to a legal issue raised in a course.

An essay diary  can take the form of an annotated bibliography (where you examine sources of evidence you might include in your essay) and a critique (where you reflect on your own writing and research processes).

a peer review  usually involves students showing their work to their peers for feedback.

A self-assessment task  requires you to comment on your own work.

Some examples of reflective writing

Social science fieldwork report (methods section).

Engineering Design Report

Learning Journal (weekly reflection)

Brookfield, S 1987, Developing critical thinkers: challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting , Open University Press, Milton Keynes.

Mezirow, J 1990, Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: a guide to transformative and emancipatory learning , Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

Schön, DA 1987, Educating the reflective practitioner , Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.

We thank the students who permitted us to feature examples of their writing.

Prepared by Academic Skills, UNSW. This guide may be distributed or adapted for educational purposes. Full and proper acknowledgement is required. 

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• How do I write reflectively?
• Examples of reflective writing
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The Practice of Creative Writing

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When it comes to writing, The Practice of Creative Writing has a simple message: you can do this, and it’s worthwhile to try. Designed for students in the introductory course, The Practice of Creative Writing teaches writers how to trust their own voice, experiment with form, and develop a writing process that allows them to spend more productive time at the desk.   Rather than locking into one genre early, writers are encouraged to work among and in between genres and to focus on creating a writing practice that privileges close observation, patience, and techniques of pattern, energy, and shape. Heather Sellers, who writes in multiple genres herself, has developed a lively, welcoming, student-centered approach that teaches creative concentration, close reading, and generating pages. She provides opportunities to be playful and to experiment at the same time that she teaches students the importance of discipline, form, and craft. Heather Sellers is a certified online instructor, and The Practice of Creative Writing is designed to be used in traditional face-to-face classrooms or in online education. Each chapter begins with objectives for that module. Prompts and writing practices are carefully sequenced. Every chapter ends with both genre-specific writing projects alongside hybrid and experimental prompts. The readings included in this new edition invite students to experience an even wider range of innovative and new literatures.  A new chapter on creative ways to approach revision as a shaping practice engaged throughout the writing process helps students work harder on their writing.

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"The Practice of Creative Writing stands out as an inspiring, engaging, and useful text for beginning creative writers. Heather Sellers manages to introduce core concepts and literary techniques with an emphasis on practice that is integral to building a multi-genre course without being overly prescriptive. Instructors can choose from a variety of contemporary literature selections and provide students with the models, writing prompts, and exercises that help them grow as creative writers." — Kathleen McCoy, Adirondack CC, Queensbury "The Practice of Creative Writing by Heather Sellers is the most useful creative writing textbook on the market. It addresses student writers in an amiable, colloquial way and makes complex ideas about writing craft simple and approachable. The book is an enthusiastic invitation to students to engage the exciting, infinite possibilities of the art of creative writing." — Scott Ward, Eckerd College "This text helps students think outside the boxes of genre to instead focus on the building blocks of creativity and the nuances of form and technique. By teaching writers to analyze literature as a careful balance of image, tension, energy, pattern, and insight, they can in turn understand how to employ the same elements in their own work in order to engage and move their readers." — Dr. Courtney Huse Wika, Black Hills State University "Sellers text is very student friendly. It successfully helps the beginning creative writer into the writing field by making solid comparisons to other art fields they may be familiar with and utilize. It talks about writing in practical terms while not dazzling readers with literary terms for the sake of labelling." — Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria College, Buffalo "This is my go-to text in intro to CW. Ive adopted it; Ive recommended it. Its a perfect balance of wit, humility, and intellect. Behind the words, you sense a real person--a writer--not a corporate shadow. Heather Sellers walks readers through the intricacies of creative writing with a lovely balance of humor and rigor." — Jeffrey Newberry, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College "I really think this is an incredibly adroit text in that the writer writes with her audience well in mind. This responsiveness spans many aspects of the book, its structure, its content, its voice and style, even down to paragraph structure. There are many repetitions in the chapter sections and this great; when students don’t know how to read for main ideas, the repetitions aid in reinforcing their learning. The volume begins with students’ reading a graphic comic, something with which they are familiar, and then moves to approaching literary texts, something with which they are less familiar. It draws many analogies using music, again, something that students both know and care about. On these rhetorical levels, this is probably the best introduction to creative writing I’ve even read and used, and I’ve been teaching creative writing for 26 years." — Scott Ward, Eckerd College "The literary selections are outstanding, representing a multicultural array of authors with contemporary relevance, high interest, and a mix of well-known and lesser known writers." — Kathleen McCoy, Adirondack CC, Queensbury "I generally dont use or like textbooks, but this textbook caught my eye. This is largely because the author approaches creative writing like a practicing artist might, coaching students towards their best and deepest selves, offering surprising insights and exercises, building their close-reading muscles, encouraging honest and specific images and sentences. I love this about the book, and this is what distinguishes it for me." — Maria Brandt, Monroe CC "The Practice of Creative Writing stands out from other creative writing textbooks because it focuses on critical craft principles - such as the use of sensory detail, writing to communicate tension and insight, and revision practices - over a rigid focus on form or progressing through forms. It allows the instructor the freedom to pair the textbook with as few or as many forms as they want to assign in their creative writing classes." — Martha Webber, Cal State Fullerton "This is a creative writing textbook written by an accomplished and articulate WRITER, who understands the writing process and uses a teachable, effective approach for introducing students to writing in multiple genres." — Patricia Francisco, Hamline University, St. Paul "Heather has selected an awesome collection of creative works that exemplify a variety of forms. A number of these shorter/quicker forms (e.g., flash fiction), are great for getting novice creative writers acclimated to the depth and temperature of the water." — Bill Gary, Kentucky Community & Technical College System "This book takes a "personal trainer" approach to the practice of writing. It is a gentle, encouraging voice in the writers ear." — Robert Cowser, St. Lawrence University

