assignment final reflection project

Guide on How to Write a Reflection Paper with Free Tips and Example

A reflection paper is a very common type of paper among college students. Almost any subject you enroll in requires you to express your opinion on certain matters. In this article, we will explain how to write a reflection paper and provide examples and useful tips to make the essay writing process easier.

Reflection papers should have an academic tone yet be personal and subjective. In this paper, you should analyze and reflect upon how an experience, academic task, article, or lecture shaped your perception and thoughts on a subject.

Here is what you need to know about writing an effective critical reflection paper. Stick around until the end of our guide to get some useful writing tips from the writing team at EssayPro — a research paper writing service

What Is a Reflection Paper

A reflection paper is a type of paper that requires you to write your opinion on a topic, supporting it with your observations and personal experiences. As opposed to presenting your reader with the views of other academics and writers, in this essay, you get an opportunity to write your point of view—and the best part is that there is no wrong answer. It is YOUR opinion, and it is your job to express your thoughts in a manner that will be understandable and clear for all readers that will read your paper. The topic range is endless. Here are some examples: whether or not you think aliens exist, your favorite TV show, or your opinion on the outcome of WWII. You can write about pretty much anything.

There are three types of reflection paper; depending on which one you end up with, the tone you write with can be slightly different. The first type is the educational reflective paper. Here your job is to write feedback about a book, movie, or seminar you attended—in a manner that teaches the reader about it. The second is the professional paper. Usually, it is written by people who study or work in education or psychology. For example, it can be a reflection of someone’s behavior. And the last is the personal type, which explores your thoughts and feelings about an individual subject.

However, reflection paper writing will stop eventually with one very important final paper to write - your resume. This is where you will need to reflect on your entire life leading up to that moment. To learn how to list education on resume perfectly, follow the link on our dissertation writing services .

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Free Reflection Paper Example

Now that we went over all of the essentials about a reflection paper and how to approach it, we would like to show you some examples that will definitely help you with getting started on your paper.

Reflection Paper Format

Reflection papers typically do not follow any specific format. Since it is your opinion, professors usually let you handle them in any comfortable way. It is best to write your thoughts freely, without guideline constraints. If a personal reflection paper was assigned to you, the format of your paper might depend on the criteria set by your professor. College reflection papers (also known as reflection essays) can typically range from about 400-800 words in length.

Here’s how we can suggest you format your reflection paper:

How to Start a Reflection Paper

The first thing to do when beginning to work on a reflection essay is to read your article thoroughly while taking notes. Whether you are reflecting on, for example, an activity, book/newspaper, or academic essay, you want to highlight key ideas and concepts.

You can start writing your reflection paper by summarizing the main concept of your notes to see if your essay includes all the information needed for your readers. It is helpful to add charts, diagrams, and lists to deliver your ideas to the audience in a better fashion.

After you have finished reading your article, it’s time to brainstorm. We’ve got a simple brainstorming technique for writing reflection papers. Just answer some of the basic questions below:

• How did the article affect you?
• How does this article catch the reader’s attention (or does it all)?
• Has the article changed your mind about something? If so, explain how.
• Has the article left you with any questions?
• Were there any unaddressed critical issues that didn’t appear in the article?
• Does the article relate to anything from your past reading experiences?
• Does the article agree with any of your past reading experiences?

Here are some reflection paper topic examples for you to keep in mind before preparing to write your own:

• How my views on rap music have changed over time
• My reflection and interpretation of Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Why my theory about the size of the universe has changed over time
• How my observations for clinical psychological studies have developed in the last year

The result of your brainstorming should be a written outline of the contents of your future paper. Do not skip this step, as it will ensure that your essay will have a proper flow and appropriate organization.

Another good way to organize your ideas is to write them down in a 3-column chart or table.

Do you want your task look awesome?

If you would like your reflection paper to look professional, feel free to check out one of our articles on how to format MLA, APA or Chicago style

Writing a Reflection Paper Outline

Reflection paper should contain few key elements:

Introduction

Your introduction should specify what you’re reflecting upon. Make sure that your thesis informs your reader about your general position, or opinion, toward your subject.

• State what you are analyzing: a passage, a lecture, an academic article, an experience, etc...)
• Briefly summarize the work.
• Write a thesis statement stating how your subject has affected you.

One way you can start your thesis is to write:

Example: “After reading/experiencing (your chosen topic), I gained the knowledge of…”

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs should examine your ideas and experiences in context to your topic. Make sure each new body paragraph starts with a topic sentence.

Your reflection may include quotes and passages if you are writing about a book or an academic paper. They give your reader a point of reference to fully understand your feedback. Feel free to describe what you saw, what you heard, and how you felt.

Example: “I saw many people participating in our weight experiment. The atmosphere felt nervous yet inspiring. I was amazed by the excitement of the event.”

As with any conclusion, you should summarize what you’ve learned from the experience. Next, tell the reader how your newfound knowledge has affected your understanding of the subject in general. Finally, describe the feeling and overall lesson you had from the reading or experience.

There are a few good ways to conclude a reflection paper:

• Tie all the ideas from your body paragraphs together, and generalize the major insights you’ve experienced.
• Restate your thesis and summarize the content of your paper.

We have a separate blog post dedicated to writing a great conclusion. Be sure to check it out for an in-depth look at how to make a good final impression on your reader.

Need a hand? Get help from our writers. Edit, proofread or buy essay .

How to Write a Reflection Paper: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: create a main theme.

After you choose your topic, write a short summary about what you have learned about your experience with that topic. Then, let readers know how you feel about your case — and be honest. Chances are that your readers will likely be able to relate to your opinion or at least the way you form your perspective, which will help them better understand your reflection.

For example: After watching a TEDx episode on Wim Hof, I was able to reevaluate my preconceived notions about the negative effects of cold exposure.

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas and Experiences You’ve Had Related to Your Topic

You can write down specific quotes, predispositions you have, things that influenced you, or anything memorable. Be personal and explain, in simple words, how you felt.

For example: • A lot of people think that even a small amount of carbohydrates will make people gain weight • A specific moment when I struggled with an excess weight where I avoided carbohydrates entirely • The consequences of my actions that gave rise to my research • The evidence and studies of nutritional science that claim carbohydrates alone are to blame for making people obese • My new experience with having a healthy diet with a well-balanced intake of nutrients • The influence of other people’s perceptions on the harm of carbohydrates, and the role their influence has had on me • New ideas I’ve created as a result of my shift in perspective

Step 3: Analyze How and Why These Ideas and Experiences Have Affected Your Interpretation of Your Theme

Pick an idea or experience you had from the last step, and analyze it further. Then, write your reasoning for agreeing or disagreeing with it.

For example, Idea: I was raised to think that carbohydrates make people gain weight.

Analysis: Most people think that if they eat any carbohydrates, such as bread, cereal, and sugar, they will gain weight. I believe in this misconception to such a great extent that I avoided carbohydrates entirely. As a result, my blood glucose levels were very low. I needed to do a lot of research to overcome my beliefs finally. Afterward, I adopted the philosophy of “everything in moderation” as a key to a healthy lifestyle.

For example: Idea: I was brought up to think that carbohydrates make people gain weight. Analysis: Most people think that if they eat any carbohydrates, such as bread, cereal, and sugar, they will gain weight. I believe in this misconception to such a great extent that I avoided carbohydrates entirely. As a result, my blood glucose levels were very low. I needed to do a lot of my own research to finally overcome my beliefs. After, I adopted the philosophy of “everything in moderation” as a key for having a healthy lifestyle.

Step 4: Make Connections Between Your Observations, Experiences, and Opinions

Try to connect your ideas and insights to form a cohesive picture for your theme. You can also try to recognize and break down your assumptions, which you may challenge in the future.

There are some subjects for reflection papers that are most commonly written about. They include:

• Book – Start by writing some information about the author’s biography and summarize the plot—without revealing the ending to keep your readers interested. Make sure to include the names of the characters, the main themes, and any issues mentioned in the book. Finally, express your thoughts and reflect on the book itself.
• Course – Including the course name and description is a good place to start. Then, you can write about the course flow, explain why you took this course, and tell readers what you learned from it. Since it is a reflection paper, express your opinion, supporting it with examples from the course.
• Project – The structure for a reflection paper about a project has identical guidelines to that of a course. One of the things you might want to add would be the pros and cons of the course. Also, mention some changes you might want to see, and evaluate how relevant the skills you acquired are to real life.
• Interview – First, introduce the person and briefly mention the discussion. Touch on the main points, controversies, and your opinion of that person.

Writing Tips

Everyone has their style of writing a reflective essay – and that's the beauty of it; you have plenty of leeway with this type of paper – but there are still a few tips everyone should incorporate.

Before you start your piece, read some examples of other papers; they will likely help you better understand what they are and how to approach yours. When picking your subject, try to write about something unusual and memorable — it is more likely to capture your readers' attention. Never write the whole essay at once. Space out the time slots when you work on your reflection paper to at least a day apart. This will allow your brain to generate new thoughts and reflections.

• Short and Sweet – Most reflection papers are between 250 and 750 words. Don't go off on tangents. Only include relevant information.
• Clear and Concise – Make your paper as clear and concise as possible. Use a strong thesis statement so your essay can follow it with the same strength.
• Maintain the Right Tone – Use a professional and academic tone—even though the writing is personal.
• Cite Your Sources – Try to cite authoritative sources and experts to back up your personal opinions.
• Proofreading – Not only should you proofread for spelling and grammatical errors, but you should proofread to focus on your organization as well. Answer the question presented in the introduction.

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Final Reflective Essay

At the beginning of the course, I was new to college writing. My writing skills were not bad, but they needed some fine tuning. A lot of the skills I have translated over easily from high school, but some did not. I was always good at getting information and laying down a foundation. Alongside that, I’ve always found writing easy once I have that base. Filling out the main ideas were simple. However, once I arrived in college it was apparent to myself that I needed more detail, and that it was something I lacked. It needed improving, but it was not a hard fix. Sometimes it is hard for me to understand why some writing needs more detail but others do not. This class has helped me fix that issue a bit, while also strengthening my proficiency in other areas. Throughout the semester, I have completed assignments that have increased my skills, and broadened my sense as a writer in different areas. By taking this class, I have been able to develop rhetorical knowledge, develop critical thinking, reading, and information literacy, develop effective strategies for drafting texts, and develop knowledge of conventions.

This class has helped me develop rhetorical knowledge by analyzing and composing multiple forms of writing to understand how genre conventions shape readers’ and writers’ practices and purposes. This means that I have been able to analyze different types of writing in order to understand how a genre affects how an author writes, and how the reader reads. One assignment that comes to mind that helped me achieve this outcome was our advertisement analysis assignments. In class, we spent time looking at different advertisements, and how they appealed to certain audiences. We all had to bring an advertisement to class, and analyze it ourselves, pointing out what techniques the ads were using, if they were effective or not, and who were they targeting. This assignment helps develop rhetoric as it allowed me to understand how the category of advertisement writing can differ from not only other genres, but other ads as well.

Rhetoric knowledge was also developed by practicing purposeful shifts in structure, content, diction, tone, formality, design, and/or medium in accordance with the rhetorical situation, which means to be able to change your writing to reflect the rhetorical situation at hand. This was not the result of one assignment, but many. During the course we were asked to write different essays that reflected different styles of writing. From storytelling and analyzation, to infographics and research assignments, I have been able to change how I write in order to meet the requirements. For example, in the literacy narrative, I had to write to convey a story. This means using traditional elements of a story, such as a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution, along with elements such as foreshadowing. This style of writing is different from an image analysis essay, where the purpose is mostly informative rather than anecdotal. In this case, elements such as facts, context, and comparison are common, and story like elements would not be appropriate here. I display that I have met this outcome by understanding how to write in those genres and how to keep it appropriate.

Another outcome this class has helped me meet is developing critical thinking, reading, and information literacy by composing and reading for inquiry, learning, critical thinking, and communicating. One such way I have met this outcome is by writing journals almost every class about different things. Every so often we had to write a journal about our thoughts about either our writing skills, how we defined different terms, and our reflections on our assignments. By completing these journals, I was able to look back on certain assignments, and learn how I was able to accomplish what I did. This style of writing is helpful because of its creative nature, and allows myself to become better as a writer.

Two more ways I was able to develop my critical thinking, reading, and information literacy skills was by using outside materials in their own writing through techniques such as interpretation, synthesis, response, critique, and design/redesign, and incorporating outside materials through quotations, paraphrase, and summary. By completing the image analysis essay, I was able to meet the outcome about using outside materials in your own writing. I used two advertisements in the essay, and analyzed how they were done, and who they targeted, in order to compare and contrast them at the end. I appropriately commented on their effectiveness, and how they could have improved. Speaking of using outside materials, my research essay demonstrated the outcome related to using paraphrase due to the nature of the assignment. By using outside sources, I was able to make my argument stronger, and I was able to improve as a writer because my skill to read and take information away improved.

