How to Write a Reflective Journal for College: DIEP, Gibbs, and 5R Models

Writing a reflective journal can feel completely different from every other college assignment you’ve encountered. Instead of presenting facts and arguing a thesis, you are analysing your own learning experience, connecting personal reactions to academic theory, and showing how your perspective has changed over time. When your professor asks for “deep reflection,” the challenge is not just writing about an experience—it is producing analysis that demonstrates genuine intellectual growth.

This guide breaks down the three most widely taught reflective frameworks—Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, the 5R Framework, and the DIEP Model—so you can choose the right structure for your assignment and apply it with academic rigour. Each model is explained step by step, with practical examples, starting phrases you can use immediately, and templates to help you begin drafting.

What Is a Reflective Journal in College?

A reflective journal is an academic assignment in which you analyse a personal learning experience, practical placement, or intellectual insight and explain how that experience changed your understanding. Unlike a standard essay, the goal is not merely to present information. You must demonstrate process—how you moved from a certain initial state to a new, more informed perspective.

Univers across many disciplines—nursing, education, psychology, business, social sciences, and even humanities—use reflective journals to assess whether students can translate abstract theory into practical insight. What separates a strong reflective journal from a mediocre one is the balance between personal voice and academic analysis. You write in first person, yes, but you also connect your experience to course concepts, scholarly literature, and professional frameworks.

A well-structured reflective journal typically follows a clear pattern: you describe an experience, explore its meaning, evaluate its significance, and then commit to concrete future actions. The three models covered below each structure this pattern differently, and knowing which model your course expects can make the difference between a solid grade and a strong one.

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle: The Six-Stage Model

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 to give structure to learning from experiences. It offers a cyclical framework for examining situations, and because it is cyclical rather than linear, it lends itself particularly well to repeated experiences—like a weekly placement journal—allowing you to learn and plan from things that either went well or did not go well. It covers six stages:

1. Description of the experience
2. Feelings and thoughts about the experience
3. Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad
4. Analysis to make sense of the situation
5. Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently
6. Action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future

The model is especially popular in healthcare, nursing, teaching, and social work programmes, where emotional intelligence and professional judgement are assessed alongside technical knowledge.

Stage 1: Description — What Happened?

This is the foundation. You describe the situation in factual, concise terms. The goal is to give your reader enough context to understand the reflection that follows, without diving into interpretation or analysis yet.

What to include:

• Context: Where were you? What was happening? (e.g., a lecture, clinical placement, group project)
• Trigger: What specifically sparked this reflection? (e.g., a comment from a patient, a concept in a reading, a particular activity in class)
• People involved: Use pseudonyms or initials to de-identify people when professional standards require it.

Helpful questions:

• What happened?
• When and where did it happen?
• Who was present?
• What did you and the other people do?
• What was the outcome of the situation?

Example (from University of Edinburgh’s Reflection Toolkit):

For an assessed written group-work assignment, my group (three others from my course) and I decided to divide the different sections between us so that we only had to research one element each. We expected we could just piece the assignment together the day before the deadline. However, when we sat down, it was clear the sections were not written in the same writing style. We therefore had to rewrite most of the assignment to make it a coherent piece of work.

Stage 2: Feelings — What Were You Thinking and Feeling?

Here you explore the emotions and thoughts that surrounded the experience. This stage is what makes Gibbs’ model distinct from more purely academic frameworks: it centres the writer’s affective response as a legitimate component of reflection.

Helpful questions:

• What were you feeling during the situation?
• What were you feeling before and after the situation?
• What do you think other people were feeling about the situation?
• What were you thinking during the situation?

Example:

Before we came together and realised we still had a lot of work to do, I was quite happy and thought we had been smart when we divided the work. When we realised we could not hand in the assignment as planned, I felt frustrated. I was certain it would work, so I had little motivation to actually do the rewriting. When a couple of people from the group cancelled their plans, I ended up feeling guilty, which actually helped me work harder that evening and get the assignment done faster. Looking back, I feel satisfied that we decided to put in the effort.

Stage 3: Evaluation — What Was Good and Bad?

Now you make an objective assessment of what worked and what did not. Try to be honest. Focus on both the positive and negative aspects, even if the experience was primarily one or the other.

Helpful questions:

• What went well?
• What did not go so well?
• What did you and other people contribute to the situation?

