Reflection Paper Example | Understanding Reflective Essay with a Sample

This page explains what a reflection paper is and then shows a complete one. The sample is a reflective report on a marketing internship, written to a 500-word brief by a student on an MSc in International Business and Management, with Harvard-style citations. It was written while the student was working from home during the pandemic, which the reflection itself refers to, so read the context as 2021 rather than as current practice. The sample keeps the student's US spelling.

Read it for the shape and for the level of honesty a marker rewards: it names a mistake, it says what was learned from it, and it cites two sources. If you need the same thing written for your own placement or module, our reflection paper help page lists the reflective models we work with.

What Is a Reflection Paper?

A reflection paper is a short piece of writing in which you set out what an experience taught you and how it changed the way you think. It is written in the first person, it draws its evidence from what actually happened, and it still cites theory where theory is used. It is also called a reflective essay or a reflective report.

The difference between a reflection paper and every other assignment is the source of the evidence. In an essay, the evidence is the literature. In a reflection paper, the evidence is what you did, and the literature explains it. That is why a reflective report that only summarises reading tends to lose marks, however well written it is.

How Do You Structure a Reflection Paper?

Structure it in four moves. Set the scene in two or three sentences: what the experience was, where and when. Say what you did and what you thought at the time. Evaluate it, including what went wrong. Then analyse why, using something from your module, and finish with what you will do differently. Keep description short.

On a 500-word brief, that works out at roughly 75 words of context, 150 on what happened, 200 on evaluation and analysis, and 75 on what changes. The sample below spends more than that on context and less on what changes; the section after it shows what that costs. It uses no headings, which is normal for a short reflective task; a longer report usually takes its headings from a named model.

Which Reflective Model Should You Use?

The one your brief names. If the brief does not name one, Gibbs' reflective cycle is the safest default for a placement or internship reflection, because its six stages force you past description and into analysis. Kolb's learning cycle, Driscoll's "What? So what? Now what?", Schön and Rolfe are the other models modules commonly set.

Gibbs' reflective cycle: the six stages

1. 1 Description Description of the experience.
2. 2 Feelings Feelings and thoughts about the experience.
3. 3 Evaluation Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad.
4. 4 Analysis Analysis to make sense of the situation.
5. 5 Conclusion Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently.
6. 6 Action plan Action plan for how you would deal with a similar situation in future.

The action plan feeds the next experience, and the cycle starts again at the description.

Gibbs' reflective cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 "to give structure to learning from experiences" and moves through six stages in order (University of Edinburgh, Reflectors' Toolkit):

1. Description of the experience.
2. Feelings and thoughts about the experience.
3. Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad.
4. Analysis to make sense of the situation.
5. Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently.
6. Action plan for how you would deal with a similar situation in future.

The sample below was not written against a named model, because the brief did not ask for one. It still covers five of the six stages, which is the point worth taking from it: the models exist to produce that coverage, not the other way round. The section after the sample shows where each stage appears.

Reflection Paper Example

Question: Write a reflection report on your personal experience with the internship that you just completed as part of the syllabus of your course in no more than 500 words (+-10%). Use at least one citation using APA/Harvard style referencing. 

Reflection Report

The following is the reflection of my personal experience, knowledge gained, and learning outcomes that I had to date from the internship that I am having with Amsys Technologies, London, as a Marketing Consultant.

I always had an interest in Branding and Marketing and this was the major reason that I opted for an MSc in International Business and Management. As part of our curriculum, when I got the opportunity to work in some organization as an intern, Marketing positions were my first preference. Thankfully I got a position in my company and the experience that I have till now is exceptionally good.

Amsys Technologies deals with various types of online services, however, the majority of their clients (both domestic and international) come for web designing, web development, or digital marketing.

My major role at the company is to do the marketing comparison and research between various companies and note down their strengths and weaknesses, and scope of improvements, so that we can improve on our services.

In the initial days of my internship, after a few days of basic training, the variables for the benchmarking like - the year of establishment, clients, the area covered, products, sales, social media coverage, etc. used to be given by my seniors and my job was to do the market research and fill out the variables for various companies.

Later on, this responsibility was further increased as my seniors said that I had to figure out the variables for the market research and benchmarking. This was challenging to me and I was also a little afraid at first, but I took responsibility and tried my best. The first individual assignment was for a mobile application company, and I made a couple of minor mistakes at the beginning, but now I feel glad that I took this as a challenge. The feedback from the seniors and clients was very good and encouraging.

