Hopefully, you have learned a lot about reflection and how it is a vital component to your success as a college student. As you work your way through higher education, remember the following ideas:

• Reflection means exploring the “so what” rather than just the “what.”
• Consider the four knowledge types when you reflect: self-knowledge, content knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, and critical knowledge or judgment.
• You can reflect meaningfully on past events, present events, or future events.
• Reflection happens across all academic disciplines and into your careers.
• Structure your reflective writing using the DEAL (Describe, Examine, Articulate Learning) or DIEP (Describe, Interpret, Evaluate, Plan) models.
• Strong reflective writing relies on a process, just like other writing tasks.

As you become more practiced at meaningful reflection, you should see the benefits in far more than just your academic work.