The third outcome this class helped me to achieve was to develop effective strategies for drafting texts by working through multiple drafts of a project and recognizing the role of reflecting, revising, and editing in the process, engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes, such as learning to give and to act on productive feedback to works in progress, both by and with peers and in one-on-one instructor conferences, and critically reflecting on how they may further develop and apply writing skills in the future. The first outcome was reached simply through the rough drafts of each project. I usually had to brainstorm first, but afterwards, I was able to just write in order to get the information down. It had quite a few flaws to begin with, but during editing, most of them were ironed out easily. The second outcome was achieved through peer review. This was something I had always struggled with because I did not know how to do it. After learning, I saw how important it was. It allowed me to see mistakes my brain would have never saw, and let me see what my most common mistake were, which then allowed me to know what to avoid when writing. By reviewing other’s works, I was able to see common writing errors in general, and thus gave me information about what to avoid. The last outcome was achieved through peer review reflection. This is self-explanatory, but being able to reflect on the advice given is helpful. Mostly because it allows you to take a step back, and go over everything. You can see what you did well, and what you need to avoid in the future. This way, in future endeavors, the same mistakes will hopefully not be made.

The last outcome this class helped me to achieve was to develop knowledge of conventions by demonstrating competence in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, practicing genre conventions for structure, paragraphing, tone and mechanics, and understanding the concepts of intellectual property that motivate documentation conventions through application of recognized citation styles. The first two outcomes are rather similar, in the regard that most of the assignments help reach this outcome. Grammar will never change in writing, so it is important to get it write initially. The only assignment that really tested this was peer review. Being able to recognize sentences that do not make sense is helpful, and will help a writer catch confusing or contradicting statements. As for practicing genre conventions, almost every project helped display that. Writing paragraphs and formatting them correctly is easy, so there is not reason to drag on about this point. Lastly, the assignment that helped reach the outcome about citing intellectual property was the research assignment. It is important to cite your sources so that you do not plagiarize someone’s work, and jeopardize your own academic career. The research assignment helped because you had to find sources for you argument, and as a result, citations would follow.

During the course, I was faced with a few assignments where I had to write day by day, and not just in one day. Writing is not something to do, but rather a process that you have to follow in order to succeed. Many of the different assignments helped improve my skills in rhetoric, critical thinking, drafting, and conventions. While some did not improve much, others did exponentially. The work is not perfect, but for a beginner in college, it shows that I am willing to put in the time and effort to become more than just a beginner. As I progress through school, I hope to not only maintain these skills, but improve them also. Writing is not something that you leave behind after leaving school, so it is important that I take these skills not only with me for the next four years, but for the rest of my life. If I succeed in doing that, then I will always be prepared for any assignment that my field of interest throws at me.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Reflective writing is a process of identifying, questioning, and critically evaluating course-based learning opportunities, integrated with your own observations, experiences, impressions, beliefs, assumptions, or biases, and which describes how this process stimulated new or creative understanding about the content of the course.

A reflective paper describes and explains in an introspective, first person narrative, your reactions and feelings about either a specific element of the class [e.g., a required reading; a film shown in class] or more generally how you experienced learning throughout the course. Reflective writing assignments can be in the form of a single paper, essays, portfolios, journals, diaries, or blogs. In some cases, your professor may include a reflective writing assignment as a way to obtain student feedback that helps improve the course, either in the moment or for when the class is taught again.

How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8.

Benefits of Reflective Writing Assignments

As the term implies, a reflective paper involves looking inward at oneself in contemplating and bringing meaning to the relationship between course content and the acquisition of new knowledge . Educational research [Bolton, 2010; Ryan, 2011; Tsingos-Lucas et al., 2017] demonstrates that assigning reflective writing tasks enhances learning because it challenges students to confront their own assumptions, biases, and belief systems around what is being taught in class and, in so doing, stimulate student’s decisions, actions, attitudes, and understanding about themselves as learners and in relation to having mastery over their learning. Reflection assignments are also an opportunity to write in a first person narrative about elements of the course, such as the required readings, separate from the exegetic and analytical prose of academic research papers.

Reflection writing often serves multiple purposes simultaneously. In no particular order, here are some of reasons why professors assign reflection papers:

• Enhances learning from previous knowledge and experience in order to improve future decision-making and reasoning in practice . Reflective writing in the applied social sciences enhances decision-making skills and academic performance in ways that can inform professional practice. The act of reflective writing creates self-awareness and understanding of others. This is particularly important in clinical and service-oriented professional settings.
• Allows students to make sense of classroom content and overall learning experiences in relation to oneself, others, and the conditions that shaped the content and classroom experiences . Reflective writing places you within the course content in ways that can deepen your understanding of the material. Because reflective thinking can help reveal hidden biases, it can help you critically interrogate moments when you do not like or agree with discussions, readings, or other aspects of the course.
• Increases awareness of one’s cognitive abilities and the evidence for these attributes . Reflective writing can break down personal doubts about yourself as a learner and highlight specific abilities that may have been hidden or suppressed due to prior assumptions about the strength of your academic abilities [e.g., reading comprehension; problem-solving skills]. Reflective writing, therefore, can have a positive affective [i.e., emotional] impact on your sense of self-worth.
• Applying theoretical knowledge and frameworks to real experiences . Reflective writing can help build a bridge of relevancy between theoretical knowledge and the real world. In so doing, this form of writing can lead to a better understanding of underlying theories and their analytical properties applied to professional practice.
• Reveals shortcomings that the reader will identify . Evidence suggests that reflective writing can uncover your own shortcomings as a learner, thereby, creating opportunities to anticipate the responses of your professor may have about the quality of your coursework. This can be particularly productive if the reflective paper is written before final submission of an assignment.
• Helps students identify their tacit [a.k.a., implicit] knowledge and possible gaps in that knowledge . Tacit knowledge refers to ways of knowing rooted in lived experience, insight, and intuition rather than formal, codified, categorical, or explicit knowledge. In so doing, reflective writing can stimulate students to question their beliefs about a research problem or an element of the course content beyond positivist modes of understanding and representation.
• Encourages students to actively monitor their learning processes over a period of time . On-going reflective writing in journals or blogs, for example, can help you maintain or adapt learning strategies in other contexts. The regular, purposeful act of reflection can facilitate continuous deep thinking about the course content as it evolves and changes throughout the term. This, in turn, can increase your overall confidence as a learner.
• Relates a student’s personal experience to a wider perspective . Reflection papers can help you see the big picture associated with the content of a course by forcing you to think about the connections between scholarly content and your lived experiences outside of school. It can provide a macro-level understanding of one’s own experiences in relation to the specifics of what is being taught.
• If reflective writing is shared, students can exchange stories about their learning experiences, thereby, creating an opportunity to reevaluate their original assumptions or perspectives . In most cases, reflective writing is only viewed by your professor in order to ensure candid feedback from students. However, occasionally, reflective writing is shared and openly discussed in class. During these discussions, new or different perspectives and alternative approaches to solving problems can be generated that would otherwise be hidden. Sharing student's reflections can also reveal collective patterns of thought and emotions about a particular element of the course.

Bolton, Gillie. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development . London: Sage, 2010; Chang, Bo. "Reflection in Learning." Online Learning 23 (2019), 95-110; Cavilla, Derek. "The Effects of Student Reflection on Academic Performance and Motivation." Sage Open 7 (July-September 2017): 1–13; Culbert, Patrick. “Better Teaching? You Can Write On It “ Liberal Education (February 2022); McCabe, Gavin and Tobias Thejll-Madsen. The Reflection Toolkit . University of Edinburgh; The Purpose of Reflection . Introductory Composition at Purdue University; Practice-based and Reflective Learning . Study Advice Study Guides, University of Reading; Ryan, Mary. "Improving Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Social Semiotic Perspective." Teaching in Higher Education 16 (2011): 99-111; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8; What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse; Rykkje, Linda. "The Tacit Care Knowledge in Reflective Writing: A Practical Wisdom." International Practice Development Journal 7 (September 2017): Article 5; Using Reflective Writing to Deepen Student Learning . Center for Writing, University of Minnesota.

How to Approach Writing a Reflection Paper

Thinking About Reflective Thinking

Educational theorists have developed numerous models of reflective thinking that your professor may use to frame a reflective writing assignment. These models can help you systematically interpret your learning experiences, thereby ensuring that you ask the right questions and have a clear understanding of what should be covered. A model can also represent the overall structure of a reflective paper. Each model establishes a different approach to reflection and will require you to think about your writing differently. If you are unclear how to fit your writing within a particular reflective model, seek clarification from your professor. There are generally two types of reflective writing assignments, each approached in slightly different ways.

1.  Reflective Thinking about Course Readings

This type of reflective writing focuses on thoughtfully thinking about the course readings that underpin how most students acquire new knowledge and understanding about the subject of a course. Reflecting on course readings is often assigned in freshmen-level, interdisciplinary courses where the required readings examine topics viewed from multiple perspectives and, as such, provide different ways of analyzing a topic, issue, event, or phenomenon. The purpose of reflective thinking about course readings in the social and behavioral sciences is to elicit your opinions, beliefs, and feelings about the research and its significance. This type of writing can provide an opportunity to break down key assumptions you may have and, in so doing, reveal potential biases in how you interpret the scholarship.

If you are assigned to reflect on course readings, consider the following methods of analysis as prompts that can help you get started :

• Examine carefully the main introductory elements of the reading, including the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework being used to test assumptions, and the research questions being addressed. Think about what ideas stood out to you. Why did they? Were these ideas new to you or familiar in some way based on your own lived experiences or prior knowledge?
• Develop your ideas around the readings by asking yourself, what do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge about this topic come from? What are the observations or experiences in my life that influence my understanding of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the main arguments, recommended course of actions, or conclusions made by the author(s)? Why do I feel this way and what is the basis of these feelings?
• Make connections between the text and your own beliefs, opinions, or feelings by considering questions like, how do the readings reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How the readings challenge these ideas or assumptions? How does this text help me to better understand this topic or research in ways that motivate me to learn more about this area of study?

2.  Reflective Thinking about Course Experiences

This type of reflective writing asks you to critically reflect on locating yourself at the conceptual intersection of theory and practice. The purpose of experiential reflection is to evaluate theories or disciplinary-based analytical models based on your introspective assessment of the relationship between hypothetical thinking and practical reality; it offers a way to consider how your own knowledge and skills fit within professional practice. This type of writing also provides an opportunity to evaluate your decisions and actions, as well as how you managed your subsequent successes and failures, within a specific theoretical framework. As a result, abstract concepts can crystallize and become more relevant to you when considered within your own experiences. This can help you formulate plans for self-improvement as you learn.

If you are assigned to reflect on your experiences, consider the following questions as prompts to help you get started :

• Contextualize your reflection in relation to the overarching purpose of the course by asking yourself, what did you hope to learn from this course? What were the learning objectives for the course and how did I fit within each of them? How did these goals relate to the main themes or concepts of the course?
• Analyze how you experienced the course by asking yourself, what did I learn from this experience? What did I learn about myself? About working in this area of research and study? About how the course relates to my place in society? What assumptions about the course were supported or refuted?
• Think introspectively about the ways you experienced learning during the course by asking yourself, did your learning experiences align with the goals or concepts of the course? Why or why do you not feel this way? What was successful and why do you believe this? What would you do differently and why is this important? How will you prepare for a future experience in this area of study?

NOTE: If you are assigned to write a journal or other type of on-going reflection exercise, a helpful approach is to reflect on your reflections by re-reading what you have already written. In other words, review your previous entries as a way to contextualize your feelings, opinions, or beliefs regarding your overall learning experiences. Over time, this can also help reveal hidden patterns or themes related to how you processed your learning experiences. Consider concluding your reflective journal with a summary of how you felt about your learning experiences at critical junctures throughout the course, then use these to write about how you grew as a student learner and how the act of reflecting helped you gain new understanding about the subject of the course and its content.

ANOTHER NOTE: Regardless of whether you write a reflection paper or a journal, do not focus your writing on the past. The act of reflection is intended to think introspectively about previous learning experiences. However, reflective thinking should document the ways in which you progressed in obtaining new insights and understandings about your growth as a learner that can be carried forward in subsequent coursework or in future professional practice. Your writing should reflect a furtherance of increasing personal autonomy and confidence gained from understanding more about yourself as a learner.

