Reflective writing involves examining a personal experience and analyzing what was learned from it in order to improve future performance. It combines both theory and evidence to back up reflections on strengths and weaknesses. The purpose is to promote deep learning by making connections between experiences and concepts, and to identify lessons that can be applied differently going forward. Reflective writing is generally structured with an introduction, body, and conclusion and focuses on analyzing important issues from an event rather than just describing it.

1. Reflective Writing is:
 a combination of theory and practice
 based on personal experience but is
backed up with evidence from other
sources
 about what you have learnt from an
event or experience and how you would
do things differently next time

2. Reflective writing is not:
 a long and detailed description of
an event
 an impersonal text (It’s ok to use “I”)
 about making yourself look good but
honestly examining the strengths and
weaknesses of your practice

3. Why write reflectively?
 To think about how you learn
 To promote deep learning
 To make connections between theory
and practice
 To learn from your mistakes
 To think about what you want to do
differently in the future

4. Structure
 Usually written in paragraphs and has an introduction, body and conclusion
 There is not one structure for reflective writing but it will probably include:
 An introduction which identifies the key focus and the context including a
description of the event/practice/experience
 Subsequent paragraphs each focus on an important issue, add more
description, link issue to theory/literature
 A conclusion summarises the key learnings/personal strengths/areas for
improvement or different practice with reference to literature

5. Examples of reflective writing
NB sometimes reflective writing is only a part
of an assignment but it could also be:
 Journal entries
 A reflective report
 Diaries
 Reflective portfolios
 A reflective essay