Tip: Since you’ll be using more course resources in this step, review your readings and course notes before you begin writing.
Sample Student Reflection Paper
Rather than simply endorsing reflection papers and their potential to dramatically connect course content with students’ lives, I want to share an example. I display this unedited reflection paper anonymously with permission of the author who I will call John. Of particular note is the visceral experience John has in recognizing his own positionality vis-a-vis the studied class topic. The impact of this experience was heightened as John and the other students engaged one another in class on their experiences writing these reflections.
(You will find the actual instructions for this assignment under the Paper Assignments tab.)
November 5, 2013
Phil 389
Reflection 2
The concept of privilege positions in society was only made aware to me in recent years as I have had the luxury of learning about these subtle forms of oppression through continued study of social justice. I was lucky enough, privileged enough, to afford to be ignorant of such phenomena, but for some, these facts of social life are daily lessons of how they do not fit into a view of reality portrayed by mainstream culture. I had been focused on seeing overt forms of oppression where one group actively impacts another; however, I had never realized the part I played, and the advantages I gained from this system of oppression. Once the privileges were pointed out to me, it was as if I had become aware of a secret world that penetrates the very fiber of society. It wasn’t until I learned of my privilege that I began to see examples of it everywhere I looked. For my reflection I decided to do a little field work, so I took a walk around a local mall to search for examples of privilege.
Peggy McIntosh describes these privileges as an invisible knapsack of tools an advantages, and how those advantages manifest themselves is by virtue of the disadvantaged position it places those not lucky enough to be born into the right place in society. While white privilege is a common example, there can be many forms of privilege along the lines of sexual orientation, religion, physical attributes, and so on, as long as there is a tipping of the scales of justice that leaves one group in an advantaged position at the expense of another group. I think the main form of privilege I found in my field trip to the mall was the expectation that my general appearance and sexual orientation would be reflected in the products and advertisements, thus allowing me to have an immersive shopping experience. I got the sense that the layout of the mall was designed with me as its target customer, and this may be hard to explain, but it is a good feeling to know that you are welcome in a public space, and that every storefront is designed with you in mind.
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A short list of the kinds of privilege I encountered included advertisements with young, attractive, white, heterosexual couples, around my age. Mannequins with average to slim body proportions. Makeup and pantyhose, with lighter skin tones listed as “neutral”or “flesh”colored. Most of the stores I went into had white staff members in positions of authority. Picture frames have white, attractive, heterosexual people displayed in them. Greeting cards generally target white, heterosexual, people, with the exception of a small section off to the side devoted to cards with people of color in them. There were two events in particular which really stood out to me on this field trip.
The first was when I was walking through a toy isle looking at all the young white children portrayed on the boxes having fun with their toys, and the only other customer was a young Hispanic girl and her father. The girl was playing on the floor with a white doll as her father perused the section. I thought it was so sad that this little girl must not help but be able to notice that she was different somehow, that she didn’t fit in here, and that her father had to search for a toy with a million smiling white faces staring at him. The difficulty is that this kind of oppression is not overt, not malevolent on the part of the toy makers, it is just the way that they system functions. Advertising works no matter how hard we try to avoid its clutches and seeing oneself reflected in the product is important for the customer satisfaction. The sad part is that the toy companies are probably maximizing efficiency by targeting what they perceive to be the majority customers appearance in their adds, and the minority customers are oppressed by virtue of their groups position in the economy. The difficult part is how to correct these forms of oppression, and I simply do not have an answer, but I do recognize the problem.
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The second experience I had, and the thing I will remember most about my experiment, was when I walked into a Hallmark store and asking the lady behind the counter if they carried same sex greeting cards of any kind, but instead of simply saying that they did not, she paused for a few seconds and gave me a look that made me feel instantly uncomfortable. I could hear some of the other customers in the room stop for a second to look at me, and I could feel a heat move over my face. I quickly clarified that I was only doing a report for school, implying that I was not in fact homosexual, and the clerk’s demeanor changed as she stated that she didn’t think so, but I was free to check. It was the only time during the field study that I had felt the need to explain what I was doing to anyone. I could get out of the situation with a simple clarification, but what if I really was a member of the homosexual community walking into a situation where they not only can’t find the product they are looking for, but also are made to feel like a freak for even suggesting that they would like to be included along with everyone else. After I walked out of the store I felt guilty for having denied being homosexual, I am not, but still, why should I have to clarify anything when walking into a store? I have never had to tell the clerk that I was straight before shopping for Valentine’s Day cards for a significant other, but then again, no one asks if they carry heterosexual greeting cards.
Critical reflection
Critical Reflection
A Critical Reflection (also called a reflective essay) is a process of identifying, questioning, and assessing our deeply-held assumptions – about our knowledge, the way we perceive events and issues, our beliefs, feelings, and actions. When you reflect critically, you use course material (lectures, readings, discussions, etc.) to examine our biases, compare theories with current actions, search for causes and triggers, and identify problems at their core. Critical reflection is not a reading assignment, a summary of an activity, or an emotional outlet. Rather, the goal is to change your thinking about a subject, and thus change your behaviour.
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| Tip: Critical reflections are common in coursework across all disciplines, but they can take very different forms. Your instructor may ask you to develop a formal essay, produce weekly blog entries, or provide short paragraph answers to a set of questions. Read the assignment guidelines before you begin. |
How to Critically Reflect
Writing a critical reflection happens in two phases.