Structure and Writing Style

There are no strict academic rules for writing a reflective paper. Reflective writing may be assigned in any class taught in the social and behavioral sciences and, therefore, requirements for the assignment can vary depending on disciplinary-based models of inquiry and learning. The organization of content can also depend on what your professor wants you to write about or based on the type of reflective model used to frame the writing assignment. Despite these possible variations, below is a basic approach to organizing and writing a good reflective paper, followed by a list of problems to avoid.

Pre-flection

In most cases, it's helpful to begin by thinking about your learning experiences and outline what you want to focus on before you begin to write the paper. This can help you organize your thoughts around what was most important to you and what experiences [good or bad] had the most impact on your learning. As described by the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre, preparing to write a reflective paper involves a process of self-analysis that can help organize your thoughts around significant moments of in-class knowledge discovery.

• Using a thesis statement as a guide, note what experiences or course content stood out to you , then place these within the context of your observations, reactions, feelings, and opinions. This will help you develop a rough outline of key moments during the course that reflect your growth as a learner. To identify these moments, pose these questions to yourself: What happened? What was my reaction? What were my expectations and how were they different from what transpired? What did I learn?
• Critically think about your learning experiences and the course content . This will help you develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding about why these moments were significant or relevant to you. Use the ideas you formulated during the first stage of reflecting to help you think through these moments from both an academic and personal perspective. From an academic perspective, contemplate how the experience enhanced your understanding of a concept, theory, or skill. Ask yourself, did the experience confirm my previous understanding or challenge it in some way. As a result, did this highlight strengths or gaps in your current knowledge? From a personal perspective, think introspectively about why these experiences mattered, if previous expectations or assumptions were confirmed or refuted, and if this surprised, confused, or unnerved you in some way.
• Analyze how these experiences and your reactions to them will shape your future thinking and behavior . Reflection implies looking back, but the most important act of reflective writing is considering how beliefs, assumptions, opinions, and feelings were transformed in ways that better prepare you as a learner in the future. Note how this reflective analysis can lead to actions you will take as a result of your experiences, what you will do differently, and how you will apply what you learned in other courses or in professional practice.

Basic Structure and Writing Style

Reflective Background and Context

The first part of your reflection paper should briefly provide background and context in relation to the content or experiences that stood out to you. Highlight the settings, summarize the key readings, or narrate the experiences in relation to the course objectives. Provide background that sets the stage for your reflection. You do not need to go into great detail, but you should provide enough information for the reader to understand what sources of learning you are writing about [e.g., course readings, field experience, guest lecture, class discussions] and why they were important. This section should end with an explanatory thesis statement that expresses the central ideas of your paper and what you want the readers to know, believe, or understand after they finish reading your paper.

Reflective Interpretation

Drawing from your reflective analysis, this is where you can be personal, critical, and creative in expressing how you felt about the course content and learning experiences and how they influenced or altered your feelings, beliefs, assumptions, or biases about the subject of the course. This section is also where you explore the meaning of these experiences in the context of the course and how you gained an awareness of the connections between these moments and your own prior knowledge.

Guided by your thesis statement, a helpful approach is to interpret your learning throughout the course with a series of specific examples drawn from the course content and your learning experiences. These examples should be arranged in sequential order that illustrate your growth as a learner. Reflecting on each example can be done by: 1)  introducing a theme or moment that was meaningful to you, 2) describing your previous position about the learning moment and what you thought about it, 3) explaining how your perspective was challenged and/or changed and why, and 4) introspectively stating your current or new feelings, opinions, or beliefs about that experience in class.

It is important to include specific examples drawn from the course and placed within the context of your assumptions, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. A reflective narrative without specific examples does not provide an effective way for the reader to understand the relationship between the course content and how you grew as a learner.

Reflective Conclusions

The conclusion of your reflective paper should provide a summary of your thoughts, feelings, or opinions regarding what you learned about yourself as a result of taking the course. Here are several ways you can frame your conclusions based on the examples you interpreted and reflected on what they meant to you. Each example would need to be tied to the basic theme [thesis statement] of your reflective background section.

• Your reflective conclusions can be described in relation to any expectations you had before taking the class [e.g., “I expected the readings to not be relevant to my own experiences growing up in a rural community, but the research actually helped me see that the challenges of developing my identity as a child of immigrants was not that unusual...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can explain how what you learned about yourself will change your actions in the future [e.g., “During a discussion in class about the challenges of helping homeless people, I realized that many of these people hate living on the street but lack the ability to see a way out. This made me realize that I wanted to take more classes in psychology...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can describe major insights you experienced a critical junctures during the course and how these moments enhanced how you see yourself as a student learner [e.g., "The guest speaker from the Head Start program made me realize why I wanted to pursue a career in elementary education..."].
• Your reflective conclusions can reconfigure or reframe how you will approach professional practice and your understanding of your future career aspirations [e.g.,, "The course changed my perceptions about seeking a career in business finance because it made me realize I want to be more engaged in customer service..."]
• Your reflective conclusions can explore any learning you derived from the act of reflecting itself [e.g., “Reflecting on the course readings that described how minority students perceive campus activities helped me identify my own biases about the benefits of those activities in acclimating to campus life...”].

NOTE: The length of a reflective paper in the social sciences is usually less than a traditional research paper. However, don’t assume that writing a reflective paper is easier than writing a research paper. A well-conceived critical reflection paper often requires as much time and effort as a research paper because you must purposeful engage in thinking about your learning in ways that you may not be comfortable with or used to. This is particular true while preparing to write because reflective papers are not as structured as a traditional research paper and, therefore, you have to think deliberately about how you want to organize the paper and what elements of the course you want to reflect upon.

ANOTHER NOTE: Do not limit yourself to using only text in reflecting on your learning. If you believe it would be helpful, consider using creative modes of thought or expression such as, illustrations, photographs, or material objects that reflects an experience related to the subject of the course that was important to you [e.g., like a ticket stub to a renowned speaker on campus]. Whatever non-textual element you include, be sure to describe the object's relevance to your personal relationship to the course content.

Problems to Avoid

A reflective paper is not a “mind dump” . Reflective papers document your personal and emotional experiences and, therefore, they do not conform to rigid structures, or schema, to organize information. However, the paper should not be a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness narrative. Reflective papers are still academic pieces of writing that require organized thought, that use academic language and tone , and that apply intellectually-driven critical thinking to the course content and your learning experiences and their significance.

A reflective paper is not a research paper . If you are asked to reflect on a course reading, the reflection will obviously include some description of the research. However, the goal of reflective writing is not to present extraneous ideas to the reader or to "educate" them about the course. The goal is to share a story about your relationship with the learning objectives of the course. Therefore, unlike research papers, you are expected to write from a first person point of view which includes an introspective examination of your own opinions, feelings, and personal assumptions.

A reflection paper is not a book review . Descriptions of the course readings using your own words is not a reflective paper. Reflective writing should focus on how you understood the implications of and were challenged by the course in relation to your own lived experiences or personal assumptions, combined with explanations of how you grew as a student learner based on this internal dialogue. Remember that you are the central object of the paper, not the research materials.

A reflective paper is not an all-inclusive meditation. Do not try to cover everything. The scope of your paper should be well-defined and limited to your specific opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what you determine to be the most significant content of the course and in relation to the learning that took place. Reflections should be detailed enough to covey what you think is important, but your thoughts should be expressed concisely and coherently [as is true for any academic writing assignment].

Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Critical Reflection: Journals, Opinions, & Reactions . University Writing Center, Texas A&M University; Connor-Greene, Patricia A. “Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning.” Teaching of Psychology 27 (2000): 44-46; Good vs. Bad Reflection Papers , Franklin University; Dyment, Janet E. and Timothy S. O’Connell. "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors." Innovative Higher Education 35 (2010): 233-244: How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Amelia TaraJane House. Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas; Ramlal, Alana, and Désirée S. Augustin. “Engaging Students in Reflective Writing: An Action Research Project.” Educational Action Research 28 (2020): 518-533; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; McGuire, Lisa, Kathy Lay, and Jon Peters. “Pedagogy of Reflective Writing in Professional Education.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2009): 93-107; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; How Do I Write Reflectively? Academic Skills Toolkit, University of New South Wales Sydney; Reflective Writing . Skills@Library. University of Leeds; Walling, Anne, Johanna Shapiro, and Terry Ast. “What Makes a Good Reflective Paper?” Family Medicine 45 (2013): 7-12; Williams, Kate, Mary Woolliams, and Jane Spiro. Reflective Writing . 2nd edition. London: Red Globe Press, 2020; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. “Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing.” Higher Education Research and Development (2022): 1-16.

Writing Tip

Focus on Reflecting, Not on Describing

Minimal time and effort should be spent describing the course content you are asked to reflect upon. The purpose of a reflection assignment is to introspectively contemplate your reactions to and feeling about an element of the course. D eflecting the focus away from your own feelings by concentrating on describing the course content can happen particularly if "talking about yourself" [i.e., reflecting] makes you uncomfortable or it is intimidating. However, the intent of reflective writing is to overcome these inhibitions so as to maximize the benefits of introspectively assessing your learning experiences. Keep in mind that, if it is relevant, your feelings of discomfort could be a part of how you critically reflect on any challenges you had during the course [e.g., you realize this discomfort inhibited your willingness to ask questions during class, it fed into your propensity to procrastinate, or it made it difficult participating in groups].

Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas.

Another Writing Tip

Helpful Videos about Reflective Writing

These two short videos succinctly describe how to approach a reflective writing assignment. They are produced by the Academic Skills department at the University of Melbourne and the Skills Team of the University of Hull, respectively.

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How to Write a Reflection Paper? Steps and Examples

Nowadays, one of the most frequently asked questions at the high school, college, and university levels is how to write a reflection paper. You might be thinking, ‘Is it similar to the fundamental essay writing that students learn at the elementary and junior high school level?’ Yes, it is. However, the senior reflection essay and semester reflection essay are specifically designed for high-level students.

According to the Gibbs reflective cycle, this type of academic writing lets students reflect on their experiences, growth, and learning as they progress through their academic journey.

However, many students often struggle with expressing their thoughts and opinions on a given subject. Therefore, in this particular topic, we will reflect upon the challenges that some of our previous students encountered while writing a reflection paper during their last semester of graduation. The aim is to address each challenge and provide solutions on how to overcome them while adhering to the standard format and structure.

Table :  Changes in Student Grades and Missing Assignments After Implementation of Self Reflection.

Source: Sage Journals

Table of Contents

What is a Final Reflection Essay?

Reflective writing is a form of  academic writing  that helps you learn and grow as a writer, thinker, and person. It explores the writer’s personal opinion or experience, thoughts, and emotions.

And involves introspection and critical analysis of one’s own experience.Reflective writing can be done in many different ways and purposes.

In an academic setting, this type of writing is used in essays, journals, or portfolios where individuals are asked to reflect on their learning experiences or professional development critically.

However, learning how to write a reflection paper is also valuable for personal growth, self-expression, and a deeper understanding of oneself and the world around them.

Challenges of Writing the Senior Reflection Essay

What’s the purpose of writing a essay reflection.

The purpose of writing final reflection essay is to help stimulate self-reflection, introspection, and the unfolding of one’s perceptions and beliefs.

Reflecting writing goes beyond just describing or writing the literature it goes into depth about how an experience influences someone’s thoughts and emotions.

Writing the paper of reflection is itself an opportunity to introspect and assess your experience to bring personal improvements. 

💡 Feel Free to Mold As Per Your Assignment of High School Reflection Essay

There are various types of reflective writing and which form you will adopt is entirely subject to the goals and objectives of your assignment. The professor or mentor can ask you to come up with a particular experience in your life or any special moments of the class while learning how to write a reflection paper.

In addition to this, there may be a case of asking you to  write a paper  on any topic or the ideas that you sometimes discussed with your teacher or fellow.

In a nutshell, whatever the topic and assignment you will work on, just remember these tips. 

• Be clear about what type of reflective writing you’re doing—you might need to explain what kind of reflection you’re doing at the start of your paper (e.g., personal reflection vs. academic reflection).
• Define terms—if there are words or concepts that are unfamiliar to readers (or yourself), define them before using them later in the paper so they have

Types of Senior Essay of Reflection and Writing

There are three major types senior reflection essay : personal reflective essays, educational reflections, and professional reflections.

Personal Reflective Writing

Explores the writer’s own experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Personal reflection is often used as a tool for self-improvement or self-exploration. 

Educators often use it to help students reflect on their learning experiences to improve them in the future.

💡 Example for Your Convenience

A student might use personal reflection after reading about the Civil War era to explore what they learned about that period. A teacher could use this type of writing to assess student understanding after reading a chapter in their textbook or participating in an activity during class time.