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Table of Contents

Heather Sellers is professor of English in the graduate and undergraduate writing programs at the University of South Florida, where she was honored with a university-wide teaching award. She offers courses for creative writers in hybrid and experimental writing, fiction, memoir, essays, and poetry as well as a course for teachers of creative writing. Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, she earned her PhD in English/Creative Writing at Florida State University. She has taught at New York University, the University of Texas–San Antonio, St. Lawrence University, and for almost two decades, Hope College, where she was elected Professor of the Year. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Fiction and a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers award for her short story collection Georgia Under Water, she has published widely in a variety of genres. Her work appears in the New York Times; The Pushcart Prize anthology; The Best American Essays; O, the Oprah Magazine; Good Housekeeping; Reader’s Digest; Parade; Real Simple; On the Seawall; Adroit; Longreads; Creative Nonfiction; and frequently in The Sun Magazine. Her memoir You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness, and Forgiveness was a Michigan Notable Book of the Year and Editor’s Choice at The New York Times Book Review. Other publications include Drinking Girls and Their Dresses: Poems; and Spike and Cubby’s Ice Cream Island Adventure, a children’s book. She lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Her website is heathersellers.com .

Fourth Edition | 2021

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Chapter 9: Shape

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Heather Sellers on why she wrote The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students

Heather Sellers, An Online Course Is Like a Poem

Heather Sellers, Nonjudgmental Workshops

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Kritische Stimmen zur Relativitätstheorie

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Critical Reflection on the Hafele and Keating Experiment

von Witold Nawrot

Critical Reflection on the Hafele and Keating Experiment Witold Nawrot

Hungarian Academy of Science

In 1971 Hafele and Keating performed their famous experiment which confirmed the time dilation predicted by SRT by use of macroscopic clocks. As it has been shown [1], the experiment was based on false reasoning, and the experimental part leaves a lot to be desired as well, because an experimental mistake of the method is much bigger than the authors predicted  [2] and the method of interpretation of the experimental results allows for obtaining various results depending on the criteria used for the interpretation [3]. I proved the error in Hafele and Keating’s reasoning in my paper published in  Physics Essays Vol 17 No. 4, where, on the basis of the Hafele and Keating experiment, I derived the conclusion that the Earth is not rotating around the Sun.

The essence of the mistake made by Hafele and Keating is that in their experiment, the description of non-inertial rotational motion of the Earth and the planes flying around the Earth was made on the basis of Special Relativity Theory which is valid only for inertial motions. This required making assumptions inconsistent with the idea of SRT. If we follow the reasoning of Hafele and Keating, it is possible to derive a number of paradoxical conclusions such as the absence of rotational motion of the Earth around the Sun or rotational motion of galaxies etc.

The proper derivation of the formula for the time dilation for the problem described by Hafele and Keating is only possible by using the GRT theory and the approximate solution obtained according to GRT (for very low velocities) is identical as the solution obtained by Hafele and Keating. The solution obtained on the basis of GRT, however, does not allow for deriving such paradoxical conclusions as were possible for the derivation on the basis of SRT.

The experimental part was performed with the help of atomic clocks, the operation of which is nonuniform [2]. The interpretation of the experimental results was based on predicting the indications of the clocks on the basis of the observation of the indications of clocks during 24 hours preceding the flight, and then comparing these predicted results with the actual ones when the flight was over [3]. Because of no uniformity of the clocks’ operation, such predicting does not give reliable results and the predicted results will differ depending on the time taken for observing the indications of the clocks before the flight around the Earth. It can be seen when analyzing the non-published raw experimental data [3].

The derivation of formulae in the Hafele and Keating experiment had intuitive character and, as the final formula shows, the intuition does not disappoint the authors. However, this intuitive derivation only works for the rotational motion of the Earth around its axis. It is not valid for any other rotational motions.

Of course the time dilation effect, which Hafele and Keating tried to measure many years ago, is now applied in the GPS navigation, but the fact of publishing and accepting the erroneous theory and the unsatisfactory experimental part in the most renowned physical journals [4,5] forces us to reflect on the understanding of the Relativity Theory and perhaps to take a closer look at other experiments from the RT area, as well as from the other branches of physics.

The experiment performed in the way described above has no scientific value and the derivation of any additional ideas on the basis of this experiment can lead to false conclusions.

References:

• W. Nawrot,  Phys. Essays 17 , 518 (2004)
• A.G. Kelly, Phys. Essays 13 , 616 (2000)
• D. E. Spencer,  U. Shama Proc. International Scientific Congress „Fundamental Problems of Natural Science and Engineering”  Saint-Petersburg, Russia 2002
• J.C. Hafele, Nature 227 , 270 (1970)
• J.C. Hafele and  R.E. Keating, Science 177 , 166 (1972)

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Siehe auch vom Autor in diesem Blog:

Proof that Earth Does Not Revolve around the Sun: and Consequences for Special Relativity Theory

• 30. Juni 2013

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