Rubrics

This resource provides a curated selection of sample criteria for designing reflective writing rubrics. Each criterion can be adapted to suit your course type, learning objectives, and desired level of cognitive complexity. Whether you’re teaching in General Education, STEM, Humanities, or Applied fields, these criteria offer flexibility to support meaningful student reflection.

To assist in the rubric design process, we’ve included a guide that outlines strategies for tailoring your rubrics based on your course goals and student needs. This includes recommendations for different disciplines, assignment types, and levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

	What?	So What?	Now What?
3 – Meets/Excels	The student will demonstrate that they understand the “what?” of their learning.	The student will demonstrate that they understand the “so what?” of their learning. They can effectively articulate the purpose and value they see in their learning.	The student will demonstrate that they understand the “now what?” of their learning. They can look beyond their current learning and articulate what they anticipate to do with it. The student is creative in their reflection in this section and demonstrates strong effort.
2 – Approaches	The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “what?” of their learning, but do not fully acknowledge what they are learning.	The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “so what?” of their learning, but	The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “now what?” and makes some effort to get creative with their reflections here.
1 – Does not meet	The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort.	The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “so what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort.	The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “now what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort. They make no attempt to explore this section and get creative.

What?

3 – Meets/Excels
The student will demonstrate that they understand the “what?” of their learning.

2 – Approaches
The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “what?” of their learning, but do not fully acknowledge what they are learning.

1 – Does not meet
The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort.

So What?

3 – Meets/Excels
The student will demonstrate that they understand the “so what?” of their learning. They can effectively articulate the purpose and value they see in their learning.

2 – Approaches
The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “so what?” of their learning, but do not fully acknowledge what they are learning.

1 – Does not meet
The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “so what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort.

Now What?

3 – Meets/Excels
The student will demonstrate that they understand the “now what?” of their learning. They can look beyond their current learning and articulate what they anticipate to do with it. The student is creative in their reflection in this section and demonstrates strong effort.

2 – Approaches
The student demonstrates some knowledge of the “now what?” and makes some effort to get creative with their reflections here.

1 – Does not meet
The student demonstrates no knowledge of the “now what?” of their learning. They produce low-quality work that demonstrates minimal effort. They make no attempt to explore this section and get creative.

Cognitive and Critical Thinking

Depth of Reflection

Demonstrates thoughtful engagement with the topic, showing insight and personal growth.

Exceeds: Demonstrates meaningful insight and thoughtful engagement with complex ideas.
Meets: Shows adequate reflection with light insight into personal or academic growth.
Needs Improvement: Reflection is superficial or lacks meaningful engagement.

Critical Thinking

Analyzes experiences or ideas with complexity, considering multiple perspectives.

Exceeds: Evaluates experiences with nuance, considering multiple perspectives.
Meets: Demonstrates basic analysis and interpretation of experiences.
Needs Improvement: Lacks analysis; relies mostly on description.

Balance of Description and Analysis

Moves beyond narration to interpret and evaluate experiences.

Exceeds: Seamlessly integrates narrative and analysis to deepen understanding.
Meets: Includes both description and some analysis.
Needs Improvement: Overly descriptive with minimal interpretation

Integration of Course Content

Effectively incorporates theories, readings, or discussions into the reflection.

Exceeds: Skillfully connects reflection to multiple course concepts or readings.
Meets: Makes clear connections to at least one relevant course concept.
Needs Improvement: Little or no connection to course content.

Cultural or Social Awareness

Considers broader social, cultural, or ethical implications of experiences.

Exceeds: Thoughtfully considers broader implications and diverse perspectives.
Meets: Acknowledges some social or cultural context.
Needs Improvement: Reflection is limited to personal context only.

Blooms Taxonomy

Entry uses several levels of blooms taxonomy such as reflect, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.

Demonstrates higher-order thinking by analyzing, evaluating, or creating new insights. Reflection includes synthesis of ideas and original application to new contexts.

Demonstrates mid-level thinking by applying or analyzing concepts. Reflection shows clear understanding and some interpretation of experience.

Demonstrates lower-order thinking, primarily remembering or understanding. Reflection is mostly descriptive with limited interpretation or application.

Personal Insight & Emotional Engagement

Connection to Experience- Clearly connects personal experiences to course concepts or learning outcomes.
- Exceeds: Deeply connects personal experience to learning outcomes.
- Meets: Makes a clear connection between experience and learning.
- Needs Improvement: Connection is vague or underdeveloped.

Growth Over Time- Shows evidence of change, development, or learning across experiences.
- Exceeds: Clearly illustrates personal or academic growth across time.
- Meets: Mentions some development or change.
- Needs Improvement: No evidence of growth or change.

Emotional Engagement- Expresses authentic emotions and explores their impact on learning or development.
- Exceeds: Expresses emotions authentically and explores their impact.
- Meets: Includes emotional reflection relevant to the experience.
- Needs Improvement: Emotion is absent or feels disconnected.

Honesty and Vulnerability- Reflects with sincerity, even when discussing challenges or failures.
- Exceeds: Shares openly and reflects on challenges with sincerity.
- Meets: Shows some openness and honesty.
- Needs Improvement: Avoids vulnerability or glosses over difficulties.

