Writing Reflective Statements: Tips from one IB student to another By: Sally Falahat

What are Reflective Statements?  A piece of writing that reveals thoughts and feelings about a certain subject.  Let’s say you finished reading about The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and now you have to watch a video or a presentation about the Great Depression. How did the new information from this certain presentation help you understand the novel and the themes portrayed as a whole?  After you figure this question out, you are ready to write a Reflective Statement. It is THAT simple!

Why write Reflective Statements?  1) It is required by IB  2) It helps improve your essay writing skills

How does it help improve essay writing skills?  Think of your reflective statements as body paragraphs that can be put together to form an essay.  You have a theme obtained from a certain Interactive Oral  Find examples of how the author portrays this theme in his or her book  Now all you have to do is explain how this information helps you understand the text as a whole and connect it back to the theme (similar to your so what of an essay)

Example  In the book The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the tractor driver that is taking down peoples’ houses as another victim of “the monster,” the bank(Steinbeck 33).  In the Great Depression video or presentation, you learn about the history and the significance the Great Depression had on people.  Now that you know more about the importance of the Great Depression during that time period, why does Steinbeck call the bank a monster, and what theme is he trying to convey?  How does this background information help you understand the book better?  Now write a reflective statement answering these questions.

Suggestions for Format of a Reflective Statement  Normally, you would need to have a brief introduction identifying the topic of the Interactive Oral and the specific idea that you learned.  Next, give a couple short body paragraphs that have very specific examples both from the Interactive Oral and from the literary text. Support your specifics with analysis like you would normally do in an essay.  Finally, write a 1-2 sentence conclusion tying everything together.  Make sure it is between the word limit of words, and include word count.

Reflective Statement is Done And this is how you write a reflective statement. You are done!