Writing and Reflective writing

Academic writing has a particular structure. This structure can be represented like a diamond. The diamond structure repeats on a small level in paragraphs and assignment tasks and on a larger level in the structure of an essay.

Your assignment for PYB007 includes a reflective section as its final component. This section needs to be written in the first person (using "I") and should be fully integrated into the assignment and referred to in the introduction and conclusion.

See below for more details:

QUT Cite/Write - Writing an essay

From the perspective of the medical model, disability is considered a personal tragedy and a physical deficit. When I cared for J.D., I focused more on functional limitations than her abilities to accomplish things. In the article on Disability and the Body, however, Hughes (1997) argues that disability should not be seen as a deficit but the ways in which social structures excludes and oppresses disabled people. By reading these articles, my view of disability has been changed. The medical model sees part of the problem, but the social model allows me to see the problem in a broader way. When working with children living with disabilities, I need to be aware of social barriers that are imposed on these children…She needs not just physical treatment but also psychosocial support, from her friends and from me as her nurse.

Adapted from Taylor, 2013, pp 177-178.

Taylor, D. B. (2013). Writing skills for nursing and midwifery students. SAGE Publications, Limited.

1st sentence: Topic sentence about how disability is considered within the medical model.

2nd sentence: Reflection (notice the use of I) and how the writer is thinking and observing her practice relating to this topic sentence.

3rd sentence: The writer now relates this reflection to theory.

4th & 5th sentences: The writer reflects on how this article changed her views of disability.

Last sentence: Represents what she is going to do with this new knowledge and how she will work with her client.

1. reporting and responding to a critical issue or experience;
2. relating this issue or experience to your own knowledge in this field;
3. reasoning about causes and effects of this issue/experience according to relevant theories or literature and/or similarities or differences with other experiences you've had; and
4. reconstructing your thinking to plan new ways to approach the issue or engage in similar experiences in the future

See below for more details:

• QUT cite|write - Reflective Writing  
  What is reflective writing and the four key elements involved.
• Reflective Writing Introduction  
  (from University of Portsmouth Academic Skills Unit)