Educational Reflective Paper 

Educational reflection focuses on learning experiences like courses, assignments, or projects. These papers are typically written by high school or college students reflecting on what they’ve learned during an academic course or class project. 

Teachers can also use educational reflection as part of a course evaluation process by asking students specific questions related to each course component (i.e., classroom activities) and then having them answer those questions using.

Professional Reflective Writing

Professional reflection involves reflecting on work experiences, internships, or professional development activities. 

These papers are typically written by professionals who have been working in their field for some time and are sharing their thoughts about how they learned certain skills or techniques while doing their job. 

How to Write a Reflection Paper with Proper Outline?

When it comes to writing the semester reflection essay, most teachers tend to give “total freedom” to their students. But this sudden abundance of freedom can lead to massive confusion and late submissions. 

Most of the time, teachers leave it entirely to the students to write their reflective papers. But this abrupt abundance of freedom often confuses them. And instead of easing their way into writing, they are left wondering where to start and how to write a reflection paper. 

When engaging in reflective writing, we should adhere to a similar structure as other forms of academic writing, ensuring our content remains within the boundaries of academic discourse.

To combat this issue, the  expert essay writers  have developed an easy prompt that will help you with outlining your paper. So let’s get straight to it. 

Introduction of Final Reflective Essay

The introduction of a final reflection essay is quite similar to introductions in other academic writings. It includes important elements like providing background information, stating the main idea (thesis), and capturing the reader’s attention with a hook or interesting opening.

To make it easier to understand, think of the introduction as the beginning of your paper, where you introduce the topic and grab the reader’s interest. 

You also share some background information to set the stage for what you’ll be reflecting upon. Finally, you present your main idea or argument, which is a roadmap for the rest of your paper. 

So, remember, the introduction is like the opening chapter of your reflective paper. It sets the scene, captures attention, and tells the reader what you’ll discuss.

Body Paragraphs 

Body paragraphs are the muscle of any academic paper because they serve as the supporting framework for your ideas and experiences. You must keep in mind while you learn how to write a reflection paper that the body of a reflective paper provides the key points that contribute to your overall assessment.

• It helps in describing the experience or the article of writing
• Your emotional or cognitive response to it
• Your critical analysis
• The lesson you might have learned due to the phenomenon you’re writing about
• Your application and the relevance of your experience

How you tackle your body paragraph of a high school reflection essay can make or break your reflective writing. While writing the main section of your paper, ways to connect all the paragraphs.

You must use transitional words and a topic sentence for each paragraph. The number of paragraphs you’re to write depends on the required  length of the research paper  you are writing about. 

Conclusions are important for almost all academic writing pieces as they allow you to tie all loose ends and reinforce your ideas.

Now, most of you must be thinking, “Do we need to reinforce our opinions on our readers when we are going through how to write a reflection paper?” The answer is “No”; we don’t necessarily need to impose our opinion.

But writing an impacting conclusion of a semester reflection essay that makes your reader consider your opinion on a topic is crucial.

Do Reflective Papers Have Citations? 

There is a common misconception that reflective papers do not require citations, but this belief can be misleading. It is important to remember that while reflective writing allows for personal opinions, it still follows the framework and standards of academic writing.

In academic writing,  citing a paper  is not only appreciated but often required. Therefore, referencing your reflective paper adds to its credibility and reliability.

For example:

A prevalent form of reflective writing among students involves referencing the context of their experiences.

How to Format your Semester Reflection Essay?

When writing a final reflection essay, there is typically no strict format. What matters the most is your comfort and expression. 

It is best to write freely without feeling restricted. However, too much freedom can sometimes confuse people. If a reflection paper is assigned to you, the format will usually depend on the criteria set by your professor.

For college reflection papers, also known as high school reflection essay, the length typically ranges from 500 to 1000 words.

In terms of a common senior reflection essay Format, here are some guidelines to consider when we are discussing how to write a reflection paper:

• Double-space the entire paper or text,  leaving a blank line between each line  of writing.
• Indent the  first word of each paragraph , which means starting each new paragraph  slightly inward from the left margin .
• Use a  one-inch margin  on all sides of the paper.
• Choose  “Times New Roman” with a 12-point font , which means the letters are medium size.

💡  Remember, these formatting guidelines generated by  ai essay writer  provide a cohesive and organized structure for your reflection paper, making it easier for readers to follow. It ensures that your paper looks neat and professional.

How to Write a Reflection Paper? Tips Based Steps

Now, let’s jump into the final reflection essay part and learn 9 simple yet powerful steps for writing the reflection paper. So, without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Analyze the Material

• Play the role of Examiner:  Examine the overall thesis statement and overall content structure.
• Establish Your Perspective:  After you have done your due diligence, now take a clear stance or position.
• Formulate Important Questions:  Look for the loopholes and limitations in the content and develop key questions surrounding the main theme.

Make Connections

• Develop connection:  Find out the ways how you can link your life experience and opinions to the entire content.
• Connect the Dots:  Organize your thoughts while identifying similar patterns and concepts.
• Extract Valuable Insights:  Go into the details to reveal the profound interpretation of the connections.

Understand and Summarize

• Revision and Synthesize:  Highlight the important points and ideas.
• Formulate the Outline:  Make a proper outline to follow for the entire writing.
• Differentiate the content:  Adopt the dynamic strategies depending upon the content. 

Select a Theme

• Define Your Approach:  Pinpoint the crux of your high school reflection essay that sees eye to eye with your experience.
• Divide the Theme:  Make sections and subsections of your main theme and then do an in-depth exploration of each part to illuminate your reflection.
• Visualize:  Craft a clear yet simple narrative by using your main theme. 

Brainstorm Ideas and Experiences

• Let the Ideas Come in:  Make use of the online thesis statement generator  in case you are stuck with some novel ideas concerning your thesis statement.
• Do Note Taking:  Write down the personal experiences that somehow relate to the content at hand.
• Evoke Your Motivation:  Take motivation from experience and thoughts to bring creativity and intrigue in your reflection. 

Craft an Introduction

• Hook the Reader:  Open the sentence with some catchy and attention-grabbing words.
• Make the Context:  Provide brief background data related to your topic that make a context.
• Define Your Thesis Statement:  Use simple and clear words to highlight your main points of reflection. 

Write the Body

• Analyze Key Ideas:  Formulate the crucial part of your reflection paper.
• Use Examples:  Link relevant examples and stories that are most specific.
• Navigate the Reader:  Create imagination and walk your readers through your thoughts and experiences.

Conclude Effectively

• Close with Powerful Thoughts:  Restate your main arguments and ideas to reinforce in the reader’s mind.
• Signify the Importance:  Use strong words and language to showcase how your experiences and reflections influence your personal development.
• Leave the Readers with a Strong Impression:  Leave the readers with thought-provoking questions, words, or any statements that mark a lasting impression on their minds.

Proofread and Edit

• Proofread, Edit, and Improve:  Seek feedback from fellows, proofread, and revise to rectify grammatical and technical mistakes.
• Remove Redundancy:  Declutter your paper by removing the irrelevant and unnecessary content.
• Bring Perfection:  After you are finished with proofreading and redundant data, have a bird’s eye view of your content once to bring it to the perfect.

In conclusion, we are sure that our detailed guide on how to write a reflection paper has covered all of your questions. We have discussed all the ins and outs of reflection paper writing such as meaning, types, mind-mapping steps, etc. If you are still finding yourself struggling to come up with your reflective research paper writing service, don’t hesitate to contact us now. We will take care of everything for you!

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Structure of academic reflections

Guidance on the structure of academic reflections.

Academic reflections or reflective writing completed for assessment often require a clear structure. Contrary to some people’s belief, reflection is not just a personal diary talking about your day and your feelings.

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. However, there is not one set of rules for the proportion of your reflection that should be spent describing the context, and what proportion should be spent on analysing and concluding. That being said, as learning tends to happen when analysing and synthesising rather than describing, a good rule of thumb is to describe just enough such that the reader understands your context.

Example structure for academic reflections

Below is an example of how you might structure an academic reflection if you were given no other guidance and what each section might contain.  Remember this is only a suggestion and you must consider what is appropriate for the task at hand and for you yourself.

Introduction

Identifies and introduces your experience or learning

• This can be a critical incident
• This can be the reflective prompt you were given
• A particular learning you have gained

When structuring your academic reflections it might make sense to start with what you have learned and then use the main body to evidence that learning, using specific experiences and events. Alternatively, start with the event and build up your argument. This is a question of personal preference – if you aren’t given explicit guidance you can ask the assessor if they have a preference, however both can work.

Highlights why it was important

• This can be suggesting why this event was important for the learning you gained
• This can be why the learning you gained will benefit you or why you appreciate it in your context

You might find that it is not natural to highlight the importance of an event before you have developed your argument for what you gained from it. It can be okay not to explicitly state the importance in the introduction, but leave it to develop throughout your reflection.

Outline key themes that will appear in the reflection (optional – but particularly relevant when answering a reflective prompt or essay)

• This can be an introduction to your argument, introducing the elements that you will explore, or that builds to the learning you have already gained.

This might not make sense if you are reflecting on a particular experience, but is extremely valuable if you are answering a reflective prompt or writing an essay that includes multiple learning points. A type of prompt or question that could particularly benefit from this would be ‘Reflect on how the skills and theory within this course have helped you meet the benchmark statements of your degree’

It can be helpful to explore one theme/learning per paragraph.

Explore experiences

• You should highlight and explore the experience you introduced in the introduction
• If you are building toward answering a reflective prompt, explore each relevant experience.

As reflection is centred around an individual’s personal experience, it is very important to make experiences a main component of reflection. This does not mean that the majority of the reflective piece should be on describing an event – in fact you should only describe enough such that the reader can follow your analysis.

Analyse and synthesise

• You should analyse each of your experiences and from them synthesise new learning

Depending on the requirements of the assessment, you may need to use theoretical literature in your analysis. Theoretical literature is a part of perspective taking which is relevant for reflection, and will happen as a part of your analysis.  

Restate or state your learning

• Make a conclusion based on your analysis and synthesis.
• If you have many themes in your reflection, it can be helpful to restate them here.

Plan for the future

• Highlight and discuss how your new-found learnings will influence your future practice

Answer the question or prompt (if applicable)

• If you are answering an essay question or reflective prompt, make sure that your conclusion provides a succinct response using your main body as evidence.  

Using a reflective model to structure academic reflections

You might recognise that most reflective models mirror this structure; that is why a lot of the reflective models can be really useful to structure reflective assignments. Models are naturally structured to focus on a single experience – if the assignment requires you to focus on multiple experiences, it can be helpful to simply repeat each step of a model for each experience.

One difference between the structure of reflective writing and the structure of models is that sometimes you may choose to present your learning in the introduction of a piece of writing, whereas models (given that they support working through the reflective process) will have learning appearing at later stages.

However, generally structuring a piece of academic writing around a reflective model will ensure that it involves the correct components, reads coherently and logically, as well as having an appropriate structure.

Reflective journals/diaries/blogs and other pieces of assessed reflection

The example structure above works particularly well for formal assignments such as reflective essays and reports.  Reflective journal/blogs and other pieces of assessed reflections tend to be less formal both in language and structure, however you can easily adapt the structure for journals and other reflective assignments if you find that helpful.

That is, if you are asked to produce a reflective journal with multiple entries it will most often (always check with the person who issued the assignment) be a successful journal if each entry mirrors the structure above and the language highlighted in the section on academic language. However, often you can be less concerned with form when producing reflective journals/diaries.

When producing reflective journals, it is often okay to include your original reflection as long as you are comfortable with sharing the content with others, and that the information included is not too personal for an assessor to read.

Developed from:

Ryan, M., 2011. Improving reflective writing in higher education: a social semiotic perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(1), 99-111.

University of Portsmouth, Department for Curriculum and Quality Enhancement (date unavailable). Reflective Writing: a basic introduction [online].  Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth.

Queen Margaret University, Effective Learning Service (date unavailable).  Reflection. [online].  Edinburgh: Queen Margaret University.

Module: Reflection

The reflective journal final entry.

At the end of the semester, you will look back at your entire Reflective Journal and write a longer, more-sustained final reflection. As a part of this process, you will also make some revisions to your Reflective Journal so that it more accurately illustrates your growth as a writer from the beginning of the semester to the end. The final entry itself is an opportunity for you to reconsider your earlier reflections and then identify and name the concepts or frameworks of your learning this semester that are most significant to your academic identity.

Your teacher will spend more time with this part of the Reflective Journal assignment towards the end of the semester, but it might be helpful to learn some key concepts about how the project ends here at the beginning.

