Personal Hi!
Reflective
I'm Miss
McGroarty
Writing
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Over the next 3/4 week we will be
looking at ....
Personal
Reflective
Writing
Potential Folio Piece!
Class Objectives

At the end of this lesson I will :
Have a clear understanding of what
constitutes PERSONAL REFLECTIVE
WRITING
Understand what is expected of me over
the coming weeks.
So what is it?
A writer's account of a personal incident,
experience or event.
Their personal thoughts and feelings
towards the experience
A writer's way of reflecting back on
the experience with as much style and
flare as possible.
Read the following examples
I had arranged to meet my friends at ten o'clock. I
left the house at half nine and walked to the bus
stop. I had to wait twenty minutes because the bus
was late. Eventually I got to town.
And
It was with excitement and some nervousness I set
off to meet my friends in town at the agreed time.
As luck would have it the bus was late - this day of
all days!
The two texts are about the same experience. Yet the
second one has a sense of reflection, thinking back
over the event. It is not just a list of I did this,
then this, then this happened.
A pupil has been asked to write about a family event. He has
chosen to write about his grandfather’s eightieth birthday.
Here is his first attempt:
1. We went to a restaurant last year to celebrate my
grandfather’s eightieth birthday. The restaurant
was in the centre of Glasgow. All my family were
there as well as my grandfather’s best friend. I
started off with soup, then I had chicken with roast
potatoes and vegetables. After that I had ice
cream. At the end of the meal my father said a few
words about my grandfather and gave him a watch.
Then we all went home by taxi.
Food for thought…
- To a reader the really interesting things are not
the big events and every detail of what happened
but the writer's own thoughts and feelings about
what happened and how they are described.
Reflective Writing

It is a personal piece of writing which gives:
An account of an experience
A sense of individual personality
A sense of reflection shown through
thoughts and feelings

It is looking back into the past at
something which has happened to
you which you feel had an
emotional hold on you
AND

