Talking back: a qualitative study of reflective writing in a first-year college composition classroom

Reflective writing is writing that students do about their learning. Reflective writing assignments are common in First-Year Writing classes, but little research has been done that considers how students perceive the reflective writing that they do. This study examines the coursework of a particular first-year writing course, as well as reflective writing that students did in the class.

The aim of the study is to answer questions about how students use reflective writing to learn about two key elements of the class: audience and academic language. To answer these questions, I studied examples of student reflective essays, conducted interviews with eight students, and kept notes about my research and teaching. I analyzed this data to understand how the university represented itself, students, and me in public documents connected with the class. I also explored how students used language to describe how they wrote for particular audiences and whether or not they engaged in academic writing. My findings suggest that students perceive that reflective writing can lead to opportunities for enhanced communication between students and teachers, and can help them to learn the language of writing for the university.