We also provide consultancy to our clients based on market comparison, benchmarking, competitive strength, etc. The courses that I learned in my MBA course helped me immensely in all this. For example, I learned how to do a SWOT Analysis (Sarsby, 2016) during my first year, and now I do this for every client’s company before providing any marketing plan or strategy. This practical knowledge helps in improving corporate knowledge, however, sometimes finding data for these SMEs is very difficult. I identify this as a major challenge in my work.

Because of the pandemic, we all are working from home which has its challenges. I felt that the role of clear communication is very important in any organization and it becomes even more important when you’re not seeing the next person. As part of the work, many times we have to directly reach out to clients via phone calls or emails.

One of my intern colleagues faced the problem of the communication barrier, as she sent a few requirements in an email to the client, and they felt that it was a 'bit rude'.

Her intention was never to disrespect them but she wasn’t very proficient in writing professional emails which caused this problem. Though I am good in both oral and written communication, still I learned from her mistake and felt like improving it further. Our seniors at the organization also encouraged us for it. I referred to (Bovée, 2008) to improve my business communication skills, and it was helpful.

The major strength of the organization I am working in is communication. The seniors are very easily approachable and they are very friendly. The experience, learning, and feedback, that I have received are very positive and I am confident that it will help in my future endeavors as a marketing consultant.

References Used in the Sample

• Bovée, C. L., 2008. Business Communication Today. 9 ed. s.l.:PEARSON Education.
• Sarsby, A., 2016. SWOT Analysis. s.l.:s.n.

What the Marker Is Looking for in This Sample

Five of Gibbs' six stages are present, without a single heading naming them. Description sits in the first three paragraphs. Feelings appear once and honestly ("I was also a little afraid at first"). Evaluation comes through the benchmarking task and the data problem with small firms. Analysis arrives when the student connects the work to SWOT analysis from year one. The conclusion is the closing paragraph.

Where each Gibbs stage appears in the sample

1. 1 Description The first three paragraphs: the company, the course and the marketing role.
2. 2 Feelings One honest line: "I was also a little afraid at first".
3. 3 Evaluation The benchmarking task, and the difficulty of finding data on small firms.
4. 4 Analysis The link to SWOT analysis learned in the first year of the course.
5. 5 Conclusion The closing paragraph on the experience and what it leads to.
6. 6 Action plan Thin. "I am confident that it will help" is a sentiment, not a plan.

The action plan feeds the next experience, and the cycle starts again at the description.

The stage that is thinnest is the action plan, and that is the most common weakness in a short reflective report. "I am confident that it will help in my future endeavors" is a sentiment, not a plan. A stronger ending would name one thing the student will do differently, such as building a standard variable set before starting a benchmarking job so that missing data on small firms is identified early. For an action plan in which every goal has a date and a way of checking it, see our personality assessment assignment sample.

Two other things a marker will notice. The citations are used where they belong, on the SWOT framework and on the business communication reading, rather than decorating the introduction. And the difficult moment is a colleague's mistake, not the student's own, which is safe but weaker: reflecting on your own error carries more credit, as long as you show what changed.

A marker would also catch the length. The report runs to about 620 words against a ceiling of 550 (500 plus ten per cent), and the overrun sits in the setting: the first three paragraphs take about 130 words where 75 would do. Cut there first. The course also changes name, from an MSc in International Business and Management at the start to "my MBA course" when the student credits it for the SWOT work. Name your programme once and keep it the same throughout.

More Reflective Writing Samples

• A reflective essay sample on personal and professional development, if your brief asks for a longer piece than the one above.
• A reflection on an international business strategy module, for a reflection written about learning rather than about a placement.
• A global hospitality report with a self-reflection and career plan, for a reflective section inside a larger management report.
• More across subjects in our study and writing guides, business samples and MBA assignment samples.

A placement reflection is often one task inside a larger management module. Our MBA assignment help covers the case studies and reports that sit around it.

Need help with a reflection paper or a reflective report? Message us on WhatsApp with the brief, the word count and the model your module names, and we will tell you what we can do.

Sources

• University of Edinburgh, Reflectors' Toolkit: Gibbs' reflective cycle. https://reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle
• Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford. Free e-book listed by Oxford Brookes University: Academic Enhancement and Development publications.