Example:

The things that worked well was that each group member produced good quality work for the agreed deadline. The fact that two people had to cancel their plans also motivated us to work harder in the evening. The things that did not work was that we assumed we were writing in the same way, so the overall time plan failed. We had given ourselves enough time before the deadline to write our own sections individually, but we did not plan any time together to rewrite if something were to go wrong.

Stage 4: Analysis — Making Sense of What Happened

This is the analytical heart of the reflection. Up until now, you have focused on details around what happened in the situation. Now you have a chance to extract meaning. You want to target the different aspects that went well or poorly and ask why. This is also the natural place to integrate academic literature and course concepts.

Helpful questions:

• Why did things go well?
• Why did it not go well?
• What sense can I make of the situation?
• What knowledge—my own or from academic literature—can help me understand what happened?

Example:

I think the reason our initial division of work went well was because each person had a say in what part they wanted to work on, and we divided according to identified strengths. I have done it this way before and discovered that when I work alone, I enjoy working in areas that match my strengths. It seems natural that this is also the case in groups. I searched through literature on group work and found that Belbin’s (2010) team roles suggests each person has certain strengths and weaknesses they bring to a group. While we did not think about our members in the same way Belbin does, effective teamwork seems to come from using people’s different strengths, which we did naturally.

Stage 5: Conclusion — What Did You Learn?

In this section, you summarise your learning and highlight what changes to your actions could improve the outcome in the future. It should be a natural response to the previous sections.

Helpful questions:

• What did I learn from this situation?
• How could this have been more positive for everyone involved?
• What skills do I need to develop for me to handle a situation like this better?
• What else could I have done?

Example:

I learned that when a group wants to divide work, we must plan how we want each section to look and feel. Having done this would likely have made it possible to piece the sections together without much or any rewriting. I will continue to use people’s strengths and possibly even suggest using the Belbin team roles framework with longer projects. I also learned that sometimes we need to challenge decisions we seem to agree on in the group to ensure we are not simply agreeing because of groupthink.

Stage 6: Action Plan — What Will You Do Differently?

At this final step, you plan for what you would do differently in a similar or related situation in the future. It is also helpful to think about how you will help yourself act differently—not only planning what you will do, but also setting up reminders or habits that support change.

Helpful questions:

• If I had to do the same thing again, what would I do differently?
• How will I develop the required skills I need?
• How can I make sure that I can act differently next time?

Example:

When I work with a group next time, I will talk to them about what strengths they have before we divide work. This is easy to do and remember in a first meeting. If we decide to divide work, I will insist that we plan out what we expect from it beforehand. I will also ask if we can challenge our initial decisions so that we are confident we are making informed choices. If I have any concerns, I will tell the group.

The 5R Framework: Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, Reconstructing

The 5R framework was developed by Bain, Ballantyne, Mills, and Lester (2002) and focuses on five core stages. It is especially valued in graduate-level education and advanced programmes where intellectual depth is expected. The framework was originally created at the University of Otago and has been adopted widely across Australian and New Zealand universities. Unlike Gibbs, which centres emotion, the 5R model pushes you toward deep intellectual analysis.

Each stage is given below with detailed guidance, guiding questions, and an example entry.

Stage 1: Reporting — Set the Scene Without Analysis

Reporting is about presenting the context of the experience with little or no comment or interpretation. This is the factual foundation, much like Gibbs’ Description stage.

What to include:

• A brief description of the situation or issue
• The key elements essential for the reader to understand the context
• Who was involved, what happened, and what was your role

Key language points: Use the past tense. Helpful phrases include “I saw…”, “I noticed…”, “I/they said…”, and time indicators like “yesterday” or “last week.”

Example:

Yesterday, I had a meeting with my supervisor to discuss my final project. I requested the meeting as I had concerns about the next steps for my methods section. During the meeting, we got side-tracked, spending 30 minutes discussing my literature review, which did not leave enough time to address my original concerns. As a result, I left the meeting with no concrete answers to my questions.

Stage 2: Responding — Explore Your Feelings and Thoughts

Responding is where you present your authentic reaction to the situation—your thoughts, feelings, and observations. This stage is about emotional honesty, similar to Gibbs’ Feelings stage, but it often flows naturally into the next stage in the 5R model.

