Learnonline canberra edu au

Why Reflective Writing?

You may be asked to complete a reflective writing assignment:

To examine your learning processes: what you have learned and how you have learned

To make connections: between what you already know and what you are learning; between theory and practice; between course material and personal experiences.

To clarify your understanding – identifying the questions you have, and what you have yet to learn.

Source: http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=180720&chapterid=463

Why Reflective Writing?

To think carefully about what you are doing, how you are doing it, and why you are doing it.

To learn from mistakes and lessons: avoid repeating mistakes and identify successful principles and strategies to use again.

To become an active learner: engage in the learning process by asking questions, raising doubts, and thinking critically about one's own ideas.

To encourage you to become a reflective practitioner in your future field. This is the key to life-long learning, growth and meaningful change.

Source: http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=180720&chapterid=463

Types of Reflective Writing

Reflective writing assignments may include:

Journal or diary entries

Portfolios

Narratives

Reflections on practice or placements

Blogs

Reflective writing may also be part of assessments such as:

Online discussion forums

Group work and group or peer evaluations

Types of reflection

Getting to the bottom of what is happening in the experiencer’s processes, decision-making and feelings at the time of the event or interaction.

Example: Journal

Sifting over a previous event to take into account new information or theoretical perspectives available in conjunction with the experiencer’s processes, feelings and actions.

Example: Reflective Essay

Preparing to Write Reflectively

Description

What is article about?

Analysis

What sense can you make of the information?

Conclusion

How can you apply this information?

Action Plan

What action will you take because of this information?

Feelings

What were you thinking and feeling?

Evaluation

What was good and bad about the information?

Article Summaries

In a short paragraph or two, briefly summarize the article’s main point and outline the supporting details the author makes to support the main point.

When summarizing an article, do not relay evidence/facts; instead, generalize the points the author makes and use transitional words/expressions to indicate the number.

Do not insert any opinions in summarizing an article; you are simply presenting the main point and supporting points.

Main Idea

SUMMARY

Supporting Details

Article Summaries

The main idea of the article is conveyed clearly and concisely

The summary is written in the unique style of the writer

The summary is much shorter than the original document

The summary explains all of the important notions and arguments

The summary condenses a lot of information into a small space

Kearney, V. (2019, April 10). How to write a summary of an article. Owlcation. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary

How to Summarize

Basic Organization of Reflective Writing

Introduction

Restate you main point

Should reflect your individual viewpoint

Do not describe unrelated events

Reflection essays are personal and subjective, but they must still maintain a somewhat academic tone and be thoroughly and cohesively organized like any other essay.

What the essay is about (broad)

What exactly the essay focuses on (specific)

Why it is important to analyze this