How to reflect in an academic context

Reflection at university

Throughout your time at university, you will be asked to think and write reflectively. 

Sometimes what we have learned from an activity or piece of work is not obvious, which is why we need to reflect on our experiences. This page will take you through that process step-by-step. 

What is reflective thinking?

Reflective thinking involves:

• Evaluating your first-hand experience of an event, process or activity, then;
• Analysing the experience to understand what has gone well and less well, then;
• Drawing on the experience to improve or refine your performance if a similar situation arises again.

What is reflective writing?

Reflective writing is a specific style of writing in which you analyse your own experience, using the tools of reflective thinking.

There are various types of reflective writing, for example:

• Stories or narratives: Analysis of an event with a beginning, middle and end and a set of characters
• Learning journals, logs or diaries: Reflect on your learning experiences over time, eg daily or weekly. An entry might be on something as specific as a particular lab method or data analysis technique
• Case studies: demonstrate your understanding of a theory or concept by applying it to your own practice and linking it to your experience
• Personal Development Planning (PDP): eg Doctoral Development Programme (DDP) for PhD students. The DDP helps you use your past experiences and aspirations to identify your training needs and develop an action plan
• Blogs, social media, video diaries: Good ways of selling yourself to potential employers and collaborators as a reflective, self-sufficient learner

Reflective assignments

You may be asked to do some reflective writing for an assignment. You might find it quite different to other styles of academic writing in your subject. Take some time to learn about reflective writing and understand what is required. Here are some tips:

• Reflective writing can vary by discipline, so check with your tutors what is expected from you. 
• You can use a reflective model to structure your writing.
• Reflective writing is personal, but it still needs to be rigorous. It might help to think about your personal experience as a case study or data set for exploration. 
• You will need to put your own experience into a broader context and draw out its implications. For example, you could relate your experience to existing literature or theories, or consider what other researchers/practitioners can learn from your experience.

Attend a writing advisory service appointment for feedback and guidance on reflective assessments. 

Book an appointment (student login required)

MySkills and reflection

MySkills is a digital skills portfolio which provides a space to reflect on your learning and co-curricular experiences during your programme. 

Recording your reflections in MySkills will allow you to build an authentic portfolio that will be invaluable in creating CVs and strengthening job applications and interview performance.

Get started with MySkills

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Why, when and how to reflect

Why reflect?

Reflecting can help you to:

• Apply experiences from one situation to another
• Deal with new challenges confidently
• Identify ways to improve your performance
• Demonstrate that you are an independent and critical learner

When is reflective thinking and writing needed?

Reflective thinking and writing could be needed for the following:

• On your course: reflecting on group work, practical work and coursework, including reflective assessments.
• Dissertation or research: understanding what went well or badly, where your approach was limited and what would you do differently if you were to continue with the research. 
• Job applications or interviews: competency-based questions may require you to reflect on experience, for example: 'Tell me about a time when you worked collaboratively and what challenges you had to overcome'.
• Professional development: engaging in continuous professional development and accreditation in the workplace will usually involve elements of reflection on performance. 

Reflective thinking – how?

When thinking reflectively, you should aim to:

• Be objective, honest and be critical of your own actions. 
• Discuss your experiences with others (peers, lecturers, personal tutor) to gain perspective.
• Compare your experience with that of others, or explore relevant theory – does it match up? Can you learn from, or challenge the theory?

Reflecting on your academic progress workshop: Book here

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Reflective models

You may be asked to use different reflective models within your assignments, or you may wish to choose a reflective model of your own. This guide introduces you to some of the most common models of reflection used within academic writing. 

Gibbs Reflective learning cycle 

This is one of the most commonly-used reflective models in academic writing. It is especially useful if you would like a highly structured way to reflect on an experience, e.g. if you are new to reflective writing.

The stages of the Gibbs model are: 

See G. Gibbs (1988), Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford. 

Watch a video on the Gibbs Reflective learning cycle (Kaltura, 2 minutes)

Try out the Gibbs model. Read through the stages with a recent experience in mind, for example, a job interview or a group project. Write down a few words or bullet points in response to each stage.

Use our Gibbs reflective cycle template (Google Doc)

STARR (situation, task, action, result, reflection)

The STARR method (external website) is a good technique for job interviews and for completing your reflections in mySkills. This model is quite simple to follow and helps you practise communication and reflective skills which are valued by employers.

Think of a specific experience that you want to describe and write about the following points:

• Situation: When / where did the situation take place? Who was involved? What was the environment like?
• Task: What was your role in the situation? What did you want to achieve? How did you perform the task? What was expected of you vs what did you expect from yourself / others?
• Action: How did you approach it and why? What actions did you take & why? How did you try and improve the situation? (if appropriate)
• Result: Has your approach worked - why / why not? What was your part in the end result? What part did you have in the success / failure of the task?
• Reflection: What have you learned from it? How do you think you did in this situation? How satisfied are you with this result? What would you do differently? Can you apply what you have learned to other situations? How did you feel about the end result?

Think of a skill that you could demonstrate to an employer, for example, team working, problem solving, creative thinking, or time management. Have a go at using the STARR method to describe a situation in which you used that skill.

Use our STARR technique template (Google Doc)

What? So What? Now What? 

This is one of the simplest models for reflective writing. While it was originally designed for reflecting on medical practice, it can be used for any kind of reflective writing. It is memorable and useful for reflecting on-the-go in practice-based disciplines.

The stages of the model are:

• What? What happened, how did you react, and what did you do in response? If relevant to explaining your response, how did others who were involved respond? For an accurate record of the event, try to write this as soon as you can afterwards.
• So what? How did you feel, and were these feelings similar/different to others who were involved? This is your raw data that needs to be immediate and authentic. If you think back later on it is unlikely that you will be able to remember your emotional response. How do you feel now - do you feel similarly/differently?
  • What effect did your response and actions have, and what positive and negative observations have you made about your practice as a result of the event (both in practice and through the process of reflection?) Did you benefit from any observations or feedback from others involved in the event? 
• Now what? What are the implications of the event for you and others involved - what have you learned, and what conclusions do you draw from the event? Is there literature that can help you to understand your experience? Looking forward, how could you change your approach if you faced a similar situation in the future?

See J. Driscoll (1994), ‘Reflective practice for practise’, Senior Nurse, 14(1), pp.47-50 and (2007), Practising Clinical Supervision. 2nd edn. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Try using What? So What? Now What? Think of an experience that was difficult or that you really learned from. Write down a few words or bullet points in response to each question.

Use our ‘What? So What? Now What?’ template (Google Doc)

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Top tips

Try using the following phrases to get you started:

• I learnt or I discovered…
• I was surprised or I was excited by…
• I was moved by or I felt…
• I wonder about…
• I need to know more about…
• I was reminded that…
• I’m challenged by… or challenged to…
• I need to remember… or remember to…

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What? When? Who? Why? Where?
• How? What if? So what? What next?

Remember the following:

• Insights – What I've learnt
• Applications – How I'll use what I've learnt
• Questions – What I need to learn or explore further

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Next steps

• How to mind map your academic work
• How to make notes
• How to study independently

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Further Resources

• University of Cambridge: Reflective practice toolkit
• University of Hull: Reflective writing video [YouTube, 6.07 minutes]
• University of Reading: Reflective writing study guide