Jake Wilkerson, Connor Soutter, Christian Brown

Reflective Writing
Sources:
Reflective Writing." Http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au. Web. 7 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/reflective.pdf>.
Reflective writing is each individuals way to display their own creativity, there
are no right or wrong answers and everyone has the freedom to express their opinions
however they feel (Reflective Writing 1). In the article Reflective Writing, reflective
writing is shown to be an analysis of something a reader has just digested. It is a method
of deciding what is important to a specific reader in a piece of work and describing how it
affects the reader. Reflection is one of the most individualistic things in the process of
writing because there is simply nothing that someone can claim to be wrong. As a result
of that, when analyzing or performing reflective writing, each person must have an open
mind because without that, ideas can never flow. In the same article it is also emphasized
how reflective writing is a great way for expanding ones learning. For example, when we
grow up we learn how to read, write, and talk. If you were to break down reflection than
you would realize that these are the basics of the reflective mind. We eventually take the
idea oftalking and begin to add tone and meaning to words which in turn allows our
creative and young minds to attach symbols to things. We then use this symbolism and
interpret different things in our everyday lives. For example, we go from knowing that
its Tuesday to knowing that its a friends birthday. Our ability to attach meaning to
Tuesday is our reflective mind working. Something that intrigued me was how the
author discusses about the process of reflection and he explains how it is a cognitive
machine that acts to help us interpret and understand stimuli. Through the process of
reflection new ideas are bounced off one another and during this, each individual will
expand their knowledge as a whole. A key part of the article that was also mentioned is to
not pretend like the reader understands everything that he or she just read. Obviously,
there will always be parts of confusion and it's important to reflect on those points of
question. Odds are more than one person will have the same confusion about the reading
and by making a note of it, chances are a resolution could be formed. Lastly, the article
Reflective Writing makes it a point to ensure that the writer is constantly using their
outside knowledge to make connections to what their reflecting on. Similarities can
always be found in all different types of writing and when a reflection process is
occurring, bringing a situation full circle only improves it.
Hampton, Martin. "Reflective Writing: A Basic Introduction."
Http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-supportservices/ask/downloads/Reflective-writing---a-basic-introduction.pdf. Aug. 2010. Web. 9
Sept. 2014.
In the second article, Reflective Writing: a basic introduction, it offers a little
different point of view than the first. It mentions, Reflective writing is the most personal
form of any other writing process (Reflective Writing: a basic introduction 1). With that
said, reflection has to be an incredibly personal process because it is one of the few times
in writing that a persons own opinions are the driving force of the paper. While what is

being reflected upon is also important, nothing trumps the thoughts of the author because
that is why the writing exist. Now as confusing as this may be reflection is still the core
here. Reflection is present in the ideas of the writer which in turn activates our
reflective minds. For example, when we read J.K. Rowlings famous Harry Potter novels,
our reflective minds are being triggered through her thoughts and her reflection. We build
off others and this allows us to really expand our reflective minds and also build
creativity. In the article an importance is also placed on the idea of the reflection process
being more of an exploration of what was just read. When reflecting the writer doesnt
want to just be describing, but more so explaining how he or she feels about what he
processed and try to figure out what deeper meaning could be attributed to that writing.
Interpretation is a key skill in the process of reflection because ones interpretation will
lead to their overall thoughts that they choose to reflect upon. Another important part of
the reflection process is to always remember that reflecting forward is more useful that
looking back at the past (Reflective Writing: a basic introduction 2). While the past is
crucial for making a deeper meaning connection, the future is what brings about new
ideas and will lead to the expansion of ones thoughts. Reflective writing can be a process
that is long and tedious, but it is the only type of writing where personal beliefs hold
center stage. Context is important but the purpose of this expression is to portray one's
individuality and with that there will never be a wrong or a right.
Sources:
Reflective Writing." Http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au. Web. 7 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/reflective.pdf>.
Reflection is how we depict images and how we interpret things that occur in our lives.
We tend to take reflection for granite but reflection is what makes meaning out of the
meaningless. For example, how we perceive something as enjoyable in our everyday
lives is done through our reflective input on that stimuli. Reflection is not also just used
in deciphering what we enjoy it also is how we attach tone to different event especially in
writing. So in turn, we use reflection in writing as a tool to help guide us to not only what
the author wants us to think but also to develop our own reflective thoughts. An example
may be when we read a novel. The Author may have intended for us to take different
meaning than the ones we come up with. Author Brookfield claims that A great deal of
your time university will be spent thinking; thinking about what people have said, what
you have read, what you yourself are thinking and how your thinking has changed
(Brookfield 1987). According to Brookfield reflection is pretty much our entire life. It
dictates how we see and respond to different events. He claims that our cognition is our
reflection and that the cognitive process depends on reflective thinking and critical
thinking (Brookfield 1987). Although, thinking and critical thinking are completely
different aspects of writing, they each come in to play in reflection. Both are essential in
understanding how our reflective minds work. To think of it in simpler terms they are
not separate processes; rather, they are closely connected (Brookfield 1907). Brookfield
creates such a valid point about the two elements by telling us how they are both
imperative for the reflective mind.