Comments are a major part of the final assignment process. You will use the comment feature to (in essence) have a conversation with yourself. Though your teacher will give you specific instructions, ultimately you will select the entries you consider most impactful to you and write thoughtful comments in response to them. For example, you might have written a unit reflection early in the semester that detailed your struggles with a particular concept. Your comment might reflect on how your perception of that struggle has changed since the beginning of the semester.

These comments aren’t meant to evaluate your writing or critique your ideas. Just write down your reactions to reading your earlier ideas with fresh eyes.

Tags are another essential component of the final reflection process for the Reflective Journal. It’s important to understand the difference between tags and categories (which divide your posts into daily writes, weekly writes, etc.). Think of it this way: categories are like chapter names for a book whereas tags are like all of the words listed in the index.

Tags are a lot like hashtags on Twitter or Instagram (in fact, in a technical sense, they are exactly the same). They are a way to add descriptive metadata to an entry or other content. Tags add dynamic links between posts so that you can link content you’ve written by “big ideas” rather than just chronology.

You’ll go through your Reflective Journal entries from the semester and come up with 5-10 tags that capture the major concepts, ideas, and strategies you think are illustrated in these posts. Your teacher may provide specific instructions for tagging, but the idea is to add at least one tag to each post to link it to other posts that address the same concept or idea.

Practice: Tag a Daily Write

Read this sample daily write and come up with three descriptive tags that might apply to it. Separate your tags with commas.

I think timed writing benefits the writer because it gets out primal thoughts that he had about a certain subject and can tell the person reading how good of a writer they are based on their ability to formulate thoughts, arguments, or a well-structured paper. Some of the challenges however is that good writing takes time and it takes multiple perspectives and thought processes. A person could be having an off day, may not have gotten enough sleep, or might not be in the right state of mind to be writing or formulating any sort of argument. Essentially at the end of the day though, you have to get over excuses like that and show that you are competent enough to put together at least a coherent thesis with points of support about a subject you are given in a certain time period. For me I benefit from timed writing because I spent a couple classes in high school practicing it so that when I have more time to put together solid, formulated papers with multiple days to write, I have a better understanding of what I need to get done. Timed writing is kind of a microcosm of expanded papers because you get the bare bones of what the essay is about without too much investigation or digging.

The Final Post

Your final reflection for the semester will be longer than your other reflections (usually at least 1,000 words). You will think about how your entire Reflective Journal reflects your academic learning over the course of the semester and how your concepts of writing process, critical thinking, and academic discourse have changed over time. The final post should represent what being an academic learner means to you. You will use the tags and comments you developed to frame the final entry, and you will include links and references to other posts you’ve made over the course of the semester.

You can use the DEAL model or the DIEP model to organize your thinking for the final reflective entry. Though this last part of the assignment might be months away, you’ll be better prepared to write the final reflection if you start thinking about it now.

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Supporting Critical Reflection in Community-Engaged Learning

Compiled by Kathryn Van Zanen, Engaged Learning Graduate Consultant

Reflection is a critical component of community-engaged courses and programs. Reflection supports meaning-making, and regular reflection activities help students connect their community engagement experience to course or program learning objectives. Studies show that reflection can strengthen critical thinking 1 and enhance student development on measures of civic values and personal growth . 2     Reflection can come in many forms, but it’s most advantageous when it’s ongoing. Continuous, connected, challenging, and contextualized reflection helps students negotiate the stages of community engagement and supports them to prepare for and process their experiences. 3

The resources below offer guidance, examples and further reading around reflection. We would be glad to work with you to incorporate any of these resources into your community-engaged efforts.

• Contact us at  [email protected] or if you have any questions about these resources.
• Use our  Support Request Form  to request a consultation or workshop.  
• Join our  Academic Partner mailing list  to stay informed about upcoming events and opportunities!

How can I promote reflection with my students?

• Make reflection a regular– and rewarded– part of your course. You don’t have to grade the quality of students’ reflections, but giving them credit for doing it signals how important reflection is for their learning and your course objectives.
• Give feedback on student reflections, especially at the early stages. Reflection helps you to collect data about your students’ experiences and prompt them to deepen their thinking. Learn more about assessing reflection from Bradley (1995) and IUPUI.
• Reflect in a variety of ways. Invite multiple modes of reflection for students, from text to audio to video to artistic representation, and make time for students to reflect together and with you (Mabry 1998). The Northwest Service Academy Toolkit offers a wide range of possible activities organized by time commitment, while Clemson University organizes activities by the kind of learning they promote.
• Talk to students about why reflection is important. Many of the reflection models and resource lists linked below provide language for talking to students about why reflection matters; modeling reflective practices in your instructor role also underscores their value for your students. What are you learning from community engagement?

Additional Resources

• Peruse excerpts from the instructor manual or use specific reflection prompts that target personal, civic, and academic learning, respectively.
• Brock University’s Center for Pedagogical Innovation has a helpful website that compiles various reflection models (including DEAL) and assignment formats.
• Mine the ORID Model for questions to guide students from observation to integration of new knowledge and perspectives, plus tips for aligning reflection activities with your learning goals.
• Explore how to integrate reflection throughout your course or design a course-specific reflection project . 
• Explore our resources on Assessing Student Learning

What are some examples of reflection activities I can use?

Explore a range of reflection activities that can be used in many different ways, organized from shortest to longest: 

Reflection Guidebook, Santa Monica College This 5-page piece explains the basics of reflection and provides brief descriptions of many different kinds of reflection, as well as tips on what to consider as you determine what fits your course and learning goals.

Reflection toolkit, Northwest Service Academy This toolkit, designed for leaders facilitating reflection for the first time, explains what reflection is and why it’s important, and provides guidance for leading a variety of reflection activities. The activities are categorized by time commitment.

Reflection resources, Clemson University A collection of 28 different reflection activities for instructors, organized by category: reflection activities for prior knowledge (to use before engagement), cognition, metacognition, competency, and personal growth & change. Activities are marked for formative and graded, summative assessment.

Reflection activities: Service-Learning’s not-so-secret weapon , Katie Halcrow This 13-page piece outlines 33 different reflection activities for classroom use, grouped by “Reflection Activities In and Out of Class,” “Rigorous Academic Links,” and “Presenting Culmination of Experience.” The list includes group work, written activities, discussion activities, artwork, and ways to showcase students’ work.

Service-Learning Reflection Journal, Purdue University This student-facing handbook includes an initial assessment scale, pre-service project planning documents, a daily or weekly journal template, a final reflection assignment prompt, and a post-assessment.

International Service-Learning Reflection Journal, Purdue University This handbook, explicitly directed to students studying abroad, includes a pre-entry reflection and assignment, public affairs scale, daily/weekly journal template, reflective paper prompt, re-entry reflection and assignment, and a post-assessment public affairs scale.

What are some articles I can explore for further reading?

Below is a list of peer-reviewed articles about reflection (most recent first) 

Reflective Practice, Campus Compact

An extensive bibliography with links to peer-reviewed research on reflective practice in community-engaged learning.

Richard, D., Keen, C., Hatcher, J.A., and Pease, H. A. (2016). Pathways to Adult Civic Engagement: Benefits of Reflection and Dialogue across Difference in Higher Education Service-Learning Programs . Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(1), 60-74.

Drawing from a 30-campus, 1000+ participant dataset, Richard et al. explore the relationship between college engagement experiences and civic outcomes after college. They found that “dialogue with others across difference was the strongest predictor of cultivating civic outcomes after college. In addition, both structured and informal reflection independently contributed to civic outcomes (i.e., civic-mindedness, voluntary action, civic action).”

van Goethem, A., van Hoof, A., Orobio de Castro, B., Van Aken, M., & Hart, D. (2014). The role of reflection in the effects of community service on adolescent development: a meta-analysis. Child development, 85(6), 2114–2130. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12274

This meta-analysis of 49 studies finds again that reflection is essential to the positive academic, personal, social, and civic outcomes of service-learning. Positive effects of service-learning increased with greater reflection and particularly reflection on academic content.

Ash S.L., Clayton P.H. (2004). The Articulated Learning: An Approach to Guided Reflection and Assessment . Innovative Higher Education 29(2), 137–54.

The academic article that originated the DEAL reflection framework, this text describes the Articulated Learning framework’s three main components: description of an experience, analysis in accordance with relevant learning categories, and articulation of learning outcomes. It also considers applications for the framework in research and faculty development.

Hatcher, J.A, Bringle, R.G, & Muthiah, R. (2004). Designing effective reflection: What matters to service learning? Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 11(1), 38-46.

This study, based on survey responses of undergraduate students, found that successful courses included reflection activities that (a) clarified personal values, (b) were a regular part of the course, and (c) were structured with clear guidelines and directions. The paper also discusses implications for practice.

Eyler J. (2002). Reflection: Linking Service and Learning—Linking Students and Communities . Journal of Social Issues, 58(3), 517–34.

This article reviews research on reflection practices in service-learning and collects concrete suggestions for attaining service-learning learning goals. It includes the reflection map from Eyler (2001) that can guide faculty to support students in multiple dimensions of reflection, including reflecting alone, with classmates, and with partners as well as before, during, and after service. 

Eyler, J. (2001). Creating Your Reflection Map . In M. Canada (ed. ) Service-learning: Practical advice and models. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, New Directions for Higher Education, 2001(114), 35–43.

This piece outlines the how and why or reflection in a guide to using the reflection map, a “tool to help practitioners organize their thinking about integrating continuous reflective processes into their service-learning practice.” The tool invites faculty to think about reflection in a matrix of time and interaction: reflecting alone, with classmates, and with partners, as well as before, during, and after service. 

Bringle, R.G. and J.A. Hatcher (1999). Reflection in Service Learning: Making Meaning of Experience . Educational Horizons, Summer, 179-185.

This brief article offers an easy introduction to service-learning, including narrative about the philosophical basis for reflection, types of reflection for service learning, assessing reflection, and consequences of reflection.

References:

1. Eyler, J., & Giles Jr., D.E. (1999). Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2. Ash, S.L.; Clayton, P.H.; Atkinson, M.P. (2005). Integrating Reflection and Assessment to Capture and Improve Student Learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 11(2), 49-60. 3. Eyler, J., Giles Jr., D.E., and Schmiede, A. (1996). A Practitioner’s Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning: Student Voices and Reflections. Vanderbilt University.

Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, final course reflection.

The Final Course Reflection assignment

• asks students to reflect about their coursework in Professional Writing from the perspective of research and theory.

The Final Course Reflection aims to help students

• demonstrate their understanding of 21st century literacies;
• demonstrate declarative knowledge about writing processes , workplace genres (memos, proposals, progress reports, and technical writing conventions (particularly information design and document-design principles).
• analyze their past writing, presentations, and collaborative work to demonstrate they are

The National Academies of Sciences defines 21st Century Literacies as an amalgam of three interdependent competencies: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal:

• “Cognitive competencies involve thinking, reasoning, and related skills.
•  Intrapersonal competencies involve self-management and the ability to regulate one’s behavior and emotions to reach goals.
• Interpersonal competencies involve expressing information to others.” ( Education for Life and Work 2012)

Each year NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) surveys employees in the U.S. regarding job readiness in relation to 21st Century literacies. Invariably, written communication skills are identified by employers as critical to success in the workplace. Problem-solving, collaboration, leadership, work ethic, analytical/quantitative skills, initiative–these highly desired competencies have been identified by NACE as the most desired competencies sought by employers, as depicted below. All of these qualities are clustered around the larger competency of communication.

Metacognition , the ability to reflect on how you have mastered these 21st Century, empowers self-development and writing improvement.

Instructions

Write a two-page memo to your a prospective employer that provides evidence you have mastered 21st century literacies and are well positioned to be a productive member of the team. Here you can invent the nature of the job you are applying for.

Suggestions for Drafting this Assignment

Take a moment to conduct an inventory of the writing you completed for Workplace Writing :

• Rhetorical Analysis Memo
• Problem-Definition Heuristic
• Revise, Redesign, Edit: Tailoring Documents for Audiences
• Client Proposal
• Team Charter
• Project Management Portfolio + Bibliography Template
• Group Research Proposal
• Research Notes + Executive Summary
• Progress Report Assignment
• Recommendation Report Assignment
• Evaluation Memo
• Infographic
• Final Reflection

As a result of the writing you have completed for this course, can you identify evidence that demonstrates you have robust cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal competencies?

Recommended Schedule

Submission guidelines.

• Upload Final Course Reflection to the course management system.

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20.3: Assignment- Final Reflection

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Instructions:

Answer all three (3) questions.

Total combined word count requirement of 500+ words (preferred range of 500-1000 words). Answers need not be of the same length.

