Information Services 31 October 2011 - 1 - CRICOS No. 00233E

Reflective W

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Reflective Writing

Reflective writing in an assignment means you are making a link between your experience and the course content and therefore clarifying the relationship between theory and practice. It allows you to become aware of your own values and belief system and any assumptions you hold to support those.

Generally reflective thinking and writing is part of a larger process of reflective learning which means you become aware of:

how you learn,

how you might apply concepts to practice,

what you do well and,

what you need to improve upon.

When learning new information we try to fit it in with what we already know. At first, we may find this new information very unfamiliar or it may change our ways of thinking about something. This new information may be applied or tested in a work or assessment experience.

For example

You may be asked to make connections between your experiences, feelings, and reactions to new information such as a reading, course concepts, a procedure, a process or group work. You may need to apply a particular procedure, or observe an interaction with a patient or client in a clinical setting. In this situation or event, you may be asked to keep a reflective journal or blog recording your observations and reactions to:

what you have seen,

how you feel about what you have seen,

alternative ways in which a practitioner might deal with the situation or,

what you might do if faced with the situation at a future date.

Reflective thinking and writing is then used to test the concept and to think about how larger theoretical understanding fits with your experience or assumptions as you work through the various stages of an assessment.

Whatever the structure of your reflective writing is, it is important to examine closely your assessment criteria and course profile to see what your lecturer, convenor and tutors expect.

If you have been given little structure, there are a few suggestions and questions below to get you started. Reflective writing usually incorporates three distinct sections or parts:

Describe the event or experience and closely observe the facts

What happened? When did it happen? How did it happen?

Interpret what this event or experience means to you

What were your feelings at the time? Do you have any new insights? Can you make a connection with other things you know or concepts in the course? What were the (or your) strengths and weaknesses of the concept, process, event or procedure? What is the connection between the scholarly literature and this event or experience?

Preparing for Exams Preparing for Exams

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Evaluate the event or experience

Did it change your thinking or shift your values, assumptions, or opinions about the event? What else could you have done in the situation or event? Are there any actions that could have helped or hindered the situation? How will you use this information in the future? What is the connection between the scholarly literature and this event or experience?

Other Suggestions

Try to keep track of your thoughts and observations in note form as close to the event or experience so that you remember your reactions and observations more accurately.

Try to be as honest as possible in describing and explaining your responses.

Generally use first person perspective in your writing as in ‘I felt’, ‘our group experienced’, ‘this was very difficult for me’, ‘and we were concerned’ etc. However, when you are linking theory to your reflection or providing theoretical justification for your analysis and interpretation, use third person perspective such as ‘As Moon (2006) explains, reflective thinking adds a further dimension to your learning experience.’

Further Reading

Moon, J. (2006). Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development (2nd.). London and New York: Routledge.

External Links

‘Reflective Writing’, University of New South Wales http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/reflect.html

‘Reflective writing: a basic introduction’, University of Portsmouth http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/studentsupport/ask/resources/handouts/WrittenAssignments/filetodownload,73259,en.pdf

‘Reflective writing’, Southern Cross University http://www.scu.edu.au/assignment-navigator/index.php/7

‘Reflective writing in Medicine’, Monash University http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/medicine/reflective/index.xm/

‘Reflective writing in Education’, Monash University http://www.monash.edu.au//lls/llonline/education/relfective-writing/index.xml

‘Keeping a Reflective Journal’, University of Technology Sydney http://www.clt.uts.edu.au/Scholarship/Reflective.journal.htm

‘Reflective journals’, RMIT www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_AssessmentTasks/assess_pdf/Reflective%20journal.pdf

Additional learning tools / Sources of information

See www.griffith.edu.au/library/workshops-training/self-help-resources for further resources to complement this information sheet.