Describing how that has
made you into the person you
are today.
Think about a time you were
accused of doing something
wrong...
You may not have done it
Or
You may have done it
Turn to the person beside you and share your
experience.
Personal Reflective
Writing
• Today we will recap on those
fundamental elements of personal
reflective writing that we already
know.
• We will also begin to think about those
events which are suitable topics for
our own piece of reflective writing.
Must haves!
• Reflective writing addresses the personal
experience of the candidate, is written in
the first person and demonstrates that
the candidate has learned from a process
of reflection.
Success Criteria
• Aim to interest or give pleasure, not
information
• Concern itself with, usually, a single idea,
insight, or experience
• Be genuinely contemplative; its personal tone
may be confidential, concerned, amused,
indignant...
• Communicate to the reader a clear sense of
the writer’s personality
• Not merely offer the product of reflection,
but engage the reader in the process of
reflection.
How can I make it
interesting?
• Concentrate on some event or feeling which has
stuck in your mind - it doesn't have to be unusual
or earth-shattering.
• Concentrate on some event or feeling which has
stuck in your mind - it doesn't have to be unusual
or earth-shattering.
• A favourite toy, an old piece of clothing, recalling
a time you felt scared, happy, lonely, proud etc these are much more interesting than how big
your hotel in Florida was!
• You can of course write about a holiday or unusual
experience but concentrate on some part of it
which affected you in some way. We don't need
every detail about holiday arrangements.
•
The main thing is that you can convince the
reader, through your clever use of language,
that this experience was significant to you.
Even though this is not an imaginative piece of
writing, you should use imagery, sentence
structure and other techniques to bring your
writing to life.
Pay particular attention to describing your
thoughts and feelings about the event,
experience, person or thing.
Describe your emotions and reactions from the
time it took place and from your perspective
now to prove you have thought about it and
are able to reflect upon it.
Previous Exam Questions
1. “Many people have vivid memories of their childhood
and an attachment they made with a particular toy or
object.”
Write about the memories you associate with a toy
you have kept for a long time."
2. "Some holidays leave us with vivid memories of what
we did and felt."
Write about a memorable holiday you had in
Scotland.
4. "Many people feel a strong attachment to a
particular place.“
Write about what you would miss and how you would
feel if you had to move away from where you feel
you belong.
.
Examples
of topics
Brainstorm with your partner ideas of personal
writing topics. These are only ideas, the more
we hear, the more we as a class can consider
them and support each other.
(4 minutes)
A memorable wedding or funeral
Your first day at a new school or college
A moment of failure or success
The birth of a child in the family
The death of someone close to you
A time you felt overwhelmingly jealous of someone else
The power of art or music or drama or cinema to move
audiences.
A time you felt humiliated
An encounter that changed your life
An experience that led to renewed faith
An embarrassing experience
A frightening experience
A memorable journey
An encounter with someone or something you were
afraid of
An occasion when you experienced rejection
An experience that showed how appearances can be
deceiving
An account of a difficult decision that you had to
make
An event that marked a turning point in your life
An act of heroism or cowardice
An eyewitness account of an important event
An experience that altered your view of someone
An experience that helped you grow up
Your first visit to the country (or to a large city)
The breakup of a friendship
An experience that showed how we should be careful
of what we wish for
A significant misunderstanding
A dangerous experience
Expressing Feelings
The most important feature of personal reflective
writing is to be descriptive in as interesting a
way as possible and not just about people,
places or things.
You need to show insight and self awareness.
Mix it up!
It is not interesting for readers to read about
how you were excited before the event, how
much you were excited during the event and
how you could not believe how excited you
were after the event.
The same applies for words such as sad, happy,
nervous, angry.
Time to think about time!
With a partner, write as many words which you think
apply under each of the three headings: before
during after. You will spend 2 minutes on yours, then
you will receive another list, and so on and so on,
adding words to each list as you go.
Note: you should be making 2 lists! One in your jotter
and one on the paper going round!
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
Apprehensive
Optimistic
Oblivious
Confused
Agitated
Frustrated
Relieved
Stunned
Drained
As you can see…
Choosing something to write about is a
difficult task. If you don’t already have
a subject in mind, it might be helpful to
think quickly about a lot of experiences
you may have had, to see if any of them
are suitable for a longer piece.
Write a short response to 3 of following:
• What is the worst thing that has ever happened to
you?
• What is the strangest thing that has happened to
you?
• What is the most frightening thing that has ever
happened to you?
• What is your happiest memory?
• Who do you think has influenced you most and why?
• Who has hurt you most?
• Is there anyone who you miss?
• What do you feel has made you grow up or mature?
*write in full sentences*
Overjoyed
Angry
Confused
Jealous
Anxious
