How to Grade Reflective Writing

STEP 1

Define What You’re Looking For

Reflection is personal, but academic reflection should show thoughtful engagement with course concepts.

  • Identify key qualities: effort, insight, relevance, growth.
  • Align criteria with the assignment’s purpose (e.g., metacognition, theory-to-practice).
  • Decide if you’re assessing the process or the outcome.

Common pitfalls: Overemphasizing grammar, penalizing vulnerability, expecting uniformity.

Learn To Assign
STEP 2

Select a Grading Approach

Your grading strategy shapes student engagement and signals value.

  • Completion-based: Reward sincere effort; great for frequent, low-stakes tasks.
  • Rubric-based: Assess insight, relevance, clarity; ideal for summative assignments.
  • Ungraded but required: Encourages authenticity; useful for formative reflection.

Common pitfalls: Using detailed rubrics for informal work, harsh grading on exploratory writing, unclear grading methods.

STEP 3

Determine Assignment Weight

Weight signals importance and affects motivation.

  • Use low-stakes grading early to build confidence.
  • Weight final reflections more heavily to reflect synthesis.
  • Align weight with course outcomes and philosophy.

Common pitfalls: Treating reflection as busywork, overweighting without support, inconsistent grading policies.

More Rubrics
STEP 4

Set Clearn Expectations

Clear expectations lead to meaningful reflection.

  • Share rubrics, checklists, or sample reflections.
  • Clarify tone, length, and integration of course content.
  • Revisit expectations for ongoing assignments.

Common pitfalls: Assuming students know what “good reflection” looks like, vague prompts, lack of scaffolding.

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Learn How

Prompts

UNIV 101

STEM

Grading

Rubrics

Why Reflective Writing?

Scholarship

For students

BYU Humanities

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Reflective Writing