What reflective writing is
Reflective writing examines your own experience, such as a group project, a work placement or a leadership moment, in order to understand it and learn from it. Description is only the starting point. A reflective essay shows what happened, why it happened, what you thought and felt, what theory helps explain it, and how you will act differently next time.
It differs from other essays in three ways. It uses the first person. It treats your own thinking as evidence. And it is usually marked on the depth of your insight rather than on the experience itself, so an ordinary event, honestly analyzed, can earn more than a dramatic one that is only narrated.
Choose a suitable experience
Pick something specific, recent and meaningful enough to analyze. Good examples include a team conflict, leading a meeting, a presentation that went badly, a negotiation, a customer complaint you handled or a project deadline you nearly missed. Avoid experiences that are too broad (my time at university) or too trivial to discuss in depth. A useful test is whether you can name a moment where you made a choice, and a reason you made it.
Check any limits in the assignment. Some courses require an experience from the course itself, such as a group assignment, and others allow work or personal examples. Also consider confidentiality: change names and avoid sensitive details about employers or colleagues.
Use a model to give it structure
Reflective models are frameworks for asking good questions. Your course may name one. If not, choose the one that suits your experience.
| Model | Stages | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Gibbs reflective cycle | Description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, action plan | Detailed reflection with a clear action plan; the most commonly set |
| Kolb learning cycle | Concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation | Connecting experience to theory and to future experiments |
| Rolfe framework | What? So what? Now what? | Short reflections and journals |
| DIEP (description, interpretation, evaluation, plan) | Four stages that echo Gibbs in a compact form | Concise assignments |
You do not need to use headings for each stage unless your instructor wants them. A strong essay can follow the model in flowing paragraphs while making sure each stage is clearly covered.
A worked example using Gibbs
Imagine a reflective essay about a group presentation that went badly. Here is how each Gibbs stage might read, in the first person.
Gibbs stages (illustrative)
Description. In week eight, our team of five presented a marketing plan for a local bakery. We had divided slides by person and did not rehearse together. Midway through, two slides contradicted each other on the target market, and our questions from the tutor exposed gaps in our budget.
Feelings. I felt confident beforehand because my section was well prepared, but anxious during questions, and embarrassed afterward. I also felt frustrated with the team, which I now think was unfair because I had not checked how the sections fit together either.
Evaluation. What went well was individual preparation and the quality of our research. What went badly was integration and the lack of shared ownership of the plan.
Analysis. Tuckman's model suggests that we skipped the norming stage and went from forming straight to performing. We never agreed on a shared standard for the plan. Belbin's team roles also help explain it: we had several people comfortable with detail and none who naturally played the coordinator role.
Conclusion. I learned that dividing work is not the same as collaborating, and that unclear roles produce inconsistent output. I also learned that I tend to assume coordination will happen, rather than taking responsibility for it.
Action plan. In my next group project, I will propose a short meeting at the start to agree on roles and a single editor for consistency, schedule a rehearsal at least two days before the deadline, and volunteer to do the integration check myself.
Notice how the evaluation and analysis move beyond narration. The analysis ties the experience to theory, and the action plan is specific enough to be tested.
Link theory to your experience
Higher marks come from using concepts to explain what happened. Choose one or two theories that genuinely apply, explain them in a sentence, and show how they illuminate your experience. Common choices in business courses include:
- Teamwork: Tuckman's stages of group development, Belbin's team roles.
- Leadership: transformational and transactional leadership, situational leadership.
- Motivation: Maslow, Herzberg, expectancy theory.
- Communication and conflict: Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes, active listening, feedback models.
- Decision making: cognitive biases, rational versus intuitive decisions.
Cite the theory using your required style. See our guide to Harvard and APA referencing. Do not list many theories. One well-applied concept beats four mentioned in passing.
A second example: reflecting with Kolb on a leadership moment
Suppose you chaired a team meeting that overran and ended without decisions. Kolb's cycle gives you four questions to answer.