- Analyze: In the first phase, analyze the issue and your role by asking critical questions. Use free writing as a way to develop good ideas. Don’t worry about organized paragraphs or good grammar at this stage.
- Articulate: In the second phase, use your analysis to develop a clear argument about what you learned. Organize your ideas so they are clear for your reader.
First phase: Analyze
A popular method for analyzing is the three stage model,
What? So What? Now what?
What?
In the What? stage, describe the issue, including your role, observations, and reactions. The what? stage helps you make initial observations about what you feel and think. At this point, there’s no need to look at your course notes or readings.
Use the questions below to guide your writing during this stage.
- What happened?
- What did you do?
- What did you expect?
- What was different?
- What was your reaction?
- What did you learn?
So What?
In the second So What? stage, try to understand on a deeper level why the issue is significant or relevant. Use information from your first stage, your course materials (readings, lectures, discussions) -- as well as previous experience and knowledge to help you think through the issue from a variety of perspectives.
Tip: Since you’ll be using more course resources in this step, review your readings and course notes before you begin writing.
Below are three perspectives you can consider:
- Academic perspective: How did the experience enhance your understanding of a concept/theory/skill? Did the experience confirm your understanding or challenge it? Did you identify strengths or gaps in your knowledge?
- Personal perspective: Why does the experience matter? What are the consequences? Were your previous expectations/assumptions confirmed or refuted? What surprised you and why?
- Systems perspective: What were the sources of power and who benefited/who was harmed? What changes would you suggest? How does this experience help you understand the organization or system?
Now What?
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In the third Now what? stage, explore how the experience will shape your future thinking and behaviour.
Use the following questions to guide your thinking and writing:
- What are you going to do as a result of your experiences?
- What will you do differently?
- How will you apply what you learned?
Second phase: Articulate
After completing the analysis stage, you probably have a lot of writing, but it is not yet organized into a coherent story. You need to build an organized and clear argument about what you learned and how you changed. To do so, develop a thesis statement, make an outline, write, and revise.
Develop a thesis statement
| Tip: For more help on developing thesis statements, see our Thesis statements resource |
Develop a clear argument to help your reader understand what you learned. This argument should pull together different themes from your analysis into a main idea. You can see an example of a thesis statement in the sample reflection essay at the end of this resource.
Make an outline
Once you have a clear thesis statement for your essay, build an outline. Below is a straightforward method to organize your essay.
Introduction
-Background/Context of Reflection
-Thesis statement
Body
Paragraph/Section A
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Write and revise
| Tip: Keep your writing formal! Even though you are writing about your personal experience and learning, your audience may still be an academic one. Consult the assignment guidelines or ask your instructor to find out whether your writing should be formal or informal. |
Time to get writing! Work from your outline and give yourself enough time for a first draft and revisions.
Sample Critical Reflection
Below are sample annotated paragraphs from one student’s critical reflection for a course on society and privilege.
| Introduction Background/context of reflection: I became aware of privileged positions in society only in recent years. I was lucky enough, privileged enough, to be ignorant of such phenomena, but for some, privilege is a daily lesson of how they do not fit into mainstream culture. In the past, I defined oppression as only that which is obvious and intentional. I never realized the part I played. However, during a class field study to investigate privileged positions in everyday environments, I learned otherwise. Thesis: Without meaning to, I caused harm by participating in a system where I gained from others’ subtle oppression. In one of these spaces, the local mall, everything from advertisements to food to products, to the locations of doorways, bathrooms and other public necessities, made clear my privilege as a white, heterosexual male. |
| Body paragraph Topic sentence: Peggy McIntosh describes privilege as an invisible knapsack of tools and advantages. This description crystalized for me when I shopped for a greeting card at the stationary store. There, as a white, heterosexual male, I felt comfortable and empowered to roam about the store as I pleased. I freely asked the clerk about a mother’s day card. Writer’s past position: Previously, I never considered that a store did anything but sell products. However, when I asked the sales clerk for same sex greeting cards, she paused for a few seconds and gave me a look that made me feel instantly uncomfortable. Some customers stopped to look at me. I felt a heat move over my face. I felt, for a moment, wrong for being in that store. I quickly clarified that I was only doing a report for school, implying that I was not in fact homosexual. Writer’s current position: The clerk’s demeanor changed. I was free to check, she said. It was the only time during the field study that I had felt the need to explain what I was doing to anyone. I could get out of the situation with a simple clarification. But what if I really was a member of the homosexual community? The looks and the silence taught me that I should be feared. I realized that, along with its products, the store was selling an image of normal. But my “normality” was another person’s “abnormality.” After I walked out of the store I felt guilty for having denied being homosexual. |
| Conclusion Summer of learning: At the mall I realized how much we indirectly shame nonprivileged groups, even in seemingly welcoming spaces. That shame is supported every time I or any other privileged individual fails to question our advantage. And it leads to a different kind of shame carried by privileged individuals, too. Value for self and others: All of this, as Brown (2003) documents, is exacerbated by silence. Thus, the next step for me is to not only question privilege internally, but to publicly question covert bias and oppression. If I do, I may very well be shamed for speaking out. But my actions might just encourage other people to speak up as well. |
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