Reflective writing

Have you been asked to write reflectively and are not sure what it entails? Have you already tried some reflective writing but would like to improve? This guide will cover:  

• What reflection is and why it is valuable  

• How to write in a reflective style  

• How to integrate academic research into your reflective writing  

Upcoming sessions:

You do not have to book onto the workshop as attendance is on a first come first served basis.

• Online (Microsoft Teams): 23rd July, 14:00-15:00: Link to join session

If you need further information or any adjustments to fully access our sessions, please contact libraryhelp@tees.ac.uk in advance. 

Previously recorded session:

We are very interested to hear your views about the workshop you attended and would welcome your feedback. Please complete the form below:

Click on the image below to work through the online tutorial for reflective writing. There are activities for you to take part in along the way.

This is a simple three-stage framework based on asking yourself the questions ‘What? So what? Now what? (Borton, 1970 cited in Rolfe, Jasper and Freshwater, 2011). Firstly, you need to describe a particular situation. You then need to reflect on the meaning that underlies that situation, so that you can learn from it. In the third stage, you need to consider ways of improving the situation, focusing on actions you could take. According to Rolfe, Jasper and Freshwater (2011), this final stage is key for improving practice.

Here is a list of questions that you may choose to answer in response to the three elements (Rolfe, Jasper and Freshwater, 2011).

What?
• What was the problem/situation?
• What was my role?
• What happened?
• What did I want to do?
• How did other people react?
• How did I feel about it?
• Was the experience positive or negative?

So what?
• What are the implications from the experience?
• What does this say about me, my behaviour and how I work with others?
• What other knowledge can I bring to the situation?
• Is there anything I could have done differently?
• What did I learn from the situation?

Now what?
• What do I need to do to improve?
• What do I need to think about to make the action/situation more successful?

Gibbs’ reflective cycle is fairly straightforward and encourages a clear description of the situation, consideration of feelings, evaluation of the experience, analysis to make sense of the experience, conclusion where other options are considered and reflection upon experience to examine what you would do if the situation arose again. (University of Edinburgh, 2020).

A more detailed explanation of Gibbs' reflective cycle can be found below in our reflective writing worksheet.

Click on the icon below to see additional useful resources such as books.

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