Kolb stages (illustrative)
Concrete experience. I chaired a weekly meeting for our five-person project team. We planned 45 minutes but ran for 90, discussed the same budget question three times and left without assigning anyone the next task.
Reflective observation. Looking back, I notice that I had no written agenda, I let the loudest voices dominate and I avoided cutting off a team member who was clearly frustrated. The meeting also drained my energy because I was trying to listen, take notes and lead at once.
Abstract conceptualization. Research on meeting effectiveness suggests that a clear purpose, a timed agenda and defined roles produce better decisions, and that the chair's main task is to manage process, not to contribute content. Tannenbaum and Schmidt's continuum of leadership behavior also helps: I sat at the participative end by default, when the situation, with a deadline approaching, called for a more directive stance on the budget decision.
Active experimentation. For the next meeting I will circulate a three-item agenda with time limits, appoint a note-taker, and state the decision needed at the start. I will measure success by whether we end on time with named owners for each action.
The strongest feature of this example is the link between the observation and the theory. The writer does not simply say the meeting was bad. They explain why with concepts and propose an experiment they can check.
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Get an instant quoteBefore and after: descriptive versus reflective writing
| Descriptive (earns little) | Reflective (earns more) |
|---|---|
| In our group project, we had a disagreement about the topic. We discussed it and eventually chose the second option. | When our group disagreed about the topic, I stayed quiet because I wanted to avoid conflict. Afterward I realized my silence meant the decision reflected only two voices. Thomas and Kilmann's modes help here: I was avoiding when collaborating would have served the team better. |
| The presentation went well and I felt happy with the result. | The presentation went well, but I should ask why. I prepared early and rehearsed twice, which reduced my anxiety. Next time I will use the same routine for the other tasks where I tend to leave work to the last minute. |
| I learned a lot about teamwork. | I learned that I assume others share my standards without saying them. In future I will agree explicit quality expectations at the start of a project. |
The difference is almost always a because and a so I will. Add those two and a descriptive sentence becomes a reflective one.
What markers usually look for
| Criterion | What strong work shows |
|---|---|
| Depth of reflection | Goes beyond what happened to why, with honest examination of your own assumptions and actions |
| Use of theory | One or two relevant concepts applied accurately and used to explain the experience |
| Learning | Clear, specific statements of what you now understand or do differently |
| Action plan | Concrete, realistic steps with a way to check progress |
| Structure and clarity | A logical flow, with each stage of the chosen model visible |
| Writing quality and referencing | Clear, professional language and correct citations |
Check your assignment's rubric against this list. If your rubric weights the action plan heavily, spend more words there.
Voice, honesty and tone
Write in the first person and in the past tense for events, switching to present tense for what you now understand and future tense for your action plan. Be honest, including about mistakes. Markers generally reward candid self-assessment more than a polished account in which everything went well. At the same time, avoid melodrama and blame. Analyze your own role and the situation, not other people's characters.
Keep a professional tone. A phrase like I realized that I had assumed rather than checked is better than I was an idiot. And keep your reflection grounded in specifics: what exactly was said, decided or done.
A simple structure
| Section | Share of words | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 10 percent | Brief context, the experience you will reflect on and what you aim to learn |
| Description | 15 percent | What happened, concisely |
| Feelings and evaluation | 20 percent | Your reactions, what went well and what did not |
| Analysis with theory | 30 percent | Why it happened, linking to concepts and sources |
| Conclusion and learning | 10 percent | What you learned about yourself and about practice |
| Action plan | 15 percent | Specific changes you will make and how you will judge them |
Mistakes to avoid
- Too much description Keep the narrative short. Most marks are for analysis and learning.
- No theory Link at least one relevant concept and cite it.
- Vague learning I learned the importance of communication says nothing. Say what you will do differently and why.
- Blaming others Focus on your decisions and what you can influence.
- An action plan that cannot be tested Say what you will do, when, and how you will know it worked.
- Only positive Include a genuine weakness and what it taught you.
If you want help shaping a reflection or polishing the structure, you can order a reflective essay and share your notes.