Reflective Essay is different from other academic essays in the sense that the key to its writing lies in the point of reflection, and the only way to attract readers is to fully reflect on how things have affected you and made you change.
The obvious difference between Reflective essay and other essays or academic journal is that it is about personal experiences, feelings, reflections and future plans.
In Reflective Writing the first person can and will be used.
It can be categorised as either a reflection on the experience of an event, or a reflection on what was learnt. The reference format is as follows and can include three parts.
When reflecting on an experience (e.g., classroom observation), you can discuss the following in your writing:
Describe
What happened?
Analyse
Why did it happen? What were your feelings at the time? What theories might help explain what happened? Are there
any other points of view challenge your view?
Results or actions
What did you learn? What will you do next time?
When reflecting on your learning (e.g. the educational theories you learnt in a unit) you may answer the following questions:
When reflecting on your learning (e.g. the educational theories you learnt in a unit) you may come across the following questions:
Describe
What is the concept, idea or theory you are reflecting on?
Analyse
What aspects did you find particularly interesting or challenging? Does it relate to what you have learnt in the past
Does it relate to what you have learnt in the past? Did it change the way you think or affirm what you already knew?
Outcomes or actions
What else do you need to know? Do you have any more questions? How could you take these ideas in the future
How can you incorporate or apply these ideas in the future, perhaps in your professional life?
Whether you are reflecting on your experience, your learning, or both, you need to make sure that you include descriptions, analyses, and outcomes or actions.
Reflective Essay Template Sentence Types
1. General analysis
The most important question that arises from this experience is …..
Also, this could be due to …….
I think the reason for this situation is .
2、Reflection on self
At the time I felt that ……
Initially I did not question ……
Later I realised ……
3, Linking theory to experience
This (concept) helps to explain …… what was happening.
Argyle (2001) suggests the importance of body language which is relevant to this situation ……
X (concept) provides insight into my own experience of
4. linking experience to theory
My experience of …… experience in relation to Argyle’s (2001) theory
This experience highlights …… concepts of the theory.
This experience is what Hagee (2019) describes as …… as being typical of the characterisation of .
5. Conclusion
Having read the question, I now realise that ……
I have a better understanding of …… have a deeper understanding.
Initially, I did not realise the benefits of using the X method:
However, this experience has helped me to understand ….
6. What now/action plan
However, I am not yet confident ……
This experience has highlighted that I need to develop
my skills
From this experience I have learnt …… , which I feel will be invaluable.
Will be invaluable ……
7. make constructive comments
If this research includes ……
These studies would be more useful if they focused on …… would be more useful.
If the researchers had asked …… , this study would be more meaningful.
The study would have been more meaningful if the questionnaire had asked participants about …… questions, then the study would have been more meaningful.
Elicit question limitations
Usually divided into two areas: theory & opinion
(i) Theory:
1. the main weakness of this theory is…
2. the key problem with this explanation is that ……
3. however, this theory does not fully explain …… the cause of the problem.
(ii) Perspectives:
1. one criticism of much of the literature on X is ……
2. however, there is an inconsistency in this argument ……
3. however, a question that needs to be asked is …… Whether ……
