Overview

For each reflection, you will identify the author’s overall message, describe how the author develops the message, and then reflect on the meaning of the article for you.

Each reflection should be developed to between 250 and 300 words. Read the to see how reflections will be evaluated.

About “Reflection”

Educators use the word “reflection” as a specific term for the stage of learning in which we respond to something new by asking, “How does this fit with my understanding of the world?”

We experience reflection in this sense whenever we encounter something that makes us stop and think. If we find value in the thing we’ve encountered, we continue thinking about it and, with time, begin to look at the world a bit differently.

A written reflection is a type of personal essay that is often assigned in graduate courses because it requires students to think deeply about what they’ve read. For more information about reflections, visit https://student.unsw.edu.au/reflective-writing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Instructions

Reading

• Take notes as you read.
  • What is familiar?
  • What is new?
• Immediately after you’re done reading, write down as much as you can about your initial reaction.
  • What surprised you?
  • What insights have you gained?
  • What has made you “stop and think”?

NOTE: If very little in the article is new to you, or if you gain very little insight, it is your responsibility to choose a different article in On Communication.

Writing

Not all students in this course have written a reflection, so this section describes the general procedure to follow.

• Give your reflection a title that prepares your reader for your ideas.
  • For guidance in formatting a title, see Alred Handbook > Titles > Formatting titles.
• In the first paragraph, identify the author(s) and article and summarize the main message.
  • In other words, what overall point is the author making?
• In the second paragraph, identify and briefly describe the method the author uses to develop the message (see Alred Handbook > Methods of development).

NOTE: “Identify” means to use the name of the development method from the Alred Handbook.

• In the remaining paragraphs, discuss the article’s meaning for you as a current or future professional in the workplace.
  • This discussion should be the longest part of your essay.
• Proofread your writing for the conventions of written English (for instance, correct grammar and mechanics, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization).
  • For help with these conventions, see 605 Course Handbook > Style and Mechanics Reviews > Online resources.

Rubric

Reflection Rubric