Source: Giles, Sara. "Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You
Thinking?" Http://www.parlorpress.com/pdf/giles--reflective-writing-and-the-revisionprocess.pdf. Writing Spaces, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 7 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.parlorpress.com/pdf/giles--reflective-writing-and-the-revision-process.pdf>.
Through the article, Reflective Writing, posted by the University Of New South Wales,
we can see how reflective thinking, Is a form of personal response to experiences,
situations, events or new information (Reflective Writing Pg. 1). The article tells us how
the reflective process begins and goes on to explain the journey that it takes to become a
full-blown idea. The reflective thinking process starts with you (Pg. 1 Reflective
Writing). This first step is crucial because it allows us to stop and think about a situation
and to analyze ourselves, and our surroundings. These thoughts of prior experience and
knowledge turn in to our response that others see and what we use (Reflective Writing
Pg. 1). Reflective Writing dismays that the reflective process is one that revolves solely
around us. The process uses our past experiences and our available heuristics to define
and interpret new stimuli. However, a question that seems to be latent in the article is
what would life be without reflection? If there was a world where we didnt have the
ability to attach meanings to things would that cause chaos? These question all have a
similar outcome; we wouldnt be human. Humans have this incredible ability to develop
thought and abstract reason and reflection shows this. The University of New South
Wales touched the surface of what reflection really is through their explanation of how
we interpret stimuli. What they missed though was the beauty behind reflection.
Reflection is everywhere and something that really displays a reflective characteristic is
the thought of culture. Culture is our beliefs and values which are shaped through
reflection. So reflection in a sense is what we make of our lives through events,
knowledge, writing, and the nature of our surroundings.

Source: Yancey, Kathleen Blake. "Digitized Student Portfolios." Reflection in the

Writing Classroom. Logan, Utah: Utah State UP, 1998. Print.
Another great source would be Kathy Lee Yancey. In her introduction of Digitized
Student Portfolios, she uses some of the similar approaches as Brookfield and Reflective
Writing, but she adds in a twist to the purpose of reflection. Yancey defines reflection as
the processes by which we know what we have accomplished and by which we
articulate accomplishment (Yancey 6). This is an intriguing statement since compared to
the other articles Yancey takes reflection to a much more deeper level. By claiming that
the reflective process gives us a keen sense of accomplishment through our own
accomplishments is very unique. However, our reflection is neither right or wrong so
where does this sense of accomplishment stem from? Maybe it is from the gratitude of
guiding others through your own reflective mind. An example of this could be students
learning through a writers work. She then explains how writers learn through their
mistakes through the process of reflection which is where she then gets this idea of
learning from. Yancey states reflection enhances learning (Yancey Pg. 17). Although,
Yancey does relates with the other sources, she differs by claiming that reflection is the
process by which we think about how we learn (Yancey Pg. 17). So, Yancey asserts that
the cognitive process that is used in reflection also affects how we learn. Yancey also
takes reflection and shows the reader that it is also used in everyday life. She claims how

