1.4 Reflective Writing – useful language for reflective writing transcript

• Use the 1st person (“I”, “my” and other personal pronouns) when describing yourself and your responses. Reflections are centred on your experiences.
• Use “she”, “he”, “they”, “it” when describing others’ roles and responses to events.
• Use proper nouns (names) and 3rd person (Diaz, “the researchers”, “the author”, “he”, “she”, “they”) when evaluating and including evidence from the literature. This is the same as a traditional essay.
• Use discipline-specific terminology and language that is suitable for discussing your subject with sufficient academic depth.

Language for description

Descriptions in reflective writing are there to set the scene for the following interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and impact. It is important to use clear and precise language to write a concise description.

• Use clear and precise language. Be specific but avoid adding a lot of unnecessary details. “As I approached the main entrance, I saw four young people around the age of 14-16 standing outside.” rather than “As walked up the steep stairs and approached the building, I saw a group of people standing around outside who looked to be teenagers.”
• Remain as objective as possible, and resist using language that implies bias e.g. “patient X held the nurse’s gaze for a few seconds” rather than “patient X glared at the nurse”. It may have felt as though the patient was glaring, but was that their intention? Was that how the nurse received the look? Learn to separate description of actions from the feelings they evoke. Feelings should be expressed separately and explicitly from the description of events.
• Use the past tense (usually).
• Use temporal indicators and transitional language. E.g. yesterday, last week, then, subsequently, lastly, etc.

Helpful phrases are “I saw…”, “I noticed…”, “I/they said…”, “I had…”, “I/they did…”, “I heard…”

Language for interpretation

When you interpret something you are telling the reader how important it is, or what meaning is attached to it.  

You may wish to indicate the value of something using these adjectives: 

• meaningful

• useful

• critical

• useful

• superfluous

• non-essential

• essential

• vital

• beneficial

E.g. ‘the accuracy of the transcription was essential to the accuracy of the eventual coding and analysis of the interviews undertaken. The training I undertook was critical to enabling me to transcribe quickly and accurately’

You may wish to show how ideas, actions or some other aspect developed over time: 

• initially

• subsequently

• previously

• over time

• in sequence

• eventually

• quickly

• slowly

• gradually

• advanced

• prior

• later

• earlier

• before

• after

E.g. ‘Before we could produce the final version of the presentation, we had to complete the research and produce a plan. This was achieved later than expected, leading to subsequent rushing of creating slides, and this contributed to a lower grade’.

You may wish to show your viewpoint or that of others: 

• thought

• noticed

• did not think

• considered

• noticed

• expressed

• said

• articulated

• stated

• intervened

• realised

• expected

•  was/were of the opinion that (xxx)

• did/did not do something

Each of these could be preceded by ‘we’ or ‘I’.

E.g. ‘I noticed that the model of the bridge was sagging. I expressed this to the group, and as I did so I noticed that two members did not seem to grasp how serious the problem was. I proposed a break and a meeting, during which I intervened to show the results of inaction.’

Summary

There is a huge range of language that can be used for interpretation, the most important thing is to remember who your reader is and be clear with them about what your interpretation is, so they can see your thought process.

Language for evaluation

Reflecting is fundamentally an evaluative activity.  A skillful reflective writer is able to use appropriate language to clearly express their evaluative thinking to the reader.

Language to show how significant something is: 

• most importantly

• crucial/crucially

• significant/significantly

• the principal lesson was…

• it is imperative that…

• consequential

• fundamental

• X was irrelevant to the…

• insignificant

• a critical aspect…

In each case the language is quantifying the significance of the element you are describing, telling the reader the product of your evaluative thought. For example, ‘when doing teamwork, I initially thought that we would succeed by setting out a plan and then working independently, but in fact, constant communication and collaboration were crucial to success. This was the most significant thing I learned.’

Language to show the strength of relationships: 

• X is strongly associated with Y

• X is directly related to Y

• A is a consequence of B

• There is a probable relationship between…

• A causes B

• C does not cause D

• A may influence B

• I learn most strongly when doing A

In each case the language used can show how significant and strong the relationship between two factors is.

For example, ‘I learned, as part of my research methods module, that the accuracy of the data gained through surveys is directly related to the quality of the questions. Quality can be improved by reading widely and looking at surveys in existing academic papers to inform creating your own questions’

Language to evaluate your viewpoint: 

• I was convinced…

• I have developed significantly…

• this changed my perspective…

• I learned that…

• The most significant thing that I learned was…

• Next time, I would definitely…

• I am unclear about…

• I was uncertain about…

• I was surprised to learn that…

These language choices show that you are attaching a level of significance to your reflection. This enables the reader to see what you think about the learning you’ve achieved and the level of significance you attach to each reflection.

For example, ‘when using systematic sampling of a mixed woodland, I was convinced that method A would be most effective. However, in reality, it was clear that method B produced the most accurate results. I learned that assumptions based on reading previous research can lead to inaccurate predictions. This is very important for me as I will be planning a similar sampling activity as part of my fourth-year project’

Summary

Evaluating is a significant element of reflecting. You need to evaluate the outcomes of the activities you have done, your part in them, the learning you have achieved and the process/methods you used in your learning. It is important that you carefully use language to show the evaluative thinking you have completed to the reader.

