Reflective Writing in the Higher Education Context

Reflective writing is a process of examining an experience, exploring how it affected you and what you learned from it.  Thus, reflective writing is not only an activity of focus on the past but also in shaping future actions. It can deepen your reflection by writing down your thoughts and feelings. More importantly, “writing reflectively involves critically analysing an experience, recording how it has impacted you and what you plan to do with your new knowledge”. (Cambridge University Libraries, 2024).

Your writing approach is different to other forms of writing in that it is situated as part of reflective practice.  Therefore, instead of simply describing what happened, reflective writing requires you to analyse the reasons and implications of an experience. By doing so you continually question the meaning and significance of your experience.  Think about it, when we write, it forces us to think. More importantly, you can reflect more deeply by writing about your experience and how it made you think and feel.

Generally, reflective writing is characterized by self-awareness(reflection), provision of evidence and coherent narrative written in a style that values your own voice and agency.   You are encouraged to own the text, the experience and the demonstration of evidence and for this reason, this will be an opportunity to write in first person, “I” for example. I know you may have been taught against this style of writing but for sharing your reflective account, this is generally accepted and encouraged.  Reflective writing in academia goes a step further by using theories and other sources to support an argument or viewpoint. More importantly, the writer also relates their learning objectives or aims to their own story of how they learned from the experience and how it changed their thinking or outlook. This is a metacognitive and evaluative element of the reflective turn that brings relevance to the academic reflective writing. The key to reflective writing is to be analytical rather than descriptive. Always ask why rather than just describing what happened during an experience.  

Interested in more?

We have designed a tutorial to help you develop critical thinking and self-awareness through reflective writing techniques. Whether you’re new to reflective writing or looking to enhance your skills, we believe this tutorial will offer valuable insights and tools. Take a moment to explore the tutorial content by clicking below.