reflection can take a variety of forms and how something as simple as a letter
synthesizing purpose is reliant on the process of reflection (Yancey Pg. 18). We can
even relate Yancey to Dirks multiple genres theory since she explains how numerous
forms of writings-such as an essay- use reflection. She states, all these genres, are
seeking to embody all these purposes (Yancey Pg. 18). The genres that she is referring
to are the multiple forms of writing such as a letter to your grandmother or an essay to a
teacher. Yancey then goes on to introduce these genres by talking about the reflectionin-presentation. The presentation is like that of a document for the audience, in that each
person is going to asses that certain document in a different way. An example would be a
letter to your grandmother in comparison to a letter to your teacher. Each letter may be
about a similar topic but will take on different tones in order to express our reflection
toward the rhetorical situation. Reflection is not only how we think but also how we
learn. Yancey has shown that learning and thinking-the main points of reflection- go hand
and hand.
Source: THIS IS WATER. Dir. Howard Koepka. Perf. David Foster Wallace. YouTube.
N.p., 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKYJVV7HuZw>.
The talk given by David Foster Wallace, This Is Water, focuses on reflection in
everyday activities and occurrences that are typically overlooked or passed off. The
purpose is for the concepts described in the video to be utilized as a method to analyze
how we choose to live our lives rather to simply drag ourselves through our repetitive
daily schedules. Wallace states, If I dont make a conscious decision about how to think
and what to pay attention to, Im going to be pissed and miserable every time I shop.
Obviously this is in reference to simply how we go about shopping but in retrospect it
truly relates to a much broader concept. Wallace is basically expressing that if we dont
take the time to break ourselves away from the continuous cycle of going through our
normal tasks without consciously thinking, even as seemingly insignificant as just
shopping, that we will drive ourselves to become more and more monotonous.
This robotic kind of lifestyle that many of us have been conditioned into is exactly what
Wallace is trying to touch on with this video. Our natural default setting as he puts it
has to be adjusted in order for us to isolate ourselves from an incessant life of dismissing
the details we experience around us. We need to as a generation move in the direction of
not passing off something as being nondescript and instead, decide how youre going to
see it. Changing the way in which we approach things we encounter will allow us to
reshape our perspective on life itself. Things we might consider ordinary or even bland
may really have an interesting appeal to them. The demeanor of a person we may see or
how we see them act may be a result of something we may not have considered to be a
factor.
We can better our lives by encouraging ourselves to look at situations openly and avoid
being drawn to just letting instances pass us by while we meander around like lifeless
empty-brained individuals who lack the ability to consider alternative possibilities or
circumstances surrounding day-to-day events. Through the thoughts that we have
everyday and the environment we encounter we can strengthen our reflective mind. The
video emphasized how letting our minds wander is so vital to us because in a sense it

allows us to stay sane. This sanity is held together through our reflective mind. Now, in
comparison to my colleagues sources, takes reflection to be a natural cognitive process
that happens even when we stand in line at the store. Wallace then goes on to explain
how even when you have a robotic schedule- like that of the graduate students- our
experiences through reflection allows us to stay at ease with the world around us.
Something that was also brought up was the idea of daydreaming. This is interesting
because as a kid we were always told not to daydream especially in class. However, in
the video Wallace talks about how daydreaming is important in the sense that it allows us
to enhance our creativity and ultimately our reflective minds. Wallace acknowledged
that we truly have the ability to shape our conceptions and alter our continual tendencies
that only limit how we are able to conceptualize what is happening around us. We owe it
to ourselves to change how we think and act. This Is Water is an acknowledgement of
this problem within our society. It provides us with a choice as to how to divert from the
norm and be free of any restrictions we place on ourselves.