what is the difference between memoir and reflective writing

what is the difference between memoir and reflective writing

The Distinction between a Memoir and Reflective Writing

1. Introduction

Reflective writing aims to communicate with the reader and you need to do this by reflecting on your situation, describing how you feel using emotions, feelings, personal opinions, and points of view. You need to reflect on your past experiences and the impact it has had on you, as well as what you are learning from your experience, how this learning is going to help you improve the future, and what you could have done differently to make the situation better. An example of this reflective learning cycle is found at Oxford Brookes University, “Thinking about what happened, what was good and bad about the experience, what sense you can make of the situation, and what you would do next time” (Oxford Brookes University, 2009). This learning cycle covers all aspects of reflective writing and allows you to demonstrate to the reader what you have learned from your experiences and how you understand what you could do differently to improve the future.

The distinction between a memoir and reflective writing is a purpose that is important to the writer and to the reader. Both the writer and the reader must know the difference between the two in order to follow through with the ideas presented in the writing, as well as understand what the writer intended to do and what the writer is doing.

2. Understanding Memoir

The definition of memoir that Banglesdorf supplied states that memoir is a written factual account from the author’s perspective of events in his life. To investigate exactly whether this is true, I will deconstruct the definition. A memoir is a specific type of autobiography, typically involving a public portion of one’s life (or a lifespan), viewed through the subjective lens of the author. Coming from the French word for memory or reminiscence, it is practiced in a range of ways from a literary (notably the work of Proust) or to a more cultural widespread anecdotally story and to varied audiences ranging from the writer and his immediate family and on to the publication which might concentrate on celebrity/fame and target a wider audience. The credibility and truth of the work are some of the more basic and recognizable differences between memoir and autobiography. This often confuses people into thinking that the only real difference lies in the credibility of the work when in fact there are many. The 2002 film Adaptation parodies the difficulty faced in differentiating between memoir and autobiography, particularly over the question of truth aiming to start the story at the beginning or at the point of inception of the author’s career, it humorizes the request for literary license to try and make a boring story more entertaining. In a scene from the movie, Robert McKee (portrayed by Brian Cox) admits to murder. When asked about this by someone who knew the real Robert McKee, he responded, “Do you want to make a movie, or an accurate portrayal of a man?”

3. Exploring Reflective Writing

Recognition of the potential for personal growth and the fostering of a student’s own voice are primary goals of spurring reflective writing through challenging course content. High-quality reflective writing increases the potential to foster students’ abilities to make informed decisions in complex, diverse, and ambiguous situations. This skill is essential to professional practice and patient-centered care.

Reflective writing can take a number of forms. It can be a letter to the person who is the subject of your writing. It can be a form of diary writing. It can be a written conversation to explore one’s thinking. It can be part of an ongoing email exchange with a friend or mentor. Length and form do not matter, what is important is the exploration of thinking and the new understanding gained from it. I keep an electronic journal using Davis’s (2001, p49) “Find it, File it, Flag it” method. Once events have been located and entered, I move them into different categories and levels of importance. I then write openly about them using free association. This method is very useful in identifying thoughts and feelings on events and exploring these in greater depth. Davis also suggests electronic dialogues with ‘what would someone who cared about you say about your action or this goal you have in mind? Keep going with this question, don’t be tempted to answer it yourself as an exercise in reflective writing, you may be surprised by the answers.

Reflective writing is a discourse of keenness. Webster’s Dictionary defines reflection as ‘throwing back thoughts’. So if we are throwing back thoughts, reflective writing is where those thoughts are located. It is an exploration of one’s thoughts and feelings on events, and if those thoughts supported a change of behavior, it is a chance to analyze those acted upon thoughts. During this analysis, it is often useful to utilize a framework. I will use Gibbs (1988) model in this paper as it is the model I have studied both in my OCN and OU studies. Using Gibbs model for reflection.

4. Key Differences

A memoir requires a vast scope of thought to present personal reflection and consideration, including the incorporation of wisdom or insight affecting everyday life. Reflective writing is often more a summation of events, while allowing the writer to explore emotions and thoughts about the event. Memoirs are generally broken into smaller sections around specific events or ideas, while reflective writing may take a single form, such as a letter or a poem. Reflective writing is interested in the exploration of the self and its learning, whereas memoir is a record of events filtered through the memory of the author and the wisdom or insight gained through them. Reflective writing has a primary concern with wide and inclusive learning that touches many events and ideas, memoir is concerned with specific results of learning and the way they are played out in life. As a story of the self, memoir is the narration of change, reflective writing is an exploration of the self at a particular point in time. This still may involve some discussion of change, but if it does, the change is usually about the writer’s learning and not a specific event. Lastly, reflective writing often involves an element of “writing to learn” where the writer is trying to understand a concept or idea, while a memoir usually involves “learning to write”, with the writer trying to understand an event by writing about the event.

5. Conclusion

Reflective writing and memoir writing typically highlight the time when the writer became aware of or transformed due to an experience. There is still a difference between the two. Reflective writing delves into an experience and an outcome as a result of said experience. It is quite often that the writer will be required to reflect on the learning process and thus the content of the learning event. Reflective writing can help the writer make sense of an experience, whether it is physical or emotional. It is an opportunity for the writer to make a conscious effort to think back on an event and to connect to and understand it. This is a valuable way to learn from an experience for future use. When the writer discusses an experience, this is a memoir. The memoir writer is reflective and thus can fall under the category of reflective writing. The difference is that a memoir focuses on the experience itself as well as the outcome of the experience. Reflective writing can also be a memoir.