What to include:

• Your feelings and thoughts about the experience
• Observations and potential questions that arose

Helpful questions:

• How did what happened make me feel?
• What did I think?
• What made me think and feel this way?

Key language points: Use the past tense. Helpful phrases include “I felt…”, “I thought…”, “I believe…”, and “I think…”

Example:

When I came out of the meeting, I remember thinking that I had wasted our time. I felt frustrated because I was hesitant to tell my supervisor that the discussion on the literature review was not what I intended. My supervisor has much more experience than me, so perhaps spending time on the literature review was the right thing. But I also felt that we had not addressed my original concerns.

Stage 3: Relating — Connect to Past Knowledge and Experience

Relating is where you connect the current experience to your prior knowledge, skills, and past situations. This is where reflection starts to deepen—beyond a single event into patterns of understanding.

What to include:

• Connections between past experiences and the current situation
• Your understanding of how the situation relates to your own knowledge and skills

Helpful questions:

• Have I seen this before?
• What was similar or different then?
• Do I have skills and knowledge to deal with this?

Key language points: Write in the present tense. Useful phrases include “This reminds me of…”, “This is like when…”, “Previously…”, “Similarly…”, “Unlike…”

Example:

I realise that similar things have happened before when I am in meetings with people who have more expertise than me and I do not have a clear plan. This reminds me of a meeting at work where I had a concern I wanted to raise but we never got around to it. The common factor in these situations is that I feel that people with more expertise always make better decisions than I do.

Stage 4: Reasoning — Dive Into the Theory and Analysis

Reasoning is the analytical core of the 5R model. Here you make sense of the situation by exploring significant factors and, if requested by your course, integrating theoretical literature.

What to include:

• The most important aspects of the situation and why they matter
• Theoretical literature that can help you understand what happened
• Different perspectives (personal, academic, professional) on the situation

Helpful questions:

• What is the most important aspect of this situation and why?
• Is there any theoretical literature that can help me make sense of it?
• How do different perspectives affect the way I understand this?

Key language points: Write in the present tense. Useful phrases include “I understand that…”, “I realise…”, “For me the most significant aspect…”, and analytical language like “critically”, “imply”, “support”.

Example:

The most significant thing about the meeting is what happens when I go in with a vague plan. I do not get the things I need. This is especially problematic when the person I am meeting has more experience. My previous experience with my boss supports this idea. I imagine that if I were an expert at leading meetings, I would have a clear plan stated at the beginning. What has been holding me back is being afraid of looking bossy. However, from their perspective, I would actually be coming across as professional rather than bossy.

Stage 5: Reconstructing — Plan for the Future

Reconstructing is where you draw conclusions and establish a concrete action plan for similar situations in the future. This stage moves the reflection from retrospective into prospective.

What to include:

• A deeper understanding and summary of the learning
• An action plan, arguing for why it will work
• Options and potential variations

Helpful questions:

• How would I need to do this differently in the future?
• What might work and why?
• What might happen if…?

Key language points: Use the present or future tense. Useful phrases include “I will now…”, “I have learned that…”, “As a next step, I need…”

Example:

Based on the previous stages, I have learned that I need to write an agenda before going into a meeting. By taking 10 minutes before a meeting to prepare what I need, I can save time for both myself and the person I am meeting. I will share the agenda so objectives are clear from the start. I will also email the person beforehand telling them what I need so they can prepare. I think this will work at university. If I do this, my meetings will be shorter and I can get what I need.

DIEP vs Gibbs vs 5R: Which Model Should You Use?

You may have already encountered the DIEP model in another guide. Here is a practical comparison to help you decide which framework matches your assignment requirements.

How to Choose the Right Model

1. Check your assignment brief. Many professors specify the model they want. If your prompt says “use Gibbs’ model” or “apply the 5R framework,” follow it exactly.

2. Consider your discipline. Healthcare and education programmes typically prefer Gibbs because it centres the emotional component of practice. Graduate programmes in education, psychology, and research-heavy fields often prefer 5R because it pushes toward intellectual depth. General undergraduate courses may accept any model, in which case DIEP is a safe default because of its balance of structure and academic rigour.

3. Think about the length and format. Gibbs works best as a cyclical journal entry (one experience per entry). 5R is more naturally suited to longer, more essay-like reflections. DIEP maps well to a four-paragraph structure that fits both journal entries and single-essay reflections.