Clarity, grammar and mechanics do count, so please proofread your answer.

Turn in your assignment as a Word or PDF file.

Prompts (answer all three):

• When reading a text for this literature course, what was your process (or approach)? Explain. For example, did you skim, then read in more detail? Did you look at resources or summaries before reading the works themselves? Did you dive right in to the work first and look at supporting material second? These are just a few possible approaches you may have used, and you may have had a couple of different approaches depending on the work. (There is no right or wrong answer; the question is simply asking you to reflect on and explain your own process.) (20 points)
• Consider what you have written for this course, including not just formal papers, but also informal or shorter assignments. Do not consider any feedback or grade, but only your own opinion about your own work . Which assignment(s) are you most proud of? Why? (For clarity, please include a brief summary of what you wrote in these assignment(s) as part of your answer.) Did you find certain assignments more difficult? Explain. How did you overcome these difficulties? (20 points)
• What reading assignments would you recommend being omitted from future sections of this course? Explain briefly. What readings would you recommend be added to future sections of this course? The only limitation to the recommendations is that they must be writing from British authors and fit the time period of the course. (10 points)
• Survey of English Literature I. Authored by : Wendy Howard Gray. Provided by : Reynolds Community College. Located at : http://www.reynolds.edu/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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ENG 3773-D576: Advanced Technical Writing

Professor belli, fall 2014.

Individual Final Project Reflections

For the Final Project you will receive:

• a collaborative grade for the final draft of the write-up (30%) and the presentation (10%) ( worth 40% of your overall course grade )
• an individual grade for the individual final reflection (worth 10% of your overall course grade).

This individual reflection should be 2-3 pages, single-spaced (addressed to me, as in “Dear Professor Belli” … no formal headings/letter formatting necessary), reflecting on what you learned during the extended process of developing/researching/writing/revising the collaborative Final Project.

Just like you have done for each assignment so far, you will reflect on your experiences of working on the Final Project (from start to finish, including the Proposal/Annotated Bibliography, building, drafting, revising, peer review, Agenda/Minutes/Progress Reports, meetings with me, drafting/revising the Write-Up, creating the Presentation, etc.). What did you learn from this project/process? What did you struggle with? What went well? How did you develop as a writer/thinker? Etc.

Each group member will write and submit his/her reflection individual, which will only be seen by me (not the other members of the group or the class). Therefore, it should be a honest reflection about the successes (or lack thereof) of collaboration and the group project. What roles did each person in your group play in the collaboration, and what tasks did they complete? If you feel as if the balance/division of work was not equally shared (for example, if one, or two, members did most of the work), you should discuss that. You should spend time discussing your role/contribution to the project, and you should tell me what grade (including yourself) you think each person should get for the project and why.

Your Individual Final Project Reflection will be graded on the completeness, thoughtfulness, and quality of your reflection, and your ability to critically discuss your experiences collaborating, researching and writing/revising.

*This final project individual reflection (like the collaborative Final Project Write-Up and Presentation) is due no later than the start of our last class, W 12/18 at 2:30pm . You should submit:

• an electronic copy to me via e-mail (do not put it in Dropbox, as everyone in the class will have access to it then and it will not be a private reflection that way)
• one printed copy to me in class

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Writing Program at New College

Assignments - portfolio and final reflection.

The final assignment this semester is the New College Writing Portfolio. Our version of the typical portfolio will provide students an opportunity to review work completed in the course, and then to reflect on that work as well as on their own progress as critical thinkers and writers. As with most portfolios, this one builds on your strongest work in order to demonstrate the scope, depth, and quality of your learning for the semester.  

  Specific goals for the ePortfolio are to:

1.       Demonstrate your abilities as a critical thinker, reader, and writer. 2.       Share your work with a broader academic audience. 3.       Facilitate assessment from you and your instructor.

The portfolio will use the Digication ePortfolio platform, and it will have seven (7) distinct sections:

1.   Welcome Page

The Welcome page offers a general greeting and introduction to the ePortfolio.

2. About Me

The About Me page is where you provide readers with information about yourself. Tell us your name, where you’re from, your major, and the like. Include at least one picture. Create the page in a way that captures at least some of your personality.

3. Project One – Rhetorical Success Narrative

In the space provided for the first project, students will upload the most recent and revised version of the essay as well as an introduction to that essay.

For the introduction to Project One , write about  the processes  used to consider, draft, and revise the Rhetorical Success Essay.  But more than simply listing these steps, discuss how using these different skills helped to produce the final project. In other words, what worked best? What did not? How so? Why? What in the final essay demonstrates process work?

Other questions to consider:  How many drafts did you write? How did prewriting exercises help you discover and/or develop ideas? What did you learn from watching  How Schools Kill Creativity ? What strategies were developed from reading sample essays:  “The Art of Eating Spaghetti,” “What is a Hunter?” and/or “Bees, Doors, and Skates”? What kinds of peer review or other collaborative feedback helped you in revisions?  How so?

A clean PDF of the most recent version of the essay should be uploaded after this introduction.

4. Project Two – How Am I Connected?

In the space provided for the second project, students will upload the most recent and revised version of the essay as well as an introduction to that essay.

For the introduction to Project two, write about how you used skills associated with Rhetorical Knowledge to consider, draft, and revise the Connection Essay. But more than listing steps associated with Rhetorical Knowledge, discuss how using different subset skills helped to produce the final project.

In other words, tell readers about the purpose of the essay and how well you feel your essay fulfilled that purpose. Explain how you took readers into consideration while writing. Identify places in the essay where you had to revise or restate things for an unknown audience. Discuss how writing a narrative and telling a story impacted what you shared and/or how you shared it. Describe how readers know you are writing a narrative and not any other kind of essay – informative, descriptive, and/or persuasive essay, for instance.

5. Habits of Mind

According to the WPA, “habits of mind refers to ways of approaching learning that are both intellectual and practical and that will support students’ success in a variety of fields and disciplines” ( Framework for Success ). In this section of the portfolio, you will discuss what each of these habits means to you as well share instances of where and how you used these ways of approaching learning.

6. Final Reflection

You will conclude with a  letter  to your instructor that offers a critical self-assessment of the work included in the portfolio and you experiences as a writer in the class. Your goal is to examine and reflect on your work in the course and to discuss how you see yourself as a writer and thinker, now, at the end of the course. 

Even though you are writing a letter, the writing should be polished and focused, with claims supported by specific evidence and discussion. The letter should also be at least 500 words. Your final reflective letter should take the following into account, but not in sum and not necessarily in this order:

• The significance of the individual touches you have added to the portfolio.
• What you know understand about effective writing – how it is achieved and what in your portfolio demonstrates this effectiveness. (Refer to something in one of the essays included in the portfolio.)
• What you now understand about critical thinking and writing that work in this portfolio might not reveal. In other words, maybe you understand the point more than the essays reveal.
• What the portfolio does reveal about you as a critical thinker and writer. In other words, how do your essays paint you as a critical thinker and writer right now?
• What two Habits of Mind you found most useful and why. How will these skills help you in other classes? Outside of class?
• Where do you need to improve? Discuss the challenges that you continue to face and the steps you have taken to improve in these areas?
• And finally, conclude the letter with a discussion about the extent to which you were actively engaged in the course. How much time and effort did you put into the course? Does your writing reflect that effort? What would you do differently?

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Graduate program in critical and creative thinking, university of massachusetts boston, reflective practice portfolio.

A portfolio often means a showcase or a display for others of achievements, but the “Reflective Practice (and Metacognitive) Portfolio” (RPP) is designed to be a revelation of the journey that one has taken through the (MA) program. The outcome serves as a self-customized tool box and set of reminders that students intend to use in their ongoing learning and practice (including their work beyond/after CCT), embedded in a narrative. The portfolio should be created along the way of the CCT study in order to best capture your reflection close in time to the points that represent the milestones of your journey (that is, it is not recommended to wait until the end of the degree program to put together the parts all at once).  Asking students to build this kind of portfolio during their studies matches the goals of personal and professional development captured by the Program overview, excerpted below.

Requirements

The portfolio is a compilation of a set of exhibits (assignments from the courses), and an additional narrative writing that goes along with each of them. Toward this end, students should choose one specific assignment from every course taken as part of the MA (including electives taken from other graduate programs during your time of study, but excluding any courses taken prior to CCT matriculation at other institutions that were brought in as transfer credits). The section at the bottom of this page gives examples of a possible choice of assignment from many of the courses. Each course’s instructor may also recommend a specific assignment as a good option for your selected assignment. Ultimately, though, it is up to the student to choose the most appropriate assignment. This assignment is one that best illustrates a key shift or change in thinking that you experienced through that course or conveys an important insight about yourself that you want to continue to move into your own practice.

Once you select the representative assignment from a course, develop a narrative that explains why this assignment was meaningful to your development. The narrative should be 2-4 paragraphs of writing (about one double-spaced page per assignment) that shows your reflection on why that is the case, and how you notice your thinking, assumptions, and/or awareness changing. The narrative uses a metacognitive approach — is a type of “guided tour” of your thinking.

Note: If your selected assignment is a final paper or other lengthy work, do not submit the entire paper as the assignment. In this case, submit an excerpt of a single relevant section (or at least indicate in your narrative which section is relevant) so that the reader knows where to focus.

Note that the above description implies that the narrative should not :

• be general commentary on the course as a whole or a broad appreciation for the course; that is, keep the narrative focused on the one specific selected assignment and its particular importance
• explain instructions for the assignment (you can mention its purpose or goal but keep that to a sentence or two)
• merely give a summary/abstract of the content of the assignment; your narrative must go beyond what is included there. Address deeper reflection on how the assignment represents important shifts in your thinking during that period, or as part of your overall development as a reflective practitioner through the CCT program. Assume that the reader can refer to the assignment itself if they want to get into the full content.

Students are strongly encouraged to submit a sample of your ongoing portfolio no later than the mid-semester point of your final term to confirm that your work meets the requirements here.

The format for creating the portfolio is flexible. At a minimum, develop the portfolio in a way that allows you to eventually capture the entire contents as a single PDF file. You may develop the portfolio as a running document where you update the narratives after each term, and then add the selected assignments as attachments. You may also develop the portfolio as a personal web site or blog, where you set up one page on the site for each course term, and then add the narratives and attached selected assignments on that page (or similar variations).

Submit the final Reflective Practice Portfolio to [email protected] (any documents or links to your site, plus a PDF compilation of the entire contents of the portfolio) no later than one week after the final Synthesis project has been submitted (typically during the CrCrTh 694 course). If you have remaining course requirements to fulfill after finishing CrCrTh 694, wait to submit the portfolio until all courses are finalized.

Portfolios are publicly viewable for at least one year after your graduation (and then longer until you ask for it to be removed). If you submit your portfolio as a link to a personal blog or web site, it is requested that you keep this site live for (at least) one year after graduation. The portfolios serve as examples for future students to help them reflect and be inspired, and so these should generally be regarded as accessible to public. It is therefore ok to be selective about what/how much you share; you may hide or redact some sections or private information within the original assignments that you don’t want to be seen by others.

Occasional CCT orientations may use past examples of portfolios to demonstrate to incoming students how these have been constructed.

Selected Examples of Portfolios

Note: Some examples below were produced before the RPP became a formal program requirement and still in piloting stage, so content may or may not fully cover the current guidelines as students used their own distinctive approaches. Refer to the sections above for current guidelines.