Heartbroken
Example:
Emotion: ?
My pulse raced. I felt as though I had swallowed a brick; I had to sit down before
the weight of my discovery dragged me to my knees. Thoughts were ricocheting
in my head as though to the foreboding beat of a nearing drum. How could she? I
asked myself. Waves of anger and upset crashed against each other; neither
more powerful than the other. I hadn’t even noticed the tears which ran quickly
down my face until the screen of her mobile became wet, and the screen,
distorted.
How is personal writing different
to informative writing?
Personal writing:
• Always in 1st person
• Personal choice of topic
and writing style.
• Includes personal
feelings
• Uses figurative language
(similes, metaphors,
onomatopoeia)
Informative writing:
• 3rd person
• Formal and structured
style of writing
• Includes facts to inform
the reader
Tuesday 21st August 2012
Learning Objectives:
• To recognise the ways that emotions are described in sample pieces of personal
reflective writing.
• To realise the different ways in which we can describe ‘reactions’.
Success Criteria:
We will be successful if:
• We can listen closely to sample answers and share the ways in which emotions
are expressed in them.
• We can brainstorm a variety of ways in which we can describe our reactions:
both physically and emotionally. This will improve the quality of our writing.
Listen closely to two
different personal essays
for those emotions that we
brainstormed yesterday.
Put a dot beside any
emotion you spot on your
word-bank.
How we describe our reactions to different situations is an excellent
way of engaging the reader and making your piece of writing
plausible and realistic.
Describing a reaction forces the reader to imagine this reaction
happening, which is far more effective than just saying “I cried.”
While “I cried” can still be effective, it is far more effective to
describe your reaction before you cried.
For example, “My eyes stung and my vision began to blur as tears
began to fill my eyes.” This is us SHOWING not TELLING
Something funny:
Reactions to:
“His eyes crinkled.”
Something scary:
“She froze, unable to move, her breathing a thunderous whisper.” (juxtaposition)
Something sad:
“Her face twisted in anguish”
Something confusing
“She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, trying to understand what was going
on.”
Something embarrassing
“His face was a furnace, heating by the second, he didn’t know where to look.”
Each row will begin with a
different part of the human
body. The objective is to
think of as many reactions
you can involving this part of
anatomy. Unlike before, each
pair will have 1minute to
write down as many reactions
as they can.
Brainstorming
Activity
Eventually we will all have
contributed some reactions
to each list.
Reactions involving:
Face/Eyes
The whole body
Legs/arms/hands
Voice
Brain/Mind
You have to write a short paragraph which contains at least two of the reactions
that we have brainstormed in the previous activity. It is up to you what the
surrounding action is. I will give you the following example below as a guide:
An unusual air of tension filled the living room that morning. No
one really spoke, other than the odd interjection of reassurance of
the Postman’s impending visit. Sun beams broke through the
narrow slits of the blinds and danced merrily on the floor; blissfully
unaware of the possible approaching storm. After what felt like an
eternity, Alfie’s howl finally shattered the silence. He leapt from his
bed and scurried clumsily across the wooden floor to the porch
door. The moment had arrived. My voice croaked awkwardly, “I’ll
go.” I stood up and walked to the door. There it lay. I lifted the
brown envelope from the floor and stared at it momentarily. My
hands trembled and my heart thumped. The day had finally
arrived.
IMAGERY
•
•
Imagery to a poet, is the same as what paint is to an
artist.
The poet uses words to create a mental picture in our
minds
I wandered lonely
as a cloud…
WHAT ARE SIMILES?
A simile is the comparison of one item with another. It
can usually be spotted by the use of the words ‘as’ or
‘like’ to bring the two ideas together.
For example:
George ran away from them,
could become,
George ran like a fox chased
by a pack of hungry hounds.
The first sentence makes sense
but does not create a clear image
whereas the second sentence
creates an image and is more
effective.
WARNING!
Similes can be very effective aids in your
imaginative writing; however, if a simile is
used too often it tends to lose its effect.
For example, the statement ‘The young
child was as good as gold’ contains a
simile (‘as good as gold’) but the
comparison is so common that very few
people when reading it think of the
precious nature of gold and how this
emphasises the value of the child’s
behaviour.
Overused similes such as this are known
as clichés and relying on them too much
is a sign of lazy writing. Try to avoid
doing this at all costs.
SIMILE EXERCISE
Some overused similes are listed
below. Think of some more
original comparisons and then
make up sentences in which they
are used:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
clean as a whistle
quiet as a mouse
cool as a cucumber
as hot as hell
like a bull in a china shop
run like the wind
hungry as a horse
flat as a pancake
as cold as ice.
WHAT ARE METAPHORS?
Like a simile, a metaphor is a comparison of one item
with another. However instead of saying that something
is ‘like’ or ‘as’ something else a metaphor says that it is
something else.
Confused? Don’t be.
Instead of writing, ‘her home was like a prison
(SIMILE)
You could write: ‘her home was a prison.’
(METAPHOR)
In a metaphor one thing is
said to be another but it is
not literally true
For example, in the Hard Times
passage on page 47, Dickens writes about
