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WritingintheDisciplines

StrategiesforReflexiveWriting

1. Understandtheroleofself‐reflectionin“writingtolearn/learningtowrite”—

Inreflexive(self‐reflective)writing,youcouplepersonalexperiencewithcarefulobservation

(Berensetal.,2007,p.145)and/orcriticalthinkingaboutanaspectofyourexperience.For

example,youmightwriteabouthowyoudevelopedasathinker,writer,orresearcher;orhowa

particularprocessoreventunfoldedforyou.Thekeyisthatthiswritingengagesyou.Aswell

assharinginsightswithreaders,reflexivewritingisincreasinglybecoming“animportant

componentofintellectualwork”(p.146).Inmanycases,self‐reflectionisameansof

argumentationinwhichyouuseyourexperiencetomakeapointabouttheimportanceofa

particularevent,process,orformofknowledge.

Eventhoughreflexivewritingmightlooklikeastory,youdohavetoemployrhetoricalstrategies

toplanandstructureit:clarifyingyourpurpose,understandingyouraudience,andbuildingina

mainpoint,stance,orthesis.

2. Takea“subjectposition”—

“Reflexivewriting…mandatesthatthestudentbeawareofhowheorsheisaffectingthe

research.”(From“Fieldworking”—PurdueUniversity:

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mgould/106eth/whatis.htm).Indisciplinesthatusequalitative

researchmethods(i.e.interviews,observations),asawriteryouoftenacknowledgeand

describeyourroleandyourownexperiencesintheresearchprocess.Thisshowsthatyou’re

awareofbeingpartoftheprocess,thatit’simpossibletobe“adisembodiedresearcher”

(Giltrow,2005,p.

209),andthatyourchoicesofmethod—evenyourpresence—cananddo

shapetheoutcomesofyourresearch.The“subjectiveresearch”approachalsoexposesthe

relevantsocial,political,andculturalelementsthatmakeupeveryone’sexperience(p.210).

3. Writeasa“subject”—

Asareflexivewritertakinga“subjectposition,”it’sbesttouseapersonalnarrativestyle.

However,twopreconceptionsaboutacademicwritingsometimesactasobstacles:

Obstacle1:Seldomorneverincludepersonalopinionorexperience.

Attimes,personalexperiencecanserveasaverypowerfulformofprooforevidencein

academicwriting.Decidingwhethertouseitdependsonthedisciplineorfieldyou’rewritingin,

aswellasthetopicandpurposeoftheassignment.Whenyoudoinvokepersonalexperience,

makesureit’shelpingyoufulfillalargeracademicpurpose,suchassupportinganargumentor

helpingtomakeanabstracttheorymorereal.Asforopinions,thesearebeliefsthathaven’t

beenproven,sobythemselvestheyaren’tsufficientgroundsforargumentation.But

articulatingyouropinionaboutanissuecanbeanexcellentstarting‐pointforhelpingyou

developaworkable,provablethesis.

Obstacle2:Neveruse'I'.

Professionalacademicwriterscananddousethefirstperson.“I”canmakeyourstyleclearer

andyourtonemoreassertive.Ifyouhaveauthorityorexpertiseonatopic,thefirstperson

allowsyoutoclaimthatsenseofauthority.Attimes,using“I”helpsyoutopositionyourself

with

respecttoanargumentorissue,orletyouexplainclearlyhowyourworkcompareswith

others’.

However,youmustbecarefulnottouse“I”unnecessarilyorinappropriately.Insome

disciplines,particularlythesciences,academicsmayconsider“I”stylisticallyinefficientor

ethicallybiased.Insteadofwriting“IdesignedanL‐shapedcontainer,”youmightneedtosay

“AnL‐shapedcontainerwasdesigned.”Ifyou’reunsureaboutwhethertouse“I,”double‐check

therequirementsandpurposeofyourassignmentandyouraudience’sexpectations.

Formoreinformationabouttheuseof“I”andpersonalexperienceinacademicwriting,trythe



UniversityofNorthCarolinaWritingCenter:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/should_I_use_I.html

4. Emphasizethefirst‐person/activevoice—

Ieventuallyinterviewed14womenalthough,becauseoftheirchanging

circumstances,Iwasnotintheendabletointerviewallofthewomenduringallof

thethreeyears.Iinterviewedthewomenfourtimesduringtheperiodoftheir

degrees…

ACTIVEVOICEÆ

I(subject/agent/doerofaction)…interviewed(verb/action)…14women(who/what?)

Subjectordoerofactionismostimportant.

Comparethiswiththepassivevoice—

Fourteenwomenwereinterviewedoverthreeyears,althoughbecauseoftheir

changingcircumstances,itwasnotpossibletointerviewallofthewomenoverthe

threeyears.Thewomenwere

interviewedfourtimesduringtheperiodoftheir

degrees…

PASSIVEVOICEÆ

14women(object)…wereinterviewed(verb/action)…[bywhom?–missingagent]

Objectofactionismostimportant.PassiveverbtakesformofTOBE+pastparticiple.

References:

Behrens,Laurence,etal.WritingandReadingAcrosstheDisciplines.Canadianed.Toronto:PearsonLongman,2007.

Giltrow,Janet,etal.AcademicWriting:AnIntroduction.Peterborough,On:Broadview,2005.