Andrew Castagna Billie Charles Emily Flaherty Hans Helgeson Matthew Jose Ivy Madden Bradford O’Brien Randy Valdez April Baptiste Robertson Yin Chan Geoff Keston Annie McCluskey Erin McCoy Timothy Brian Nuryadi Cynthia Romer Evan Schapiro Russell Suereth Michael Teachey Kyle Lemstrom Cara Tuttle Nadjia Edwards Timizay Ruiz Pineda Caitlin Quarrington Casey Andrews Erik Anker ( overview | documents ) Meghan Callaghan Russell DeLuca-Kavanagh David Kooharian Rhoda Maurer Lauren Taub

Suggested Selected Assignments for Courses

(others may be substituted as appropriate)

• CrCrTh 601: Critical Thinking Manifesto, or individual Reflection Paper
• CrCrTh 602: Second Reflective Review of Diary
• CrCrTh 603: Weekly Paper or Final Paper
• CrCrTh 611: Process Review, or Final Written Plan
• CrCrTh 612: Self-Reflective Assessment, or Reflection Assignment
• CrCrTh 615: Manifesto, or Final Project
• CrCrTh 616: Final Paper or individual discussion posts
• CrCrTh 618: Plan for Practice; Critical Reflection Paper
• CrCrTh 619: Short Paper
• CrCrTh 627: Current Issues Analysis Paper
• CrCrTh 630: selection from Creative Products
• CrCrTh 640: Research Plan
• CrCrTh 645: Final Paper
• CrCrTh 649: Education Unit/Curriculum
• CrCrTh 650: selection from Creative Products
• CrCrTh 651: General Principles Journal/Summary
• CrCrTh 652: General Principles Journal/Summary
• CrCrTh 655: Plan for Classroom Implementation
• CrCrTh 670: Expert Teaching and Learning Portfolio
• CrCrTh 688: Progress Report or Plan for Practice
• CrCrTh 692: Self-assessment
• CrCrTh 693: Process Review
• CrCrTh 694: Excerpts from Synthesis paper; Exit Self-assessment

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Final Project & Reflection

Final Project Overview:

The activity that I chose to describe is the final research project in the FAES 4580. The activity is focused on drawing out the knowledge that we acquired during the study abroad program. The final paper allows students, specifically me, to look back and cultivate an international issue or topic and formulate a focus related to the study experience that I had. The activity itself allows students to compare the countries that they have visited if it is more than one. In this specific activity, for me, my role is more than just being a student. I imagine myself as a ‘world traveler environmental analyst.’ As I am taking this role during the formulation of my topic, I realized that I had learned so much from my study abroad trip in both Australia and the Dominican Republic. As a student, I wanted to spread some news that I do not think are new news to people. I think many people have dealt or heard of these issues in their lives in some way shape or form and if not, I will gladly share the information to spread more awareness. The water quality degradation in the ocean is a global problem, and I believe it is necessary for people to know that these problems occur on a huge scale.

Final Project Reflection:

As I was working on my final research paper and even in my other research paper from my other classes, there are top 3 takeaways that I had, especially during the activity.

• Environmental problems in one country are most likely also occurs in the other. I believe this statement to be true. In my final research paper, I compared both countries that I have been to –Australia and in the Dominican Republic. I tried to compare and contrast both countries. The other one is industrialized, while the other is a developing country. I was aware that both are experiencing the same problem, which is water degradation problem, but at the same time, I wanted to explore more what is the specific difference when it comes to the sources of the pollution? The experiences will allow me to think outside the box and explore more of the possibilities that I can use in my future career.
• Study abroad expands your way of thinking drastically. Although I do believe that you do not need to study abroad to expand your perspective and growth, I also believe that study abroad is sometimes necessary to realize that seeing the things that you might have read or seen on the television is the reality. And these realities are critical to experience and burn your passion that you never thought you had before. I do not intend to stop my global journey here. With my study abroad experiences, I know that this knowledge will help me grow as a person and in turn will guide me on the right path for my future.
• Being open-minded opens so many possibilities that you never thought will. Environmental problems are very difficult to solve. Can we solve environmental problems? I think not, but I do believe there is something we can do as humans to alleviate these negative impacts that we brought to our natural environment. I believe that being open-minded to ideas, new knowledge, discoveries, and expansion are all critical to do so. Being open-minded is very important, and this characteristic will help me seek and knock many doors and will open many opportunities that will guide me into the path where I can help ocean creatures flourish.

The activity impacts me in so many ways, and it made me realize so many important things I would have missed if I have not taken this class (e.g., FAES).

Global Option Final Reflection/ Accomplishments:

I think I have accomplished my goals for Global Option. The main reason why enrolled in the Global Option is to enhance and polish my understanding by applying the principle knowledge I gained during my study abroad program. Overall, there were a variety of things that I learned. I took the self-assessment twice and got to explore my Cultural Intelligence CQI results. I first took the CQI when I finished my Australia study abroad during the summer and the second CQI was from when I finished the Dominican Republic study abroad. I was able to compare both results and realize how accurate the assessments. I reflected on what were the drivers for my desire to study abroad, my knowledge in the country, the strategies I used while I was in the country, and some actions I took. I got to know myself more and explore my strengths and weaknesses in the process. Aside from the CQI, we also did some weekly discussions, and sometimes we were required to make some short video messages. At first, I was embarrassed, but as time passes, it was fun. I was able to communicate my thoughts in a very short time without needing a script or being embarrassed. I also updated my resume including my international experiences, and because of all the reflection that I was able to do, I was able to describe my international experiences better and realized that I did more than I thought.

In my final reflection paper, I also described the top three takeaways that I had. In this case, I want to describe the top three things I gained through this program that I think is important as a global professional and why these things are important. First, I think it is important to be patient. There are so many things that need to be learned and discover. However, we are humans that have limited capacity, time, energy, resources, and sometimes we cannot have it all. We need some patience because there are just some things that take time. We also have to accept the fact that humans have the limited capacity and although it is good that we want to learn it all, it is also just as important to know our limits. That is why it is more desirable to specialize in something that we truly love because it is more efficient to all of us. At the same time, being generalist are also recommended in some parts of our life. Second, understanding cultural lens. This is very important if you want to travel or engage in any global career. A person cannot just assume that everybody or each country see or feel the same. There is a reason why there is ‘cultural knowledge.’ We all came from da different cultural background and it is very crucial for one to understand that concept. Some people might think or wonder why some people do things differently. We all have the unique environment and we adapt to those environment accordingly. The same as when a person travels to a country without technology, they have to adapt on some things that are not accessible and make use of the situation to understand what locals do in the country. All I can say for the second one is, NEVER ASSUME. Lastly, I think the most important of all is love yourself. If you love yourself, you also have trust in it. It is the most important and the most critical thing to have for a global professional. You love and trust yourself enough to be vulnerable in a different environment. You expose yourself in so many ways including your weaknesses. I know I did a lot of times. There are times when you do not know the language. However, if you believe in yourself enough, you are not going to let a language barrier stop you from exploring the world around you. I kept mentioning explore a lot of times because that is what we do in our life. We explore places, new faces, knowledge, experiences, feelings and more. So, if you love yourself, you only do what you think is best for you and if you can love yourself, you can give some of that love back to others as well.

Everything that I have gained in this program is all important and critical for my growth as a person. I intend to apply all my knowledge and experiences as I write this reflection paper and as I continue to walk down the path that I am destined to go. For my fellow Buckeyes that are planning or intending to participate in the Global Options program, I would say go for it! This class will help you in so many ways, and that includes revisiting and reshaping your international experiences.

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Assessment, Survey, and Effectiveness Research

Sample assignments, mapping exercises, mapping + integration template.

This template asks students to list courses in General Education and their major and co-curricular activities and then to reflect on connections among them and also to their Personal and Interpersonal Life and Professional/Career Life.  They do so by drawing lines to note the connections and making a brief annotation as to the nature of the connection.  As used in IE courses—such as English 494EI: Writing, Identity, and English Studies—it is often followed by an essay further reflecting on the completed map.

Art History 415: Methods of Art History

Skills Chart and Narrative

This assignment, the second in a three-part sequence of reflections, offers a model of how students might map their skills and knowledge. What makes this a valuable assignments for students is the opportunity to then use the skills charting to produce a narrative and employer portfolio. Writing the narrative and subsequent portfolio requires students to articulate for themselves the value of their General Education and major experiences. Japanese 494RI: Communicating in Japanese

Reflection Assignment

This assignment is in two parts: the first is a mapping exercise framed by two questions. It asks students what they would like to ultimately be doing in life, and asks what they will do following graduate to achieve that. This mapping then moves into an overall reflection on the major and General Education courses that students have taken, asking them to consider how, directly or indirectly, these courses may help them achieve the objectives. Following the mapping exercise, students are asked to write a reflection essay based on their mapping charts, and what they identified as overall goals.

ResEcon 394LI: Life is Full of Choices: An Integrated Experience Seminar

SBS Pathways Inventory

This assignment asks students to develop their SBS Pathways Portfolio, a component of the larger SBS Pathways Program. In doing so, students have an opportunity to reflect on their courses, both General Education and major-focused, as well as any co-curricular experiences. Upon mapping these experiences, students are then asked to identify the skills attained from such experiences, and consider how they might use them in their future goals. This is done in conjunction with students’ professional development. This assignment is an example of using informal mapping to prompt students’ reflective thinking and draw connections between their broader educational experiences and their own professional and personal lives.

Narrative Assignments

*With the exception of Art History 415 and English 494EI, these course assignments do not include mapping or charting activities. 

Anthro 494RI: Religion, Evolution, and Human Biology

Reflection Papers

There are two reflection papers that ask students to reflect on specific General Education designated courses (one BS course, and one AL, AT, or SB course). These reflections are explicitly connected to the content of the course, with prompts asking students to draw connections. While not explicit in the Term Paper assignment, the language of the prompt draws parallels to that of the earlier reflection papers.

This course includes three reflection and integration activities: the initial and final being in narrative form, and the second involves charting.

Initial Reflection Paper

This assignment is constructed in 3 parts, allowing students to work through their experiences. Students are given a chance to think separately about their General Education courses, as well as their introductory, 100-level major courses. In doing so, students can identify what patterns emerge specific to one particular group, or see what is shared. This comes together with the final questions which ask students to think about the impact of these courses on their future plans. Completed early in the semester, these reflection papers are meant to frame and guide students' experience in the course.

See description above. 

Final Reflection Paper

This assignment is in addition to a final research project. While the final research project is disciplinary/course content focused, this final reflection assignment offers students the chance to consider how all facets of their UMass experience (General Education courses, major courses, extracurricular activities, etc.) influenced not only their choice in research project, but also their approach to the future.

Comm 494XI: Media and Prejudice

These papers are designed for students to reflect on their prior General Education experience, while also requiring that they think about these experiences in the context of the course theme. In doing so, students are given the opportunity to integrate their learning experiences within the context of their major and the overall course focus.

8-Page Paper

While the primary focus of this assignment is for students to design their own theory-based media intervention, marking the assignment as a kind of wrap-up to the course, students are encouraged to use previous Gen Ed courses as inspiration and resources. This assignment offers an example of how an assignment can be "content-focused" and perhaps, disciplinary-specific, while also granting an opportunity for reflection on and integration of prior General Education experience.

English 494EI: Writing, Identity, and English Studies

Project 3: “College”

This project is one of five that students complete in the course. While the other projects offer different reflective lenses for students to consider, Project 3 emphasizes a reflection on College. Students are asked to reflect on and integrate “their college learning so far,” considering all of the courses they have taken alongside their co-curricular activities. These reflections are then presented in a final paper taking the form of a narrative, critical reflection, or case study. The project is one piece of a larger whole that offers students the opportunity to critical reflect on and engage their prior learning experiences.  To prompt their thinking for this reflection, students begin by completing the Mapping + Integration Template .

NatSci 489H: Integrative Science Senior Exposition Seminar

Personal IE Reflective Essay

This essay asks students to craft a “narrative on [their] intellectual/personal journey through college.” Students develop the reflection essay, which requires both reflection on and integration of their General Education coursework and major courses, with peer and instructor feedback throughout the course of the semester. While the essay itself is developed “iteratively,” the syllabus provides some initial prompts to help students get started.

PoliSci 394DI

Protest and Dissent: Electronic Journal Assignment

This assignment is a cumulative journal assignment, with an established minimum number of entries students are required to make. While some of the entries can be interest-driven, with students writing about their own topics, the syllabus highlights five required prompts throughout the course of the semester. These prompts ask students to reflect on their prior experiences, including General Education courses, in relation to their major and the course material. 

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Write for Us

We invite friends and colleagues of the Wabash Center from across North America to contribute periodic blog posts for one of our several blog series.

Writing the Final Reflection Assignment

In my first post , I described a new course-- “Religious Dimensions in Human Experience: Between Animals and Gods” -- and all of the teaching activities I have going on in it: there was planning and now teaching, writing this blog, and starting a long-term scholarship on teaching and learning project (SoTL). For the project, I’m keeping data on how writing for listeners affects students’ research and writing process. (A few weeks ago, I blogged about why I assigned podcasts as “writing.”) 

When I started thinking about teaching “writing for listeners,” I realized I needed to find some resources for my students and me. I found a favorite: Transom.org . Transom’s organizers describe what they’re about like this: 

Transom channels new work, voices, and ideas into public media through the Internet and workshops. Our goal is to be useful and inspiring. Transom is a performance space, an open editorial session, an audition stage, a library, and a hangout. Our purpose is to pass the baton of mission and good practice in public media through tools, philosophy, and technique.

I fell in love the moment I saw familiar names—Nancy Updike, Alex Chadwick, Jad Abumrad—writing about writing for radio. I had stumbled across an archive of essays written by the very people I’d like for my students to hear and emulate.