‘tall chimneys, out of which interminable
serpents of smoke trailed themselves for
ever and ever, and never got uncoiled’
.
Here he is comparing the way smoke
from factory chimneys appears in the sky to huge snakes floating in
the air and coiling above the ground. However, rather than say ‘the
smoke was like snakes’ he gives the scene even more impact by
making the smoke and the snakes the same thing. He succeeds in
adding to the hellish portrait of the town. Metaphors are often used
by writers who want to pack as much meaning as they can into as few
words as possible.
PERSONIFICATION:
Definition:
Giving human qualities to something which
isn’t human. For example:
The car was humming in the background.
The bird flew away.
PERSONIFICATION:
1. The flowers begged for water.
2. She got a glowing review this year.
3. The wind screamed as it raced around the
house.
4. I fail to see your logic about these things.
5. Lightning danced across the sky.
6. Trees bowed to the ground.
7. He has a heart of stone.
Last night I cut the light off in
my bedroom and was in bed
before the room was dark.
I’m so mean I make
medicine sick
A’ma handcuff
lightening, throw
thunder in jail!
Only last week I murdered
a rock, injured a stone,
hospitalised a brick
Juxtaposition
Let me tell you something you
already know: The world ain’t all
sunshine and rainbows, it’s a very
mean and nasty place and it don’t
care how tough you are, it will beat
you to your knees and keep you
there permanently if you let it. You,
me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard
as life. But it ain’t about how hard
you’re hit; it’s about how hard you
can get it and keep moving forward.
How much you can take and keep
moving forward. That’s how winning
is done!
My love is like a red,
red rose that’s newly
sprung in June
Six months ago, when
Doug introduced me to
you guys I thought “wait
a second, could it be?”
And now I know for sure,
I just added two more
guys to my wolfpack. Four
of us wolves, running
around the desert
together in Las Vegas…
What is the technique being used?
Why is it effective? Explain the meaning.
What technique is this?
Why is this a good comparison?
LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson I will:
- have a better understanding of figurative language
- Have chosen a topic for my personal
reflective piece of writing.
- Have completed a clear and
structured plan for my essay and
additional exercises.
PERSONAL REFLECTIVE WRITING
• 1- Describing an incident or experience.
• 2- Showing your thoughts and feelings. (During)
• 3- Reflecting back on this experience and how it has
affected you. (After)
•
MAIN REQUIREMENTS
-Essay is genuinely contemplative;
its personal tone may be
confidential, amused, concerned,
indignant
-Communicates to the reader a
clear sense of the writer’s
personality
-Not merely offers the product of
reflection, but engages the reader
in the process of reflection as
authentically as possible.
-Technical accuracy.
5 SENSES
• How many of you have
ever smelt something that
has taken you back
years? Or heard a song
that instantly takes you
back to a time and place
from years past? This is
because our memories
are laced with those
things that we
experienced with all 5 of
our senses - Not just what
we saw or heard.
5 SENSES
• Using your 5 senses to describe
an event is an effective way of
making your essay more vivid
and lifelike.
• What did you see?
• What could you smell?
• What did you hear?
• What did you feel?
• What could you taste?
ANNOTATION
Let’s use the following as tools for annotation:
DL= Good examples of descriptive language
including figurative language such as
similes, metaphors, alliteration and
exaggeration.
TF= Clear depictions of thoughts and feelings.
PR= Personal reflective thought
The dry heat engulfed me like I was suddenly standing in a
pressure cooker. A smile strolled across my face as I stepped
off the plane in Tenerife. All the stress and strain from school
just melted away in the scorching July sunshine. The first
thing I intended on doing was getting straight down to the
beach, but we still had all the monotonous business of
checking in to our hotel first. Although I was prepared to
take it easy and wait, holidays are for relaxing after all. Or
so I had thought...
Looking back now I can still remember the searing pain I felt
that day. I think it’s something I’ll always remember, partly
because of the little present in the form of a faint scar I
received from that jellyfish. I’ve been swimming in the sea
since though; I love swimming, you can’t keep me away!
However, there will always be something there in my mind,
perhaps telling me to be a bit more cautious of open water.
DL
The dry heat engulfed me like I was suddenly standing in
a pressure cooker. A smile strolled across my face as I
stepped off the plane in Tenerife. All the stress and strain
from school just melted away in the scorching July
sunshine. The first thing I intended on doing was getting
straight down to the beach, but we still had all the
monotonous business of checking in to our hotel first.
Although I was prepared to take it easy and wait, holidays
are for relaxing after all. Or so I had thought...
DL
TF
TF
PR
Looking back now I can still remember the searing pain I
felt that day. I think it’s something I’ll always remember,
partly because of the little present in the form of a faint
scar I received from that jellyfish. I’ve been swimming in
the sea since though; I love swimming, you can’t keep me
away! However, there will always be something there in
my mind, perhaps telling me to be a bit more cautious of
open water.
PR
Reflection can be a difficult thing to
do as it involves analysing how
you:
BEHAVED, FELT and
REACTED
YOU HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH
YOURSELF!
Look at the example essay plan.
See how it includes:

