reflective writing book pdf

Reflective practice - tips and resources

Introduction.

• Everyday reflection
• Models of reflection
• Barriers to reflection
• Free writing
• Reflective writing exercise
• Further reading

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...

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

Created by SkillsTeamHullUni

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:

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:

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 California State University Channel Islands , Monash University ,  UNSW 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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• Last Updated: Mar 14, 2022 11:56 AM
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4+ Reflective Writing Examples & Samples in PDF | DOC

Nurse Reflective Writing

Personal Reflective Writing

Academic Reflective Writing Example

What Is Reflective Writing?

As Wikipedia defines it, a reflective writing “is an analytical practice in which the writer describes a real or imaginary scene, event, interaction, passing thought, memory, form, adding a personal statement reflection on the meaning of the item or incident, thought, feeling, emotion, or situation in his or her life.”

How to Analyze Reflective Writing

Reflective essay writing outline.

Journal Reflective Writing

Importance of Reflective Writing

Tips for reflective writing.

• Start with self-awareness. The more you become aware of your existence, the more likely you would appreciate the things around you. As a result, you can start reflecting on something and dig deeper into its core.
• Focus on something. Before you can understand the meaning of something, you need to have focus. It is important that you find the right disposition in order for you to situate yourself in a stance appropriate for reflection.

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FREE 6+ Reflective Writing Samples & Templates in PDF

You may be familiar with a lot of ways of writing, but have you ever encountered reflective writing? If you have not heard of it yet, we are here to give you a quick and helpful guide on how you can come up with a reflective essay in an easy manner. You may also like sample letter writings .

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• Technical Writing Samples
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If you ever find yourself needing a couple of reflective essays, we’ve got you covered! We are also going to give you a couple of sample reflective essays  that can help to get a head start when it comes to writing a reflective essay. The samples we have are of high quality to ensure that for whatever the reason is that you are writing your essay, it will end up being well written and being organized. Are you ready to find out more? Just make sure to keep reading this article. You may also see  Free Writing Samples.

Sample of Reflective Writing

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Sample Descriptive Reflection

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Reflective Writing Sample Guide

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What is Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing is a type of writing wherein the writer writes an essay based on his/her own opinions. Basically, a reflective essay is a result of a person’s reflective thinking. More often than not, it will include

• The need to look back or reminisce an event, idea, or object;
• The need to analyze an event or idea; and
• The need to think about the value or what the subject of reflective writing means to you.

When it comes to reflective writing, it is basically a lot like rewinding past events and revisiting previous happenings in your life and thinking about how such events have affected and have made an impact in your life. You can also share what could have happened should things have been done differently and what came out of the event. With all of these being said, we can say that reflective writing is a more personal type of writing compared to other types of essay writing . You may also see the  White Paper Templates .

To effectively express your ideas in your reflective essay, there are a couple of things that you need to put into consideration. Such things can be as follows: You may also see the  Biography Writing Samples

• The reason why you are writing your essay.
• Will others be reading what you are sharing?
• How do you feel about writing the essay?
• How are you feeling while you are writing expressing your thoughts?
• How capable are you to write an essay in a reflective manner?

Reflecting on something is a mental process, which means that you need to take your time when you start contemplating or when you start considering what you want to share. The thoughts and opinions that come your way while you are reflecting are what we call as reflection. You may also see  Business Writing Samples .

The Process of Reflecting

There are three areas when it comes to reflecting:

• Technical – The technical aspect of reflecting refers to which processes have worked and which ones did not work. It can also refer to the methodologies that you have done in order to solve problems and what theories have been applied. You may also see  Memo Writing Samples .
• Group  – This refers to the group dynamics and how everybody has done their job. Did everyone perform the task assigned to them? Could anyone have done something better? What group techniques were used and why did other techniques not work?
• Individual –  This refers to what you have learned, how did you learn it, how did you feel, and what you could have done better to make the results better. You may also like  Business Report Writing Samples

Reflective Writing Structure

Reflective article writing , since it is a more personal way of expressing ideas and opinions, can be written in a way that is “free” and unstructured. However, unstructured essays written in a reflective manner are applicable only if you are writing the essay for yourself such as in your journal or diary. For essays that you would need to submit such as ones for a class requirement, there is a simple structure that you would need to follow to make your reflective essay look more professional and more organized. To make your reflective essay look like it has been carefully structured, check out our tips.

• Description.  The description of your essay would talk about what has happened and what is being examined. This part of your essay does not need to belong. Keeping it brief and straight to the point is highly preferred as you will be able to immediately relay the message that you want the reader to know.
• Interpretation.  The interpretation part of your essay will be the main meat of your write-up. This is where you will let your readers know the relevance of the subject of your essay, how you will be able to explain our essay (i.e., evidence, theories, examples, etc.), and how similar it is to other subjects.You may also see the  Biography Writing Samples
• Results.  This is where you will discuss the outcome of the situation. You will also discuss in this section what you have learned from the outcome and what is the implication of the results for your future. You can also discuss or give suggestions in this section what you could have done better or what could have been changed to achieve a better result. You may also see the  Article Writing Samples

What has been discussed is just the basic structure that would be required should you want to write in a more organized manner. However, you may be required by your professor to have some add-ons that can help add more value to your essay. We would like to share with you a couple of key points that you need to remember in order that will do just that. You may also see  Memo Writing Samples

• Reflective writing is not just about describing. It is more of an adventure as you would need to explore and explain the subject of your write-up.
• You need to be genuine when it comes to writing your reflective essay. This means that aside from revealing strengths, you would also need to reveal a couple of weaknesses. This way, you will be able to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses together. Just make sure that you show a good understanding of what has happened.
• Discuss the most important parts. This will make your essay more straightforward and it will also help you be more focused on the subject at hand.
• Do not forget to also discuss anything that may be helpful for future reference. This is because reflecting for the future is just as good as reflecting on the past. You may also see the  Printable Writing Paper Templates .

Want more tips on how you can make your essay be more organized? You may want to check out Essay Outline Samples .

Reflective Writing Sample in PDF

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Reflective Writing Format

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Reflective Essay Sample Paper Format

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Learning Journal Reflective Writing

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We hope that you learned a lot from reading our article about reflective writing. Do not hesitate to click on the DOWNLOAD button that you will find next to the samples that we have uploaded in order for you to get a hold of the samples. You may also see the  Script Writing Samples .

If you need tips and guidelines on how you can write essays in a more technical manner, you may want to check out  Technical Writing Samples and Templates .

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