Practical Templates for Each Model

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle Template

**Description**
[Context + trigger + people involved. Keep this concise—2-3 sentences.]

**Feelings**
[Your emotions and thoughts during and after the experience.]

**Evaluation**
[What worked and what did not. Be objective and honest.]

**Analysis**
[Why things happened. Connect to theory, literature, or course concepts.]

**Conclusion**
[What you learned. What could have been done differently.]

**Action Plan**
[Specific actions for the future. Be concrete and measurable.]

5R Framework Template

**Reporting**
[Context of the experience. Use past tense. "I saw…", "I noticed…"]

**Responding**
[Your feelings and thoughts. Use past tense. "I felt…", "I thought…"]

**Relating**
[Connect to past experiences and knowledge. Use present tense. "This reminds me of…", "Previously…"]

**Reasoning**
[Analyse the situation with theory. Use present tense. "I understand that…", "Critically…"]

**Reconstructing**
[Plan for the future. Use future tense. "I will now…", "As a next step…"]

DIEP Model Template

[1] **DESCRIBE** (What happened?)
[Context + trigger + people involved. 2-3 sentences.]

[2] **INTERPRET** (What does it mean?)
[Connect to theory or literature. Explain personal meaning.]

[3] **EVALUATE** (How valuable was it?)
[Make your judgment. Assess your learning. Back it up with reasoning.]

[4] **PLAN** (What will I do next?)
[State concrete actions. Be specific about what you will do differently.]

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Reflective Journals

Mistake 1: Describing Too Much, Reflecting Too Little

The most common error is spending 60-80% of your journal entry on description and leaving only one sentence for the actual reflection. Most university writing centres recommend that description should take no more than 15-25% of the total word count. Every paragraph should move deeper into analysis, not further back into events.

Mistake 2: Writing a Diary, Not an Academic Reflection

While reflective writing allows (and often encourages) first-person voice, it is not a diary entry. Avoid casual, conversational language. Keep your tone professional even when discussing personal feelings. You can be honest about emotions without sounding informal.

Mistake 3: Skipping the Theory Connection

Academic reflective writing requires connecting your experience to course concepts, scholarly literature, or established frameworks. A reflection that does not reference theory or course readings often receives lower marks because it stays at the level of personal opinion rather than demonstrating analytical engagement.

Mistake 4: Vague Future Plans

“I will do better next time” or “I will apply what I have learned” are not actionable commitments. A strong action plan states specific actions, contexts, and measurable goals. Instead of “I will be more reflective,” write “I will write a weekly reflection entry using the Gibbs model to document my clinical placement progress.”

Mistake 5: Treating Every Entry the Same

Your first journal entry might be descriptive and exploratory. Your fifth entry should demonstrate growth—you should be integrating theory more naturally, analysing situations more deeply, and planning more concretely. Professors look for this progression.

Example Reflective Journal Entry Using Gibbs’ Model

Here is a complete entry from a nursing student’s clinical placement, following Gibbs’ six stages:

Description

During my second week of clinical placement in the emergency department at Sandingham Hospital, I assisted a senior nurse in communicating with a patient who felt anxious about an upcoming procedure. The patient was a 65-year-old man admitted with suspected cardiac issues. I observed the nurse explain the procedure in detail, check the patient’s understanding, and provide reassurance.

Feelings

Initially, I focused mainly on the technical aspects of the explanation—checking the consent form, verifying the patient’s identity, confirming the medication dosage. I thought the process was straightforward. However, I noticed that the patient remained uneasy and kept asking the same question three times. This made me feel uncertain. I wondered if I was missing something in how I should approach anxious patients.

Evaluation

What worked well was that the senior nurse maintained a calm, patient demeanour throughout the interaction. What did not work was that my initial instinct was to rush through the checklist and assume the patient understood because they nodded. I underestimated the importance of emotional reassurance alongside factual explanation.

Analysis

Reflecting on this experience, I realised that effective communication in healthcare involves more than providing information. Emotional reassurance and empathy are essential components of patient care. This aligns with what our communication module covered: patients process information differently based on their emotional state. When anxiety is high, factual information alone does not address the full need. The patient asked the same question repeatedly not because they did not understand—it was because they were seeking reassurance. The nurse recognised this pattern and adapted her approach.