The Incident

Plot- Who, What, Where, When & Why

Vivid descriptions

Thoughts & Feelings

Reflection
Using this example as a model, complete your
own essay plan on the sheets provided.
***Remember- Be descriptive***
INDIVIDUAL WORK
• Choose a scenario. Write a short paragraph which:
 Includes at least 1 example of personification
 Includes at least 1 metaphor
 Clearly expresses emotions/reactions.
Scenarios
Waiting for the birth of a baby
Witnessing an assault/accident
Winning £1000 on a scratch-card
Falling in love
Seeing your boyfriend/girlfriend with someone else
Being wrongly accused of stealing from a loved one
Hearing the news that your pet has to be put down
being followed home in the dark
Exercise 1: A High Wind in Jamaica
1 From Extract 1 choose three details that convey the extreme heat of
the day. Give reasons for your choice.
2 How did the heat affect the children?
3 Explain, using your own words, how the animal life responded to the
heat.
4 Later in the day, a hurricane hits the area. How do the descriptions in
the passage suggest that something serious is about to happen?
You have to write a short paragraph which contains at least two of the reactions
that we have brainstormed in the previous activity. It is up to you what the
surrounding action is. I will give you the following example below as a guide:
An unusual air of tension filled the living room that morning. No
one really spoke, other than the odd interjection of reassurance of
the Postman’s impending visit. Sun beams broke through the
narrow slits of the blinds and danced merrily on the floor; blissfully
unaware of the possible approaching storm. After what felt like an
eternity, Alfie’s howl finally shattered the silence. He leapt from his
bed and scurried clumsily across the wooden floor to the porch
door. The moment had arrived. My voice croaked awkwardly, “I’ll
go.” I stood up and walked to the door. There it lay. I lifted the
brown envelope from the floor and stared at it momentarily. My
hands trembled and my heart thumped. The day had finally
arrived.
ALLITERATION
Definition:
The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two
or more neighbouring words or syllables.
Example:
>The wild and wooly walrus waits and wonders when
we’ll walk by
>He had hardly heard her heartbeat
>She saw something shimmering slightly somewhere in
the shadows
Come up with your own example
PLANNING OUR ESSAY
Today we will:
Complete an A4 plan of our Personal Reflective
Writing Piece. I will come round to help you.
This is the only day we will spend planning our
writing so make the most of it!
Remember this will be a folio piece, and while we
will be give the opportunity to redraft, we all
want to be putting our best efforts in from
beginning to end!
Let’s get down to business!
TASK - NOW TRY THIS…
• Take a new sheet of paper, at least A4
size. At the top write the task you have
chosen.
• Then divide the rest of the page into 4
squares with headings as shown on the next
page.
Your title goes here
The basic story
Start
Thoughts and feelings
Middle
End
Details and description
Reflection
NOW…
• Then use the four squares to plan what you want
to put in to your piece of work.
• Key words, phrases or bullet points will do fine.
• It’s probably easiest if you start with the top
left box, where you slot in the rough outline of
the story that you’re telling.
• Then go on and fill in the other boxes.
FINALLY…
• If you’ve chosen Personal Reflective Writing
it’s now time to write your piece.
• In class, but under exam conditions and with
only your one-page plan to help you, sit
down and write your piece.
• This should take you around an hour to do.
• When you’ve written it, look at the very end
of this chapter to find out what to do next.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO PASS
AT INTERMEDIATE TWO?
•
•
•
•
•
Your examiner will be looking at the following:
Structure
Content
Expression
Technical Accuracy
TECHNICAL ACCURACY:
• Technical Accuracy: Spelling , grammar and
punctuation are consistently accurate.
• The piece of writing must be at least 500 words long.
INTRODUCTION:
SUCCESS CRITERIA
-Have you used past tense
-Have you attempted to introduce character and/ or setting without
giving too much away about plot?
Have you attempted to be descriptive? Hint: Use your five senses to
bring your setting alive!
-You may want to briefly state how you have changed/what you
have learned without going into too much detail
-Example