Language for analysis

When reflecting, it’s important to show the reader that you’ve analysed the tasks, outcomes, learning and all other aspects that you’re writing about. In most cases, you are using categories to provide structure to your reflection. Some suggestions of language to use when analysing in reflective writing are below:

Signposting (making it clear to the reader) that you are breaking down a task or learning into categories: 

• An aspect of…

• An element of…

• An example of…

• A key feature of the task was… (e.g. teamwork)

• The task was multifaceted… (then go on to list or describe the facets)

• There were several experiences…

• ‘X’ is related to ‘y’

There may be specific categories that you should consider in your reflection. In teamwork, it could be individual and team performance, in lab work it could be accuracy and the reliability of results. It is important that the reader can see the categories you have used for your analysis.

Analysis by chronology: 

• Firstly,

• Over time,

• Subsequently,

• At first,

• Consequently,

• Initially,

• Later,

• In Stage/Phase 1, (2, 3 etc.)

• On day/week 1,

In many tasks the order in which they were completed matters. This can be a key part of your reflection, as it’s possible that you may learn to do things in a different order next time.

Analysis by perspective: 

The following language choices show that you are analysing purely by your own personal perspective. You may provide evidence to support your thinking, but it’s your viewpoint that matters.

• I thought…

• I did not think…

• I learned…

• I felt…

• I considered…

• I experienced…

These next language choices show that you are analysing by making reference to academic learning (from an academic perspective). This means you have read or otherwise learned something and used it to form expectations, ideas and/or predictions. The reader needs to know what has informed our reflections.

• What I expected from the reading did not happen…

• The Theory did not appear in our results…

• The predictions made were not fulfilled…

• The outcome was surprising because… (and link to what was expected)

• My experience aligned with the ideas put forward by…

• I noticed connections between my experience and the theories from class…

• The concepts I learnt in (xxx) shed light on…

• I found that the theories we studied provided a framework to make sense of…

These final language choices show that analysis is being completed from a systems perspective. You are telling the reader how your learning links into the bigger picture of systems, for example, what an organisation or entity might do in response to what you have learned.

• Organisation X should therefore…

• A key recommendation is…

• I now know that organisation X is…

• Theory A can be applied to organisation X

Summary

Analysing is a key element of being reflective. You must think through the task, ideas, or learning you are reflecting on and use categories to provide structure to your thought. This then translates into structure and language choices in your writing, so your reader can see how you have used analysis to provide sense and structure to your reflections.

Language for exploring outcomes

A key element of writing reflectively is being able to explain to the reader what the results of your actions were. This requires careful consideration of the language you use so that what you write reflects the evidence of what happened and clearly conveys what you achieved or did not achieve.Below are some ideas and prompts of how you can write reflectively about outcomes.

Expressing uncertainty when writing about outcomes: 

• It is not yet clear that…

• I do not yet (fully) understand…

• It is unclear…

• It is not yet fully clear…

• It is not yet known…

• It appears to be the case that…

• It is too soon to tell…

• The implications of this are not yet clear…

• One aspect that remains unclear is…

Often, in academic learning, the uncertainty in the outcomes is a key part of the learning and development that you undertake. That’s why it’s vital that you explain this clearly to the reader, making careful choices in your language.

Writing about how the outcome relates to you: 

• I gained (xxxx) skills…

• I developed…

• I achieved…

• I learned that…

• I found that…

• I acquired skills/knowledge…

• I now recognise the value of…

• The experience/task/process taught me…

• The experience has shaped/changed my perspective on…

• Through this process, I came to realise…

• The task pushed me to develop my (xxx) skills…

In each case you can add in words like, ‘significantly’, ‘greatly’, ‘less importantly’ etc. The use of evaluative adjectives helps you express to the reader the importance and significance of your learning in terms of the outcomes achieved.

Describing how you reached your outcomes: 

• Having read….

• Having completed (xxx)…

• Having reflected on (xxx)…

• I considered/reflected on

• I analysed…

• I applied…

• I learned…

• I realised/discovered

• I experienced…

• Through the process of (xxx), I was able to…

• After deep reflection and analysis, I…

This gives the reader an idea of the nature of the reflection they are reading. How and why you reach the conclusions and learning that you express in your reflective writing is important so the reader can assess the validity and strength of your reflections.

Projecting your outcomes into the future: 

• If I completed a similar task in the future I would…

• If I were to encounter this situation again, I would…

• In similar situations, I will apply what I have learnt from…

• Having learned through this process I would…

• Next time I will…

• I will need to develop…. (in light of the outcomes)

• Next time my responses would be different….

• Based on insights gained from this experience, I intend to…

• In future, I will take into account…

• Moving forward, I will make changes to…

When showing the reader how you will use your learning in the future, it’s important to be specific. Check the task instructions carefully to see what you are expected to reflect into the future about.

Summary

Reflecting in academic writing on outcomes can mean either the results of the task you have completed, for example, the accuracy of a titration in a Chemistry lab session, or what you have learned/developed within the task, for example, ensuring that an interview question is written clearly enough to produce a response that reflects what you wished to find out.

This content was adapted from “Reflective Writing” by University of York Library licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The general language points and language for description sections were adapted from “Language for reflective writing” by Canterbury Christ Church University licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.