Lecture # 11

Reflective Writing
Lecturer: J. Lawrence
 Focus statement
Now that you are almost at
the end of your FOUN1014
journey, you should focus on,
and do a retrospective account
of what you learned from your
lived experiences in the
course.
 Objectives

Learn what is reflective writing.

Understand the benefits of
reflection.
Understand the process for writing
the reflective essay using the DIEP
model of reflection.
 Think about the following assertion:

“It is not sufficient to have an

experience in order to learn. Without
reflecting on this experience, it may
quickly be forgotten, or its learning
potential lost” (Gibbs, 1988, p. 9).

What are your thoughts?

 Reflective Writing

In reflective writing, you

recount/ focus on personal
experience. The content might
show how the experience
inspired personal growth or
how it changed you as a
person.
 The Reflective Essay…
… allows students to reflect on and share
learning experiences.
… functions as an avenue for you to apply
what you learned while you pursued
FOUN1014
… is an assignment which
requires you to own your
learning.
o Minimal tutor involvement.
Characteristics of Reflective Writing

Personal – based on the writer’s personal

experience.
Experiential – writer focuses on a specific
occasion/experience in order to explore its
possible meanings.
o the occasion/experience acts as the stimulus (a
springboard) for thinking about its impact.
Exploratory – provides an opportunity to
explore ideas informally and tentatively.
Observation about planning the
reflective essay:

Challenging because reflection

is a process of discovery
(Axelrod et al., 2009).
 Benefits of Reflection
Helps students to:
assess their learning.
identify areas for improvement.
make connections between different
areas/aspects of a subject.
make connections between the subject
area and other areas of their lives.
To generate ideas, focus on …

Questions
Use the same questions to generate
ideas for…
You are required to use the DIEP model

DIEP* is a strategy to help with

writing a critical or academic
reflection.
The four steps in this approach are to
o describe an insight/lesson (new
understanding),
o interpret and evaluate it, and
o plan how it might transfer to future
practice or learning.
 D
 Describe objectively what you have learned.
 Suggested starting phrases:

 The most interesting (surprising/ important/ significant/ ...)

(insight/ theory/ thing ...) I read
 One thing I realise (understand ...) now is that ...
 A significant issue I have not addressed in my previous
writing is ...
Continue the paragraph with details of what, where, when, etc.
 I
 Interpret the insight
 Suggested starting phrases:

 This realisation may have important relevance for

three reasons. First, it implies ...
 A possible implication/meaning of this new
idea/understanding is that ...
 This (new) understanding of ... is likely to mean
three things. It could be ...
 E
 Evaluate what you have learned
 Suggested starting phrases:

 This concept of ... is valuable for .../ will change

the way I approach ...
 This understanding is important in a number of
ways. First it ...
 Having realised that ... I intend to develop ...
 P
 P– Plan how this learning will be applied in practice
 Comment on relevance to your course, program,
future profession
 Suggested starting phrase:

 This (new insight) will be useful in…, in the

(bachelors) degree, in my future career as a ...,
and in my life.
 Organizing the Reflective Essay
INTRODUCTION
Engage the reader’s interest (anecdote,
surprising discovery, metaphor, etc.). Use a
grabber that reflects the experiences you will
write about.
Provide vivid details and narrative to situate the
particular occasion that prompted the reflection.
Think about the significance of the experiences
to you and your development as a
student/writer/professional.
Write your clear and focused thesis statement.
 Organizing the Reflective Essay (cont’d)

BODY PARAGRAPHS
Write strong and clear topic sentences which
link to your thesis
Use appropriate examples to illustrate and
explain
Use carefully planned transitions, including
time markers.
Repeat key words/phrases related to your
topic to create topic coherence.
 Organizing the Reflective Essay (cont’d)

CONCLUSION
Return to the original occasion/experience
Write a succinct summary of the
experiences/events you focused on in your
essay.
Reiterate lessons learned through critical
engagement and how these will be applied
going forward.
Leave a vivid impression that your reader will
not forget.
 Use of Language

 Language used in a reflective essay should

primarily be in first person-I, my, me because you
are writing about your experiences
 Use past tense when you look back at your
experience.
 Use the active voice - I had a rich team
experience.
Not - The team experience was rich.
N.B. Do not use “you”
Use of Language (cont’d)
Use concrete language to describe the
experience.
 Concrete language refers to anything that you
can literally see, hear, smell, taste or touch.
Concrete language is descriptive so it brings
life to your writing and can draw a reader into
an essay (Jefferys, 2018).
 Examples of concrete language include
“engaging introduction”, “strong team spirit”,
“interpretive reading”, “critical writing”…
 As you write…Reflect! Reflect!
Reflect!

What are the implications of your experiences?

How have the experiences changed your
attitude towards the course and your holistic
development?
How have the experiences changed the
manner in which you read, think and write?
What might you do differently?
 After writing …

 Revise
 Proofread
 Edit

N.B. Review relevant notes from Lecture

#9
 Sample Reflective Essay
Topic
In an essay of 700-750 words
reflect on TWO insights you have
gained about critical reading
and writing by working on your
collaborative SRP.
The FOUN1014 Reflective Essay: Content

 750 words maximum

The sample reflective essay question will require you to:
 Generate SPECIFIC content
- Reflect on your authentic experiences while
completing your collaborative SRP in FOUN1014
- Make projections about the future based on the
authentic experiences you had while completing your
SRP FOUN1014
Think about:
 Lessons you learned while completing the SRP
 What impact these lessons will have on your future?
Preparation (cont’d – using sample essay question)

Review
- course outline
- lecture notes, paying attention
to topics and different activities
you did for the completion of
the collaborative SRP
Preparation (cont’d – using sample essay question)
Revise
the writing of thesis statements

 integrating sources using the APA

documentation style (if you cite
information from sources)

 (If you decide to cite information from

sources, remember that the reference(s)
should begin on a new page)
 Instructions for Reflective Essay
for Semester 2, 2022/2023

The question for the reflective essay will be

posted on OurVLE by the beginning of Week
12 – April 3, 2023 - (see Assignments &
Rubrics folder).
The specific question will be discussed in
class next week.
The FOUN1014 Reflective Essay:
Format
You will adhere to the following guidelines:
 Give your essay a title
Times New Roman
Font size # 12
Doubled space
Indented paragraphs
Use APA 7th ed. to document sources (if
used)
Do NOT use sub-headings.
 Submission

Submit the essay to Turnitin (check

similarity).

 Submit hard copy of Final draft

– Monday, April 17, 2023 by 10:00 am
 Reflective Writing
[Link]
 Final thought

If you follow the basic essay writing

principles that you learned in your
pursuit of FOUN1014, you should be
able to write a good reflective essay.
 Persevere to the end!

 [Link]
 The End!
On behalf of the FOUN1014 team
of facilitators, I wish you great
success in the writing of your
reflective essays, all of your end of
semester examinations and your
future endeavours.
 Works consulted
Axelrod, R.B., Cooper, C. R. & Warriner, A. M. (2009). Reading
critically writing well. Bedford/St. Martin.
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and
learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic:
Oxford.
How to write a reflective essay (n. d.). [Link]
[Link]/how-to-write-a-reflective-essay
Jefferys, A. (2018). Language to use for writing a reflective essay
[Link] reflective-essay-
[Link]
RMIT University (2015). Writing an academic reflection. [Link]
[Link]/studyandlearningcentre