How to write a reflection paper
“To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings, which are the capital stock for intelligent dealing with
further experiences.” John Dewey, 1938
“Reflection unfolds slowly, in its own good time.” Ellen Rose, 2013
What is reflection?
To reflect on an experience for an assignment is to consider thoughtfully something you did (a presentation, a
practicum, a placement of some kind) something you read (a novel, an academic article), something you took
part in or witnessed (for example, an entire course, a particular class, a court case, a client meeting, a critical
incident). This is done in order to assess the significance of that experience for you, how you felt about it, how it
fits in with other experiences, or with other knowledge that you have of the world, and how it supports/
challenges that knowledge, and how you can use it in the future.
It is your experience, so usually you will be a part of the subject of this process. When a prof asks for
reflection on something they are not usually (there are always exceptions: read assignments carefully) just
looking for a description or analysis of that thing/event, but rather an analysis of your interaction with that
thing/event, and a situation of that thing/event into a wider context (other aspects of your work/life, or the
theories you are studying in your class, for example), as well as an insight into what difference it makes to you
and your future behavior.
How do you reflect?
There are various models1 that we can use to help structure our reflective process. One such is Seidel and
Blythe’s reflection compass, which characterizes reflective activity in terms of direction: we can look backward
at the event/object/text; we can look inward for insight into our actions/feelings/reception of that event; we
can look outward to place it into a wider context: social/historical/academic; and we can look forward to what
should change, perhaps in our own reaction to such phenomena in the future, and/or to what we will do to
enact that change (cited in Bruce, 2013).
How to write your reflection paper
Check the requirements carefully: profs’ approaches vary! But you should probably include the following:
1. Backward: A description of what happened/what you witnessed/what you read/what you did.
2. Inward: A consideration of your feelings about this phenomenon, and why you felt that way, why you did
what you did, perhaps what you think about what others did, how your feelings have changed since. E.g
“Prior to this event I had thought… but this made me realise that… because….” or “At the time I was upset
because… Now I see that I….” or “I struggled with this story because…, but having read more about… I now
find that I….” or maybe, “As a…. I already thought… so…”
Note: a prof may ask what you liked/disliked, agreed with/disagreed with, but in most cases they don’t
want you stuck in this: go beyond those personal emotional reactions.
3. Outward: So, really important, and what a lot of profs say is missing in their students’ reflections, MAKE
CONNECTIONS beyond the event, especially to your studies. E.g “This is a good example of what Smith
(2019) called….” Or “Garnier’s (2012) theory of…. suggests that…. However, in this case….” You can also
make connections to wider societal issues: “In this respect the patient is typical; Wang (2019) noted that
1 Wilfrid Laurier University has an excellent resource for this:
http://writeonline.ca/reflective-essay.php?content=intro
