reflective writing essays

reflective writing essays

The Importance of Reflective Writing Essays

1. Introduction

The purpose of writing this essay is to perform a self-analysis on my writing and functioning in a professional environment. This, when broken down to simpler terms, clearly means that this task enables formal writing and analysis about the experiences of the writer. Going through the experiences and putting pen to paper will enable me to have a much more formal insight on my work, thoughts, and the process in which I went through to produce it. This, in deeper retrospect, will allow me to function well under the conditions of any future writing task given to me by any employer. It can also enhance verbal communication skills, as putting thought to paper requires the individual to structure their thoughts in a clear, concise manner. This is something that I have failed to do at certain times when trying to communicate one of my ideas to another person. In not doing so, I confused and misled them. During the time spent compiling this collection of thoughts, I can see that I have a little difficulty in expressing certain ideas in the best way possible. Because of this, I will try and find some form of only writing about the same experience on a later day and compare the two, seeing whether any external influence has helped in getting the point across. This can immensely improve my constructive criticism. Looking back at what I have written will help in that at any time I can spot flaws in my past writing and effectively communicate changes in the best possible way. This may generate the will to rewrite on the same topic, though also improving skills to identify a need for improvement in written work. This entire concept is based on time, and an abundance of time is needed for this task to be taken seriously and done to the best of ability. Writing is a crucial skill not only in professional environments, but in societies and communities as a tool of expression. Our writing is the mirror image of our thoughts and its quality reflects our communication skills with other people. No one wants a bad reflection of themselves and by doing this, it can greatly enhance writing skills for the rest of life. This is from a long-term viewpoint, but above all other reasons, the sole purpose is to do well.

2. Benefits of Reflective Writing

Reflective writing can also help students analyze complex situations more objectively. Writing provides a physical space for taking some distance from the situation, which can enable them to see the problem more concretely. Reflection can create a structured, well-thought-out change strategy. Changing things often starts with small steps… and making these steps, as well as identifying the forces that may inhibit a change, are skills highly useful for a manager to have. The structured setting of reflection helps students be more systematic and mindful of the steps they will take to bring about change. As mentioned earlier, reflective writing supports autonomous learning. This approach to change preparation strongly differs from the trial and error method that might be taken if a solution is quickly thrown together.

Reflective writing guides students in critical thinking and helps strengthen their analytical skills. Within reflective writing, the space and support given enables students to see their own learning process and achievements more clearly. This, in turn, helps develop more independent students with the ability to work on their own initiative. It can also strengthen the relationship between theory and practice, helping students to understand the sometimes abstract and confusing nature of theories and to see the relevance of the theory that they are learning to their practical experiences.

3. Steps to Write an Effective Reflective Essay

3. Identifying and incorporating key learnings from the literature Consider the knowledge you have learned from a book, theory, or experience. This can help relate the event to a specific subject or topic.

2. Identifying the issue or problem Each event may have impacted cognitive, emotional, or physical change. Choose an event and be as specific as possible. Tell the reader what you are aspiring to achieve. Briefly outline the task, goal, or assignment and end this step with a question. Have a specific purpose which defines what is to be achieved and the time period in which it is to be achieved.

1. Selecting an incident or event Narrow down specific events that changed how you felt or thought.

To write a reflective essay, the writer should consider certain elements that directly and indirectly help in effectively portraying a narrative to the reader. Here are the steps that will help you in constructing a well-laid essay:

Incorporating reflective writing into an academic program has proven to be an effective way for students to evaluate and learn from the work they are producing. A reflective essay assignment presents the writer with a critical method of examining a learning experience from the past. While a reflective essay is a way for the author to share an experience with the reader, there is a more intimate attempt to examine and share. This self-examination is an essential first step toward critical thinking about what one does. Reflective writing is evidence of reflective thinking. In an academic context, reflective thinking usually involves looking back at something and learning from the experience. It is an exploration of an experience which covers what happened, why it happened, what you could have done differently, what worked, what didn’t, your feelings at the time and how these may have influenced your actions. It usually involves a relatively deep level of personal insight and is often a form of inquiry which is undertaken at the heart of ‘doing’ or learning.

4. Examples of Reflective Writing Essays

In one Chinese-style essay, the student provides detailed, psychological descriptions of his family relationships and the effect that these have had on him. By looking at the various emotions of the people involved, the essay has a lot of vitality and depth. This helps maintain the reader’s interest, gives unique insight into the author’s character, and allows the reader to connect with the author on a deeper level. The author goes on to reveal the feelings of inadequacy he has had throughout his life in relation to the education system and competition. It is honest and thought-provoking as the reader must consider whether it has been a similar case for them. The essay concentrates on a lot of different feelings related to the situation at hand, leading to a very impressive piece of work. A more relaxed essay would be Sovannary’s, which was done in a journal-like style. The essay focused on a recent experience while on holiday in Kep, which involved many activities and a lot of stress. Throughout the essay, the author has maintained a very lighthearted and relaxed approach to the story and managed to portray even those events which were quite stress-inducing in a comical way. The essay was quite simply fun to read. This style of writing is quite good for commentators and writers who have a spoken word medium. Finally, a quite deep and self-analytical essay was written by Vicheathor about a decision-making back in 2005 on leaving and entering a new school on very different circumstances. This piece looks back at the author’s emotions and thoughts of the period and analyzes his reasons and outcomes for this decision on a number of levels. All of the essays show the great variety of ways that reflective writing can be presented, each style with its own targeted audience or purpose.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, reflective writing is an effective way to express your thoughts. Reflective writing not only considers the subject matter being studied but also encourages students to examine the learning process itself. Reflective writing can help you to improve your analytical skills because it requires you to express what you think, and more significantly, how you think about a particular subject. Reflective writing can also help you in your professional life, as you can use it to consider what you are doing well, and identify what you might want to change about your behavior. Then you can try and decide if there is a way to improve your current methods, or if there is a more efficient alternative. Through reflective writing, this may be done in the form of a personal development plan (PDP) which is a written document of your objectives, and the things you can do to help you reach them.