Reflective Writing

Planning Reflective Writing

When choosing what to reflect on, the most exciting experience won't necessarily make the best essay. Consider what the person marking your assignment will be looking for (look at your brief). Which experience will be best? To help pick your experience, create a mind map or bullet point list in the following way:

1. Think of several experiences which match the topic of your reflective assignment.
2. Consider how each experience matches the topic.
3. Add any literature which you are aware of which links to your experience, and areas where you can deepen your reflection.
4. Look at your mind map: which experience will make the best reflective essay? Select that one and begin searching for further literature.

Planning example

Create a plan

Students who create a plan and check through it, usually write much better reflective essays. This is because their plan can help ensure their essay:

• stays within the word count, by setting mini word counts for each section
• flows better, by checking the overall plan
• keeps focused on the topic by comparing the plan to the brief

Here's a simple example plan - this could be further developed with key points: