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Reflections for the RPF

The Reflection and Progress Form (RPF) replaces the old RPPF from 2027. Instead of writing three separate reflections, you now write a single 500-word Reflective Statement after your final viva voce. This statement is assessed under Criterion E (4 marks) and should focus on your growth as a learner and the development of transferable skills.

You still have three mandatory supervisory sessions (20–30 minutes each), recorded on the RPF. Use a Researcher's Reflection Space (a personal notebook, Google Doc, or journal) throughout the process to capture thoughts that will feed into your final statement.

Tip: Your reflective statement is not a summary of what you did. It is an evaluation of how the process changed you as a thinker and researcher.

First supervisory session

As you are developing your research question and planning your approach

Use these prompts to prepare for and reflect on your first session:

  • Why is your chosen topic important to you, and what motivated your interest?
  • How did you arrive at your research question? What alternatives did you consider?
  • What is your planned approach or methodology, and why have you chosen it?
  • If you are taking the interdisciplinary pathway, how do the two subjects connect through your chosen framework?
  • What initial sources have you identified, and how do you plan to find more?
  • What challenges do you anticipate, and how might you address them?
  • What skills do you hope to develop through this research process?

Second supervisory session

As you are working through your research and drafting

Use these prompts to prepare for and reflect on your second session:

  • How has your research question evolved since you began? What prompted any changes?
  • What has been your most significant finding so far, and how does it shape your argument?
  • Have you adjusted your methodology or approach? What led to that decision?
  • How have you critically evaluated the reliability and relevance of your sources?
  • What gaps remain in your evidence or argument? How will you address them?
  • What challenges have you encountered, and what strategies have you used to overcome them?
  • What connections are you seeing between different parts of your research?

Third supervisory session: the viva voce

After your final submission (10–15 minutes)

The viva voce is a concluding conversation celebrating the completion of your essay and reflecting on what you have learned. After this session, you write your 500-word reflective statement on the RPF.

Use these prompts to prepare:

  • What were the most important decisions you made during the research process, and how did they shape your essay?
  • What would you do differently if you were to investigate this question again?
  • What surprised you during your research? How did you respond to the unexpected?
  • What skills have you developed or strengthened (research, critical thinking, time management, academic writing)?
  • How has your understanding of your topic, or of research itself, changed?
  • What have you learned about yourself as a learner through this process?

Writing your reflective statement

Your single 500-word statement on the RPF should draw on your experiences across all three sessions. Focus on:

  • Growth: How you developed as a researcher and thinker
  • Transferable skills: What ATL skills (thinking, communication, self-management, research, social) you applied and strengthened
  • Engagement: Your intellectual and personal engagement with the process
  • Challenges and decisions: Key turning points and how you navigated them

Avoid simply retelling what you did. The best reflective statements are honest, specific and evaluative.

Useful resources

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