Conclusion

I learned that clinical skills are not just about technical competence. They are equally about recognising and responding to emotional cues. I now understand that my role as a healthcare professional includes managing patient anxiety alongside delivering care. This experience changed my perspective on what constitutes effective nursing practice.

Action Plan

Moving forward, I will start every patient interaction by asking open-ended questions to gauge their emotional state. I will practice explaining procedures in simpler language and check understanding by asking the patient to repeat back what they heard. I will also ask my clinical supervisor for feedback on my communication techniques after each placement day.

Example Reflective Journal Entry Using the 5R Framework

Here is the same type of experience, structured with the 5R framework:

Reporting

Yesterday, I observed a senior nurse interact with an anxious patient in the emergency department. The patient was a 65-year-old man awaiting a procedure. The nurse explained the process carefully, checked his understanding, and provided reassurance. The patient asked the same question multiple times.

Responding

At first, I felt focused on completing the technical checklist efficiently. I thought the process was simple—verify identity, explain procedure, get consent. But when I noticed the patient repeating questions, I started feeling unsure. I wondered whether I was approaching patient communication the same way—too focused on tasks and too quick to assume understanding.

Relating

This experience reminded me of my first communication skills class, where we practised patient interactions. I remember being told that anxiety affects how people process information. I had forgotten that connection in the moment. I also remember my initial instinct was to move efficiently through tasks, which feels similar to how I approached group work last semester—prioritising speed over thoroughness.

Reasoning

I now understand that clinical communication is not purely technical. The patient’s repeated question was not a sign of confusion—it was a sign of anxiety. The nurse recognised this pattern and adapted her approach. This connects to the communication theory we studied: patients in distress need emotional reassurance alongside factual information. My initial approach was incomplete because I addressed only the factual need, not the emotional one. The nurse’s approach was more complete because she addressed both.

Reconstructing

I have learned that effective communication requires balancing factual explanation with emotional reassurance. As a next step, I will practice using open-ended questions at the start of every patient interaction. I will also ask my clinical supervisor for feedback on my communication techniques. I will reflect on these interactions weekly using the Gibbs model to track my progress.

How to Write a Reflective Journal: A Step-by-Step Process

1. Choose one specific experience. Do not try to reflect on multiple events in one entry. A strong journal entry focuses on a single moment, interaction, or insight and explores it in depth.
2. Select your model. Check your assignment brief. If the model is unspecified, choose the framework that best matches your discipline—Gibbs for hands-on placements, 5R for theoretical or graduate-level work, DIEP for general academic reflection.
3. Write in the model’s structure. Do not describe, then analyse, then plan. Follow the framework’s stages in order. Each stage has its own purpose, and jumping between stages without the structure makes your writing feel disjointed.
4. Integrate theory. This is what separates an academic reflective journal from a personal diary. Reference at least one course concept, theory, or scholarly source in every entry. Show how your experience connects to what you have studied.
5. Commit to concrete action. Every entry should end with specific, actionable next steps. Not vague intentions—what you will do differently, how you will do it, and in what context.
6. Review for balance. Read through your entry. Is description taking up more than 25% of the word count? Is there enough theory? Are your plans specific? Use a colour-coding technique: highlight description in one colour, analysis in another, and theory connections in a third. If description dominates, you need to write more analysis.

Related Guides

• How to Write a Reflection Paper: Step-by-Step Guide with Examples — General reflection paper guidance covering formatting, thesis writing, and submission tips.
• DIEP Reflective Writing Model: How to Write a Reflection Paper — In-depth guide to the DIEP framework with examples and templates.
• How to Write a Methodology Section: A Student’s Field Guide with Templates — Structured writing guide with templates for research sections.
• How to Write a Research Paper: A Complete Student’s Field Guide — Full guide to research paper writing, structure, and formatting.

Summary: Your Action Plan for Writing a Reflective Journal

A reflective journal is not a diary—it is an academic exercise in structured self-analysis. Choose the right framework for your discipline, follow each stage deliberately, and connect your experience to scholarly theory. The models covered here—Gibbs, 5R, and DIEP—are not competing approaches. They are complementary tools, each suited to different contexts and levels of analysis.

When you sit down to write, remember the essential pattern: describe one experience, analyse its meaning, evaluate its value, and commit to specific future actions. That structure works across every model. The model itself determines the depth, pace, and theoretical emphasis you bring to each stage.

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