Reflection statements need to have structure, too. You need to ensure that you introduce your ideas clearly, then expand on them, and, finally, summarise and conclude your statement. Even if you only need to produce a 250-word paragraph, you still need to ensure that it follows the conventions of composition structure.
Common reflective statement stems:
“So you feel...” “It sounds like you...” “You're wondering if...” “For you it's like…” The listener can repeat or substitute synonyms or phrases and stay close to what the speaker has said. The listener can make major restatements in which the speaker's meaning is inferred.
Begin with a great hook and a strong introduction. Pull the reader in without giving too much away, then provide a quick overview of the reflective topic. Next, in the body of the essay, move into the meat of the paper by describing your experiences and growth.
Thinking reflectively involves:
- Thinking about what was done. Analyse the event by thinking in depth from different perspectives. ...
- Thinking about what happened, what did and didn't work, and what you think about it.
- Critically evaluating what you would do differently in the future and explain why.
A reflection statement is a statement written by students, discussing their process for producing a particular assessment task. It isn't a simple recap of what you did to complete the task, but a self-assessment on what you did, how and why you did it, what you did well, and what you could improve on.
The reflective statement must be between 300-400 words in length (approximately 2-3 paragraphs), typed, in proper MLA format, and handed in to the teacher and kept on file until the unit essay is completed, at which point the appropriate reflective statement will be attached to the essay for submission to the examiner.
A reflection paper comes with a very easy and simple stricture. It has 3 parts: introduction, main body and conclusion.
Academic reflective writing requires critical and analytic thought, a clear line of argument, and the use of evidence through examples of personal experiences and thoughts and often also theoretical literature. You should aim for a balance between personal experience, tone, and academic practice and rigor.
Both the language and the structure are important for academic reflective writing. For the structure you want to mirror an academic essay closely. You want an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. Academic reflection will require you to both describe the context, analyse it, and make conclusions.
As is the case with all essays, your reflective essay must begin within an introduction that contains both a hook and a thesis statement. The point of having a 'hook' is to grab the attention of your audience or reader from the very beginning.
Use first-person pronouns, i.e. I, me, we, and our. You are reflecting on yourself, your thoughts, and your understanding, so you really do need to use the first person. We know, this goes against everything you've been taught so far that says 'I' has no place in academic essays.
Definition of Reflection in Counselling
Reflection in counselling is like holding up a mirror: repeating the client's words back to them exactly as they said them. You might reflect back the whole sentence, or you might select a few words – or even one single word – from what the client has brought.
In your reflective essay, you should use the first person with terms like I, me, my and mine. The essay is an account of something that actually happened to you as well as your thoughts on the event.
Use present tense for feelings you have at the time of writing. Feelings should be processed. For academic reflection you should not write in the heat of the moment.
Used at the beginning of a sentence, these words signal to you that a sentence opener follows: After, Although, As, Because, Before, If, Since, Unless, Until, When, While.
It should begin by providing your reader a general understanding of the overall topic. The middle of the introduction should narrow down the topic so your reader understands the relevance of the topic and what you plan to accomplish in your paper.
Do not begin a sentence with “also” or “likewise.” Or never begins a sentence, paragraph, or chapter. Never begin a sentence—or a clause—with also. Teach the elimination of but, so, and, because, at the beginning of a sentence.