Reflective writing

Reflective writing

Reflective writing is a bit different from the academic writing style you have learned about in previous zones. However, it’s an important element of some courses.

In fact, you've been doing this already. You have been reflecting and evaluating throughout this course when doing the reflection exercises we’ve asked you to do.

Which courses require reflective writing?

Often courses with practical elements such as medicine, nursing, social work, physiotherapy or business studies require reflective writing. It's helpful to write up your reflections, just as you have throughout this course, even if it's not required or assessed.

What's different about reflective writing?

You are usually asked to write in the first person and draw on your own experience: "I did this, I learned that", but otherwise you should apply the same academic standards used in other types of academic writing, which includes providing evidence of your research.

Reflective writing and you

Even where your course does not require reflective writing, it's a good idea to make it part of your learning. Keeping a journal and answering questions like "What did I learn from this?" and "What do I need to look out for next time?" help to make lessons learned more memorable. The lessons may be quite practical, such as "How long did it actually take me to research and write a 2,000-word assignment and how will this affect how I plan my next assignment?" It all helps.