LDU, Middlesex University Which of the following two texts is a more effective example of reflection? Why? Text A
I found writing this academic essay a tough experience. I did’nt understand what they wanted and also it was really tough to find any books in the library. Actually one of them shouted at me and made me feel intimidated. So I just went to my local library, but that also did’nt really help me. Then when I did get some of the books it was hard to pick up what they wanted. Loads of the words these writers use are really difficult and I started looking up some in dictionary but it just took ages so I gave up. Also, I know that you are suppose to put things in your own words, but that was something that I actually found very difficult. So I did’nt know what to do, so instead I used my lecturers notes for everything. All in all, a horrible few weeks. Text B I found writing the academic essay a challenging experience for a number of reasons. First of all, in the beginning it wasn’t very clear what the assignment titles meant, as there was some vocabulary in each title which wasn’t very comprehensible. Initially, this was quite frustrating, but a useful strategy which helped me was to analyse key words in the title by checking them in a dictionary. Some words were not in the dictionary; possibly this was because some of these words are technical words, used largely in the television industry. Some of the books on our recommended book list in the module handbook were helpful in making sense of such media‐specific language; see for example McQueen (1998). A second challenge was finding relevant books in the library. There seemed to be quite a lot of pressure here, with many students all trying to get out the same book. On one occasion, tempers got a little frayed and I had a disagreement with a member of the library staff. Looking back on it, I realise that I needed to control myself better and perhaps my tone of voice had sounded too aggressive. It seems that effective studying is not just about yourself and your books, but also the ability to collaborate with others so that you can achieve your goals. “Reflective Writing” – Examples 1 [October 2012] Page 1 LDU, Middlesex University Another difficulty experienced while writing the essay was the sheer volume of unfamiliar vocabulary encountered during reading. This may be because English is not my first language. Looking up every single word in the dictionary proved to be a very lengthy and demanding task. Being unsure of how to cope with this, I made an appointment for a tutorial with a lecturer in the Learner Development Unit to discuss this. During the tutorial, the lecturer suggested a number of strategies for dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary including only looking up key words, but ensuring that a record of these is kept. In the beginning, I found this advice quite difficult to follow as it felt uncomfortable not understanding everything. But it seems to be working, and I have noticed a gradual improvement in my core understanding of key words. Another challenge connected with vocabulary was the problem I experienced in being able to paraphrase what I read. Paraphrasing can be defined as putting something in your own words, while keeping the meaning the same. This is a difficult skill if the stock of words available to you is quite limited. Eventually, I realised that using a thesaurus was a useful way of finding new words. However, a thesaurus just gives a long list of alternative synonyms without really explaining how to use them. In this sense, it is quite a limited tool. Sometimes I learn a new word, but then I don’t really feel confident about how to use it. This is an area that will need more work in the future. In conclusion, a number of difficult challenges were encountered while writing my academic essay. There were moments when it felt difficult to carry on, but I realise from reading Stella Cottrell’s Study Skill Handbook that perseverance is often the most important quality in successful study. References Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook, Macmillan, latest edition. McQueen, D. Television: A Media Student’s Guide, Routledge, 2003 “Reflective Writing” – Examples 1 [October 2012] Page 2