Reflective writing Structure

Guide for writing a reflective assignment

Writing reflective essay can be difficult for some people, but don’t worry while starting. If you are with us, you will get needed information and succeed with paper. We comprehend – an increasing number of courses makes students to write reflectively. Reflective essay writing is an occasional requirement. There are many different models of reflection, and it is vital to follow any guidelines offered on your course.

What is reflective style? Reflective means evidence of reflective thinking process. In an academic context, reflective thinking usually involves:

1. Looking back at something. It is usually an event or something that took place, but it could also be an idea or object.
2. Analysing the event or idea. It means thinking in depth and from different perspectives and trying to explain, usually concerning a model or theory from your subject.
3. Thinking carefully about what the event or idea means for you and your ongoing progress as a learner or practicing professional. Reflective writing is thus more personal than other types of academic performing. We all think reflectively in everyday life, of course, but not to the same depth as is expected in good reflective writing structure at university level.

A reflective essay is a type of writing in which you, we mean – as the author, interact with an audience and describe some moment or experience from your life. The process of searching the appropriate period or moment is called reflective writing research, and this thing is essential. That “experience” explores personal ideas, feelings, and opinions about the event and how it affected you. Reflective writing allows an author to:

• Analyze and conclude what they have read, heard, or seen;
• Make connections between the text and themselves, or other texts and the world; help the reader to feel involved in your text;
• Think about what they have learned and how they can or will use the newly acquired information;
• Create subjectively from their outlook;
• Identify areas for future reading.

How to structure an assignment?

While there are disciplinary differences regarding the structure to be followed, one can still summarize some crucial points common to all disciples.

• All assignments should have 3 parts:

That’s why you need to structure your writing. The scheme is easy and usually the same. It consists of an introduction, the main body, and conclusion. Regard your assignment as a three-act drama. The last consists of entry with starting point and intrigue, then always culmination, and ending. Same is here, introductions and conclusions have the same effect, that’s why try to be passionate in both.

In the premiere part, you introduce your reader to the subject matter of the assignment. In the next part, you move into the main research topic of the assignment, and finally, you state your research findings.

However, disciplinary requirements should always be kept in mind. Some subjects might call for specialized structures. For instance, students who make science lab report while performing their experiments usually follow a three-component format of a hypothesis, details of an experiment and an inference. A pharmacy and pharmaceutical or nursing and health faculties should start with a patient’s medical history, followed by the pathological symptoms, the diagnosis, the treatment received and a post-discharge medical regimen to be followed by the patient. Similarly, a marketing study should have a brief history of the company followed by a situational analysis, environmental scanning and finally recommendations for the future.

• Writing the introduction is the most important part of an assignment:

It is important to write a convincing introduction in order to grab the reader. There are usually two ways to write an introduction — a deductive style and an inductive style.

• Inductive style:

On the one hand, in an inductive style of writing, a researcher moves from the specific to the general. It is a ‘bottom-up’ approach in which specific piece add up to some general conclusion. Here is an example, to drive the piece home.

Example:

“I must leave my house at least three hours before in order to reach my office at eleven o’ clock. There is a lot of traffic in the morning on my way to the office.”

•  Deductive style:

In a deductive style of writing, a researcher moves from the general to the specific through the process of deduction. It is a ‘top-down’ approach in which a researcher starts with a general introduction and then moves to a specific problem.

Example:

“Since there is a lot of traffic congestion in the morning on my way to the office, I must leave my house at least three hours before in order to reach my office at eleven o’clock.”

In the second sample, we make a general observation and then use it to deduce early exit from home to reach office on time. But in the premiere style, we start with a specific piece of information and use it as a supporting statement to make a general observation. Inductive and deductive styles can be followed while writing the introduction of any assignment. A mix of the two also appears sometimes.

• Writing the body:
  • Each paragraph should make an essence which should be linked to your outline and thesis statement.
  • The most important consideration in the body paragraphs is the argument that you want to develop in response to the topic. This argument is developed by making and linking points in and between paragraphs.
• Try while writing the main body structure like this:
  • Topic sentence: open the paragraph by making an essence.
  • Supporting sentences: support the essence with references and research.
  • Conclusive sentence: close the paragraph by linking back to the essence you made to open the paragraph and linking this to your thesis statement.
• Finally writing the conclusion:
  • You should summarize the principal topics touched upon in the assignment. You should remind readers about the main arguments and finally state their intervention and where it differs from existing literature on the subject.

Reflective learning circle with feelings. Interested now?

A reflective circle was made by Graham Gibbs, a famous professor of Maths and computing. You need to make sure that your text corresponds his ideas.

In the view and thoughts of G.Gibbs:

1. Everything starts with a description – ask a question “What situation took place?” while writing.
2. Later, if we talk about feelings – ask “What were you thinking and feeling?”
3. Then, evaluation – think about “What was good and bad about the experience?”
4. Later goes analysis – “What sense can you make of the situation?”
5. Of course, now high time for the conclusion – and the question “What else could you do?”
6. And the last is action plan – “If it arose again what would you do?”

This is how you can write a reflective writing template.

To sum it up, it is important to memorize that all essays or assignments need not to follow all these essay writing tips. It is always good to be creative in your performing according to the requirements of the teacher. This will help you to keep in mind some crucial points that should be common to all well-made assignments across disciplinary boundaries.

Bear in mind that after each text you need to have some rest and only after that start editing and proofreading. Now you have all needed information to complete great reflective essay.

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