Self-Awareness- Demonstrates awareness of strengths, weaknesses, values, or biases.
- Exceeds: Demonstrates strong awareness of personal strengths, weaknesses, and values.
- Meets: Shows some awareness of self in relation to the experience.
- Needs Improvement: Limited or no self-awareness evident.

Application & Future Orientation

Goal Setting- Identifies future goals or actions based on the reflection.
- Exceeds: Sets thoughtful, specific goals informed by reflection.
- Meets: Identifies general goals or next steps.
- Needs Improvement: Goals are missing or unclear.

Application to Future Contexts- Explores how learning will be applied in future academic, professional, or personal settings.
- Exceeds: Clearly articulates how learning will be applied in future settings.
- Meets: Suggests some future application.
- Needs Improvement: No mention of future relevance.

Engagement with Feedback- Reflects on previous feedback and shows how it influenced current thinking.
- Exceeds: Reflects deeply on feedback and shows how it shaped thinking.
- Meets: Acknowledges feedback and its influence.
- Needs Improvement: Feedback is ignored or not addressed.

Writing Quality & Style

Clarity and Coherence- Writing is well-organized, easy to follow, and logically structured.
- Exceeds: Writing is exceptionally clear, logical, and well-structured.
- Meets: Writing is generally clear and organized.
- Needs Improvement: Writing is confusing or poorly structured.

Personal Voice- Uses a distinctive and authentic voice that reflects the writer’s personality.
- Exceeds: Strong, authentic voice enhances the reflection.
- Meets: Voice is present but may lack distinctiveness.
- Needs Improvement: Voice is flat or impersonal.

Writing Mechanics- Uses correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
- Exceeds: Virtually no errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling.
- Meets: Minor errors that do not impede understanding.
- Needs Improvement: Frequent errors that distract from content.

Completion- Meets the required word or page count
- Exceeds: Easily meets the word or page count with quality content
- Meets: Meets the word or page count, though some fluff may be included to do so.
- Needs Improvement: does not meet the word or page count.

Support & Relevance

Use of Specific Examples- Includes detailed, relevant examples to support reflections.
- Exceeds: Uses vivid, relevant examples that enrich the reflection.
- Meets: Includes an example that loosely supports the reflection.
- Needs Improvement: Examples are vague or missing.

Relevance to Prompt- Addresses all aspects of the reflective prompt or assignment.
- Exceeds: Fully addresses all aspects of the prompt with depth.
- Meets: Responds to the prompt adequately.
- Needs Improvement: Response is off-topic or incomplete.

Creativity and Originality- Offers unique insights or approaches to the reflective task.
- Exceeds: Offers fresh, unique insights or approaches.
- Meets: Shows some originality in thought or expression.
- Needs Improvement: Reflection is conventional or lacks creativity.

Tailoring by Course Type

Tailoring Reflective Writing Rubric Criteria by Course Type
General Education Courses
Focus on broad learning outcomes such as personal growth, communication, and critical
thinking.
Recommended Criteria:
• Depth of Reflection
• Self-Awareness
• Clarity and Coherence
• Relevance to Prompt
• Growth Over Time
STEM Courses
Emphasize analytical thinking, application of knowledge, and integration of technical
content.
Recommended Criteria:
• Critical Thinking
• Integration of Course Content
• Application to Future Contexts
• Use of Specific Examples
• Writing Mechanics
Humanities Courses
Encourage exploration of personal insight, cultural awareness, and emotional engagement.
Recommended Criteria:
• Emotional Engagement
• Cultural or Social Awareness
• Personal Voice
• Honesty and Vulnerability
• Creativity and Originality
Professional or Applied Courses
Support career readiness and practical application of learning.
Recommended Criteria:
• Goal Setting
• Application to Future Contexts
• Engagement with Feedback
• Clarity and Coherence
• Depth of Reflection

General Tailoring Advice

Align with Learning Outcomes
Choose criteria that directly support your course’s learning objectives. For example, if your goal
is to foster critical thinking, prioritize criteria like Critical Thinking, Depth of Reflection, or
Balance of Description and Analysis.
Consider the Purpose of the Reflection
Is the reflection meant to be personal, academic, or professional?
Personal growth: Focus on Self-Awareness, Emotional Engagement, or Growth Over Time.
Academic integration: Choose Integration of Course Content, Use of Specific Examples, or
Application to Future Contexts.
Balance Cognitive and Affective Domains
Aim for a mix of intellectual and emotional engagement. Combine one or two criteria from
Cognitive & Critical Thinking with one or two from Personal Insight & Emotional Engagement.
Adapt to Assignment Type
Different assignments call for different emphases.
Short reflections: Use fewer, broader criteria like Clarity and Coherence, Connection to
Experience, and Relevance to Prompt.
Capstone reflections: Include higher-order criteria like Critical Thinking, Cultural Awareness,
and Goal Setting.
Use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a Guide
Select criteria that encourage higher-order thinking (e.g., Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating) for
advanced students, and foundational criteria (e.g., Understanding, Applying) for introductory
levels.
Keep It Manageable for Feedback
Fewer criteria allow for more focused and meaningful instructor comments. Choose criteria that
you feel confident assessing and providing feedback on.