Updike’s two-part manifesto “Better Writing through Radio” was the first reading I assigned related to “writing for listeners,” and it is the model for my students’ final reflections. Given that they have been reading and listening to podcasts, as well as producing some, I want the final reflections to take into account all of our course materials—assigned readings and the students’ own creations—as texts.

Last week I met with Sarah in Instructional Design to talk through how students would craft documents that include audio clips, and she introduced me to a few other platforms that can host text and audio. After reviewing a handful ( Wordpress , Weebly , and Wix ), I settled on Sway. PC Magazine describes Sway as “an example of a new class of software that lets you create ‘stories’ . . . [it gives] you a simple way to craft your words and images into a well-designed, easily and appealingly navigable presentation that can be viewed on the Web.” Sway bridges the gap between web-building platforms like Wordpress and presentation software like Powerpoint or Prezi. Take a look at the same assignment in Sway . 

What new ways of “writing” have you tried lately? When are you willing to experiment with new writing technologies? When not? 

   This is the 8th post in this series by Molly Bassett this semester (Fall 2015).  

About Molly Bassett

Dr. Molly Bassett is an Associate Professor and Chair in Religious Studies at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on concepts of deity and the creation of god-bodies in Aztec and modern Nahua religions. She published The Fate of Earthly Things in 2015. Molly has been involved with the Wabash Center since 2011, when she joined a pre-tenure workshop. Her research in the 2014-2015 Study of Teaching and Learning Colloquy led to a publication on crafting multiple-choice exams that test for critical thinking , and in 2016 she joined the editorial board of Teaching Theology and Religion . Molly has been on the steering committee for the Teaching Religion unit of the AAR since 2012, and she began co-chairing the unit in 2015. Most recently, she received a small project grant from Wabash to explore the applied liberal arts in the study of religions. She lives in Atlanta with her spouse, Mike, two children, Jennings and Dory, and two dogs, Chance and Owen. When they’re not walking the dogs, you can find them playing cars on the kitchen floor, reading the Belly Button Book , or riding bikes.

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Beyond Finals Week: Self-Reflection Assignments in Your Psychology Course

Article Summary

• Self-reflection enables students to apply Psychology content to their lives.
• One effective self-reflection assignment involves three simple steps.
• Takeaway Projects can be engaging alternatives to final exams.

Ivan Wayne is a Doctoral Student in Educational Psychology at University of Northern Colorado.

Content in Psychology courses is easily applied to students’ lives. Many students reveal this is a primary reason they take Intro to Psychology or Psychology Foundations as elective courses.

However, the way a Psychology class can impact students long-term is not always discussed.

Ending a semester together, many students in Psychology courses have completed some level of informal self-reflection. Analyzing the field of Psychology reminds students of both themselves and things they’ve experienced in life so far.

Help Students Reap the Benefits of Self-Reflection

Bringing self-reflection into the class—and assigning a grade—reinforces the importance of active self-application. Towards the end of the semester, a project centered around self-reflection better enables students to take the Psychology content they’ve learned far beyond finals week.

Originally titled The Takeaway Project , you may name this summative assessment whatever you’d like, and modify it in any way you deem fit. The general goal is to have students reflect on how they’ve changed as a direct result of the Psychology content in your course.

This project empowers students to share those lasting takeaways with both their instructor and their peers. I typically use The Takeaway Project as either a final exam replacement or an assignment we focus on the week before Finals Week.

Have Students Self-Reflect in 3 Steps

As originally designed, this project requires students to select three different pieces of content from your course that they’ve found moving, impactful or memorable. I require students to bring these pieces of content from different units in the class, to prevent all their selections from referencing just one part of the course.

Requirements in The Takeaway Project begin with three questions, across each of the three pieces of course content, that students have selected:

• How did this piece of course content change a previous way of thinking for you?
• How did this piece of course content change a previous behavior of yours—or, how will it change a behavior of yours in the near future?
• What do you think most people in general society misunderstand about this piece of course content—or, what do you wish people in general society knew about it?

In total, these three prompts pertaining to three pieces of course content build nine requirements. The rubric is up to instructor discretion. I tell students this project can be completed in any format they choose. I sometimes require that students complete their assignment outside of writing a paper or creating a PowerPoint deck, enabling them to get out of their comfort zones.

Foster Self-Reflection with a Final Assignment

I require my class to present their final Takeaway Project to small groups of fellow students. I reserve a space on campus, however this can be done in Breakout Rooms on Zoom for online courses. For this portion of The Takeaway Project, I then:

• Assign students to small groups of five
• Instruct students to pick the order in which they’ll present
• Give each student 10 to 15 minutes to present their project and answer questions

I monitor the groups and listen in to what they have created. I typically don’t grade them on presentations, instead only grading their final product. You can then add the presentation into the rubric and assign points for this portion of the project.

Engage Learners on a Lifelong Scale

The Takeaway Project presentations remain one of my favorite class assignments. Students rave about it in their course evaluations, and sometimes even reach out on their own volition to thank me for assigning this type of self-reflection.

The idea that our courses can change students as people is incredibly powerful, and many students never get the opportunity to think this way about their classes.

As educators, we believe students should sign up for classes not to check off requirements, but to embrace and ignite their passions about learning. This project is one way to build that mission into our gradebooks and into the students’ college experience.

Reflect on Your Own Powerful Lessons

The Takeaway Project is powerful enough that I was inspired to start making my own Takeaway Project each semester. After students present in their groups, I share what my three biggest takeaways are. Each and every semester, I am pleasantly overwhelmed by the personal, emotional and connected nature of this day in class.

It’s time to inspire student learning by reminding them of the ways they’ve grown as a result of their hard work. They’ve studied, discussed and tested themselves on their Psychology content.

We should ask students to examine themselves in the mirror, inspiring them to become better people as a result of the psychological information they’ve learned. We can also model this behavior by sharing our own takeaways and letting them know we’re all lifetime students making sense of life one day at a time—using Psychology as our continual compass.

Learn More Teaching Tips

Want more ways to take teaching to the next level? Discover resources for various course formats and other ways to gain professional development in today’s higher-education landscape.

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Final Reflection Assignment

Storytelling Connections

Spring 2024

Final Reflection

due: May 3, 2024

Stories both describe our understanding of life and its social structures AND create our understanding of life and its social structures.

Think about your experiences when telling stories with the youth in detention.

Think about  what you read in “The Body Keeps the Score,” “ Small Things Like These,” and “Are Prisons Obsolete?”

Part 1: Pre-writing

What was the story you had in your mind about incarcerated youth BEFORE you started going to visit and tell stories? Consider Davis’s claim on p.18 that it is practically impossible to avoid “prison films.”  Did you have a movie that shaped your thinking?

Has the story in your mind about incarcerated youth and about prisons in general changed? (write a brief reflection)

Collect examples of assumptions and stories—your own and also cultural assumptions—that you can find in your own reflective posts, and in the texts we read this semester.  Consider these possible exhibits for your essay portfolio.

Collect examples of new insights and changed behavior you see, in yourself and in the texts. Also consider these as exhibits for your essay portfolio.

Part 2: Portfolio of Exhibits: Put the written reflections, blog posts, stories from the class-created booklet “Campfire Stories” and other examples into a Portfolio of Exhibits.   For quotations from the published texts you read, create a section just for quotes and their page numbers. (Remember the Compost Heap from fall semester? You are basically making  one page of your Portfolio of Exhibits a “Compost Page”)

Part 3: Write an essay

Design a thesis statement that tells how the story you tell yourself of incarceration has changed. You might focus on your own personal stories and connections, or on societal stories, or use a combination of both. Write a reflective essay that draws on examples to illustrate what specifically has changed for you, and in what ways.

The essay should be 5-6 pages, should analyze some quotes from your exhibits,  using in-text citation format.  The essay should prove or illuminate your thesis statement.

Part 4: Turn in for a grade

By noon on May 3, turn in your essay + exhibit portfolio for a grade.

I will use this rubric.

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Final Project Details

The final project for CIT 5940 is an open-ended group project to be completed in teams of three.

You should choose a project idea that interests you and your group. The broad requirements are listed below. In order for a project to be approved, you must indicate how you plan to satisfy several important requirements. Keep in mind that features like GUIs, web deployments, or the use of libraries in other programming languages are acceptable to include in your project but that they do not count towards the overall completeness & grading of your project.

• Your project must show meaningful, novel, and rigorous use of material from one unit in this course. There should be at least one data structure or topic that is central to your project and shows thoughtful application of the material from that unit to the specific problem at hand.
• Your project should show efficient and well-motivated use of other at least two data structures covered in this course. These uses & implementations can be “off-the-shelf” to some degree, but should show that you have thought about the problem and chosen the right data structure for the job.
• Your project should feature one of the software design patterns discussed in this course. You are allowed to choose patterns not discussed in the course as long as you get approval.
• story points
• feature branches + pull requests
• a UML design diagram
• interfaces for all non-trivial classes
• thorough testing
• a clear README
• neat & informative comments

The first point is one that will likely shape the direction of your project, and is also one that is likely to generate the most questions. There is a list of acceptable & unacceptable project ideas at the end of this writeup that can be used to help gauge whether your project develops an idea to a sufficient degree.

Final Project Proposals

By April 23rd @ 11:59pm, please upload a 1 page PDF of your Final Project Proposal. Additionally, one person from your group must fill out this form .

Each proposal should include:

• A list of participants.
• An explanation of the project idea, including a discussion of why your group chose this idea.
• Mark which feature or features is the one that you feel is the most meaningful and novel use of material from this course.
• Which software design pattern you intend to implement.
• Any outstanding questions you have that you would like the course staff to help you answer about your project.

Project Update & Check-In

By May 3rd @ 4:59pm, please email the instructors and your project TAs with:

• any questions you would like answered
• What have you completed so far?
• What is giving you trouble?
• UML diagram(s) & interfaces for feedback

This will count for a portion of your final project grade. A template for this email is provided here .

Final Project Deliverables

The final project deliverables (detailed below) will be due on May 10th. Each group will be assigned TAs; please check in with them if you have any project-specific questions! Groups are encouraged to finish the project & present it early—start your summer break as soon as you can!

Interfaces + Documentation

Full credit will be given for clear method input/output (methods should always have an input and an output for testing), minimization of instance variables, and high cohesion/low coupling. Each class should have its own unique and clear purpose. A class should avoid requiring the use of another class for a significant portion of its methods.

Uploaded to Git + emailed to assigned Project TAs by May 10 and at least 2 hours before project presentation.

GitHub requirements

• Assignment created in GitHub
• milestones, issues, story points, code review

Code coverage minimum: 80% (only for Java parts). Will be checked during live/final presentation.

Final Presentation:

Sign up for a timeslot on May 9th here (TBD), or reach out to your assigned Project TAs to potentially schedule an earlier demo.

Detailed 15-20 minute explanation of problem, interfaces, data structures, design, GitHub use, testing, project demo, and individual team member contributions.

• This category includes the portion of your grade that comes from correctly using appropriate data structures to implement your project.
• This category includes the portion of your grade that comes from completing the project to the extent that you proposed.
• Same rules apply as for the homework assignment for all components of the project written in Java.
• This category accounts for your successful implementation of the chosen software design pattern.
• Presentation: 5%

Acceptable and Unacceptable Ideas

There might be several ideas for projects that center around the use of graphs. Some will be suitably novel and complex and others will not. A graph representing physical adjacency (such as the Engineering Quad example from lecture) or a graph representing a social network are both examples that do not represent sufficiently large developments from straightforward uses of graphs. On the other hand, finding data that can constitue a matching problem and representing that data in a graph in order to find some solution to the problem could be acceptable.

Indexing is often a suitable topic for a project, but it requires data that can be organized and queried in several useful ways. Maintaining a database of image files like the Facebook Haystack architecture would be suitably complex, but building an individual primary key index over a series of text files would not be. For an indexing project to be acceptable, it should be able to answer queries that are not trivially answered by a linear search or binary search over a single view of the data.

Some other potentially interesting data structures & project combinations:

• An experiment demonstrating the effectiveness and drawbacks of several different hashing implementations, including different choices of hash functions and collision resolution strategies.
• Creative uses of graph algorithms to solve problems like matchings, set packing
• Modeling particles in a simulation using a point-based quadtree or octree
• Exploring the use of a kd-tree for nearest neighbor search in a high-dimensional space
• Implementing a bloom filter and benchmarking its performance with different settings and also against a deterministic hash table
• Using the UNION-FIND data structure.

Some data structures or topics that are unlikely to be suitably complex to base a project around:

• queues & stacks
• trees & graphs for well-known problems like shortest path, minimum spanning tree, etc.
• lists, sets, maps