Reflective Writing

COMPREHENSIVE AND SINGLE REFLECTIVE WRITING

STRATEGIES

What is Reflective Writing

Reflective writing is the basis for self-reflection, well beyond the confines of
an introductory writing class
Forces you to consider how you performed/felt/understood THEN, versus
where you stand currently
Evaluating and marking this progress requires deep engagement and
consideration. Cannot be done superficially
2 main types of reflective writing:
Comprehensive Reflection
Single Reflection

You will be engaging in both for your final Reflective Essay (mostly single, a
little comprehensive)

Reflective Writing
COMPREHENSIVE REFLECTION

Demonstrates what you have learned from your writing over the course of the
term, in order to apply that learning to future writing situations.
Looks at the ENTIRE breadth of work, from initial assignment to final exploratory
essay
Presentation is typically more formal (however, for this assignment stringent
formality is not necessary)

SINGULAR REFLECTION

Focuses on a particular, individual assignment

Analyzes a specific work in order to better understand the
assignment and your effort, as well as to allow for critical analysis
and revision
Formulate your ideas primarily for yourself, and/or a friendly,
nonjudgmental audience.

Understanding Reflective
Writing
Reflective writing:
Describes
Explains
Interprets
Evaluates

Any kind of past

Performance
Action
Belief
Feeling
Experience

Reflection involves turning or looking back, to reconsider something thought or

done in the past FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PRESENT

Reflective Writing
Involves dialectical thinking
Juxtaposing different, opposing views in order to gain
critical insight into a complicated topic
Re-examining your writing from a new perspective
yields new insights and an enriched, more complicated
understanding of your ideas and your writing choices

Writing Activity!
Think of a past experience from no earlier than 5 years ago that was in some way
significant (and different from your Problematizing a Significant Event event).
Can be anything worth reflecting on: getting fired/promoted at a job, winning/losing a
major sporting game, performing in a musical/music recital, moving to a new school,
encountering a favorite hobby or skill for the first time, etc.
Ask yourself this question: How do I see the experience differently now from how I saw it
then.
Reflect and write your thoughts down for ten minutes. What did you do well? What wasnt
working? What could you have done better in that situation? How is that situation
more/less significant upon critical reflection? What new insights can you gain from
problematizing your recollection of the event?
Finally, take 2 minutes and write down your response to the following: How did the process
of looking back give you a new perspective on your experience? How might reflective
writing help you bring about changes and improvements in future performances?

Importance of Reflective Writing

Significant evidence points to reflective writing substantially enhancing both
your overall learning and current/future performance.
NOT JUST IN ENGLISH CLASS.
Helps you gain the insights needed to apply current knowledge to new
situations.
Example: one student recently reported that the most important thing she
had learned in her first-year writing course was that research could be used
in the service of her own argument. In high school, she had thought of
research as merely assembling and reporting information she had found in
various sources. Now she realized that writers must make their own
arguments, and she saw how research could help her do so.
Metacognition: the ability to monitor consciously ones intellectual
processes or, in other words, to be aware of how one does intellectual
work.

Guidelines for Final Reflective

Essay
Reflective essay will be due at the start of our scheduled final period in our
normal class room next week. You must be present at the final, with the
essay in hand to receive credit.
Essays will be presented/shared and will constitute your final for this class.
Go through a full revision process for both Major Paper 2 (Problematizing a
Significant Event) and Major Paper 3 (Summary/Strong Respose)
Respond with a critical reflection after the revision process using both
singular reflection techniques (about a paragraph for each revised paper) and
comprehensive reflection techniques (about 2 paragraphs reflecting on your
journey through the semester)
Refer to this powerpoint and chapter 25 to assist in writing the reflective
analysis.

Writing a Single Reflection

Dont generalize; be SPECIFIC
Dont just give a blow-by-blow account
First I took notes, then I wrote an outline, then I talked to my roomate

Dont limit yourself to superficial generalities

When I first wrote my paper it wasnt very good, but now, having reflected, I think
I could do better.

Dont try to write about EVERYTHING. Think about effective summaries: pick
3-4 main, important aspects, and then investigate those specific elements
critically.
Goal is depth...not broad survey.

Single Reflection: Process

Questions
What specific writing strategies did I use to complete this work? (Summary,
critical analysis, research, revision, editing, rhetorical devices, etc.)
Which strategies were least/most productive?
Did this writing project require new strategies, or did I rely on past strategies?
What was the biggest problem I faced in writing this piece, and how
successful was I in solving that problem?
What has been my major content-level revision so far?
What did I learn about myself as a writer or about writing in general by
writing this paper?
What feedback notes from the professor were most/least helpful? Which ones
do I agree/disagree with, and why?

Single Reflection: Subject-related

Questions
How did the subject of my writing cause me to wallow in complexity?
What tensions did I encounter between my ideas/experiences and those of
others? Between the competing ideas about the subject in my own mind?
Did I change my mind or come to see something differently as a result of
writing this work?
What passages show my independent thinking about the subject? My
unresolved problems or mixed feelings about it?
What were the major content problems, and how successful was I in resolving
them?
What did writing about this subject teach me?

Single Reflection: Rhetoricrelated Questions

How did the audience I imagined influence me in writing this paper?
How did my awareness of genre influence my choices about subject matter
and the rhetorical features?
What do I want readers to take away from reading my work?
What rhetorical strategies please me most (my use of evidence, my
examples, my delayed thesis, etc.)? What effect do I hope these strategies
have on my audience?
How would I describe my voice in this work? Is this voice appropriate? Similar
to my everyday voice or to the voices I have used in other kinds of writing?
Did I take any risks in writing this?
What do readers expect from this genre, and did I fulfill those expectations?

Single Reflection: SelfAssessment Questions

What are the most significant strengths and weaknesses in this writing?
Will others also see these as important strengths or weaknesses? Why or why
not?
What specific plans do I have for revision?

Guidelines for Final Reflective

Essay
Reflective essay will be due at the start of our scheduled final period in our
normal class room next week. You must be present at the final, with the
essay in hand to receive credit.
Essays will be presented/shared and will constitute your final for this class.
Go through a full revision process for both Major Paper 2 (Problematizing a
Significant Event) and Major Paper 3 (Summary/Strong Respose)
Respond with a critical reflection after the revision process using both
singular reflection techniques (about a paragraph for each revised paper) and
comprehensive reflection techniques (about 2 paragraphs reflecting on your
journey through the semester)
Refer to this powerpoint and chapter 25 to assist in writing the reflective
analysis.