Bias-Free Language in Academic Writing

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*This sample was adapted by the UAGC Writing Center from an original paper by a student. Used by permission.

What is Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing, also known as personal writing, requires you to reflect on the topic on a personal level. Reflective writing is not based on research on the topic,

but instead centers on your opinions, thoughts, and experiences.

The purpose of reflective writing is to serve as an evaluation—perhaps on what you have learned or discovered.

Format your paper according to your assignment instructions: APA, MLA, Chicago Style

The following sample includes APA-style citations and references.

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My Past, Present, and Future

I never thought I would be 42 years old and writing a paper like this one. I had planned

to go to college right after high school, but life does not always happen according to plan. I will

present a brief description of a few of my life experiences that have helped shape the person I am

today and analyze some of these experiences using the adult development theories from this

class. I will also look ahead to the goals I want to accomplish in the future.

I grew up in a military family. My earliest childhood memories were of growing up on

Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, as the oldest of five children. As the family grew,

my mother left the Air Force, but my father continued in military service. My siblings and I are

all about two years apart in age, and my childhood was fairly ordinary until I was about ten years

old, when my father was deployed to Japan. My family planned to join him there, but we had to

wait for about a year until Dad could arrange housing for us.

My exciting trip abroad turned out to be very short-lived. After we had been in Japan for

only about a year, my parents called us kids together one evening and announced that they were

getting a divorce. I was devastated. My mother, four brothers and sisters, and I boarded a plane

to return to the States. I waved goodbye to my father at the airport, and it was the last time I

would see him until a chance meeting when I was 21 years old. Whenever his tour of duty was

nearing an end, he requested another remote assignment to remain overseas. He was never part

of our lives again. Eventually, he remarried and started another family.

Mom, the other kids, and I settled in a small rural community in northern California. Life

for a single mother with five children must have been rough, but Mom rarely complained. She

found a job as a secretary for a local furniture store, and we always had a roof over our heads and

food on the table. My mother’s job paid only about $300 a month, however, and our rent was

You will use first person point of view, meaning you will use “I” and “me” in your writing. This type of writing is less formal

than academic writing used in argumentative or research papers.

If asked to write a reflective paper for a formal assignment, include a thesis statement, or statement of purpose. If your reflective writing is for a more informal

assignment, such as a discussion post, you won’t need to include this formality.

In order to fully capture her main ideas, the writer

begins with personal

experiences from her background

and builds in chronological

order.

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$100 a month. So, not much money was left for groceries and other expenses. Since I was only

10 years old, and my siblings were younger, we could not get jobs to help support the family.

However, in an agricultural area, everyone was needed at harvest time. So, about six

months of the year we worked in the fields after school. We also got our school lunches free

under a program for “needy children,” which helped with the grocery bill. When I grew older, I

was hired at the town library and worked year-round after school. On Saturdays, Mom made

sure that, in addition to schoolwork and play, we all practiced our typing. “If you can type,” she

said, “you can always find a job.”

When I was in high school, I worked after school as a waitress at our local ice cream

parlor. This was my dream job. I made a decent salary and tips from waiting tables, and I had

all the ice cream sundaes I could eat! I had planned to attend college when I graduated from high

school, but then I met Joe. Joe was different from the guys I had dated before. He was five years

older than I was, and he was much more mature than boys my age. Joe and I dated for about

three months and, when I was 17, I lied about my age, and we eloped to Las Vegas to get

married. I was much too young, but no one could convince me, at the time, that marrying Joe

was a mistake. I expected to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Our

marriage lasted less than two years. I do not regret it, though; the marriage gave me my

wonderful son, who is the light of my life.

In our studies of adult development theory, I was interested to learn about Erikson’s

theories of psychosocial stages. Our text tells us that Erikson believed adolescents “anguish over

who they are and how they fit into their social world” (Witt & Mossler, 2010, section 2.3, para.

9). I certainly went through this stage. At age 17, I did not know who I was or what I wanted to

do with my life, and I believed that becoming a wife and mother would give me a sense of

The writer includes specific details about her own personal experiences and opinions to provide insight

into her reflection.

Here, the writer is reflecting on how her personal experience relates to concepts she is learning in the course.

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identity and belonging. However, I discovered that until I matured and found my own identity, I

was unable to have a fulfilling marriage.

Like my own mother, I became a single mom with no college education. Thanks to

Mom’s insistence that I learn to type, I was able to find clerical work to support myself and

my son. But, I missed the companionship that a good marriage was supposed to provide,

and I remember this period as one of the loneliest of my life. My great joy, though, was

spending time with my son. I have great memories of serving as his Cub Scout leader,

attending his Little League baseball games, and watching him perform in the school band.

At work one day I met a terrific guy named Frank. Frank was about my age and was also

divorced. He had started college but had dropped out to obtain his real estate license to support

his wife and baby. Frank’s daughter was a couple of years younger than my son, and our children

immediately became friends. Frank and I dated for a year, and then we were married. I am happy

to say that this marriage has been a success. Frank is a wonderful husband and father. My son is

now a senior in high school, and Frank’s daughter will finish middle school this year.

The last few years of my life have been happy and busy. I was hired in an entry-level

position at a large bank, and I have earned several promotions. Frank continues to be successful

selling real estate, and we both enjoy raising our two children. Last year, though, I overheard my

son tell a friend that college was not important because his parents had not graduated. About that

same time, my manager told me I was not eligible for a promotion at work because the position I

wanted required a college degree. My son’s comment and my manager’s statement made me

realize that it was time for me to go back and earn that college degree. As our text explains,

modeling is an important source of learning (Witt & Mossler, 2010), and I also want to set a

good example for my children. So, a few months ago, I began to research my options.

Here, the writer continues to reflect back on aspects of her early adulthood in order to draw a deeper, meaningful impression

about those experiences.

Here, the writer takes a step back to fully observe what she has learned by

self-analyzing. If you find yourself

struggling with this aspect of your paper, think about how you would complete this sentence: “When I

look back, I realize_______.”

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Conclusion

Now I find myself writing a college paper. My skills are a little rusty, but I am enjoying

this new challenge. I can see now that my mother’s struggles and desires for me are similar to the

struggles I faced and the desires that I want for my own children. My mother encouraged me to

learn a skill to be more independent. I am now taking that a step further by going to college and

setting an example for my children to model. I had forgotten how much fun it could be to learn

new things, and I enjoy sharing my new knowledge with my family. I hope my excitement rubs

off on my children and that they choose to go on to college as well.

Conclude your reflection with a discussion or an evaluation of what you learned from reflecting on

your experiences.

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References

Witt, G. A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. Ashford

University.