list of examples of a reflective essay

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Reflective Essay Examples

50 best reflective essay examples (+topic samples).

If you have ever read reflective essay examples, you would know that these types of written works examine the writer’s life experiences . When you write a reflective paper example, you write about your own experiences and explore how you’ve changed, grown or developed because of those experiences. There’s no standard format for this essay as it may vary depending on the target audience.

Table of Contents

• 1 Reflective Essay Examples
• 2 What is a reflective essay?
• 3 Reflective Paper Examples
• 4 Format of reflective essay
• 5 Creating the outline of reflective essay examples
• 6 Reflective Paper Samples
• 7 Tips for writing reflective essay
• 8 Reflective Essay Samples

What is a reflective essay?

A reflective essay is a type of written work which reflects your own self. Since it’s about yourself, you already have a topic to write about. For reflective essay examples, readers expect you to evaluate a specific part of your life. To do this, you may reflect on emotions, memories, and feelings you’ve experienced at that time.

Since you’re writing reflection essay samples about yourself, make sure that they’re interesting and exciting. This is very important so that your readers don’t get bored with what you’ve written. Reflective essays are very personal thus, they’re a special type of essay. As you write one, you need to reflect, think, and explain.

In the essay, you should demonstrate and describe different feelings or emotions which you’ve felt in the past. These statements breathe life into your essay as your readers start picturing what you’ve written in their minds. Reflective essays are very honest, personal, and emotional, especially those which describe painful experiences.

Reflective Paper Examples

Format of reflective essay

As aforementioned, reflective essay examples don’t have a standard format. They seem easy enough to write but once you’ve sat down to start writing, you may suddenly find the task very challenging! Besides the format, you must think about the life experience you want to write about and remember everything about it.

A reflective paper example is a lot like a personal journal or diary. Of course, the difference is that other people will read your essay. Therefore, you must write it with good structure and coherence. In this regard, reflective essays are a lot like the other types of essays too.

When writing a reflective essay, you will have to examine your own life experiences. The purpose of writing such an essay is to provide yourself with a platform to share your most meaningful life experiences with other people. You can also use it as a way to explore how your experiences have changed you as a person.

You can present reflective writing in different formats. Most of the time though, people use a learning log or a diary entry format. You can use these formats and others. Just make sure that your essay has a good flow and that it’s easy for other readers to understand.

The format to use for your reflection essay samples would depend on your target audience. You can make an academic reflective essay or you can make it as a general and informal piece of writing. If you need to write the essay for a class assignment, follow the format given to you by your teacher.

No matter what format you choose, you may write an essay which:

• Focuses on your personal growth Such an essay helps you learn how to evaluate and analyze the experiences you have had in your personal life. This helps promote emotional development and growth. It also helps you understand yourself and your behaviors better.
• Focuses on literature For this type of essay, you may have to include references to literature and apply these to your own life experiences. Such essays are commonly given as assignments to students in school.

Creating the outline of reflective essay examples

Before you write your reflective essay examples, you must create an outline for them. Although you’d write about your own life, creating an outline gives structure to your essay to serve as a guide for what you want to write about.

Whether you need to write an essay for school, for a magazine or for any other reason, creating an outline is the very first step. With a good outline, you have a better idea of how your essay will flow from one paragraph to the next all the way to the conclusion.

When creating the outline of your reflective paper example, keep it organized. Develop the outline gradually and put a lot of thought into it. In doing this, you make the writing process much easier. Here is a rundown of the steps involved in the essay-writing process:

• Choose a topic (a significant life experience you want to write about)
• Gather information
• Create an outline
• Write a draft
• Finalize your essay

Reflective Paper Samples

Tips for writing reflective essay

As you think about the content of your reflection essay samples, remember that the important thing is that such an essay must be highly personal but also engaging to readers. There’s so much more to reflective essays than just writing your story. You must also reflect on your experiences to engage your audiences.

For your starting point, think about the most significant experiences you had in your life. Those which had either a negative or a positive impact on you as a person. If the reflective essay is a school assignment, your professor would probably specify what you must write about. Here are some tips for you for writing your reflective paper example:

• Reflection The most important part of writing your reflective essay is the reflective process. Think about the personal experience you want to write about. Focus on what happened, how this experience made you feel, and how it affected your life. Explore your memories and emotions for this part of the process. As you’re recalling and reflecting on your life experience, take a lot of notes . Write down all the details you remember and try to be as clear and as detailed as you possibly can. Take as much time as you need for reflection. You can even close your eyes as you try to remember those experiences vividly. When you’re confident that you have recalled all of the details of your life experience, it’s time to write your essay. To make it more meaningful, try to answer some important questions about your life experience including: Did you learn anything new about yourself because of this experience? Have you grown or developed because of this experience? If so, in what way? Did this experience impact your life positively or negatively? If you had the chance to experience this all over again, would you do anything differently? Why did you behave in such a way at the time of this experience? Did you make the right choices? What are your general thoughts and feelings about this experience? Can you say that you learned from this experience? Did you gain any new perspectives or skills because of this experience? These are “signpost questions” which can help you write a more meaningful essay. These are just some examples, you can also think of your own questions to ask yourself. The point of these questions is to make sure that you think critically and deeply about the experience you’re writing about.
• Planning After you’ve reflected on your life experience, it’s time to start planning your essay. When it’s time to start, you might feel as if you’re not adequately prepared even though you’ve done a lot of reflection. This is a normal feeling, especially if you want to create a written piece which people will love reading. To ease your anxiety and doubt, come up with a well-rounded and comprehensive plan. The best way to do this is through an outline. With an outline to guide your writing process, you can come up with an essay that’s more coherent and which has a clear structure. An outline or plan is important for reflective essays. Since you’re writing about an emotionally-charged topic, you might find yourself getting “lost” along the way. This is especially true if you’re writing about a painful experience which still affects you until now. The outline serves as a map for you to keep your thoughts organized. In your outline, make sure to establish all of the fundamental details you wish to include in your essay. This helps you pick out and remove any superfluous information to make it easier to read and understand. Planning the points you want to write about makes it easier for you to stay on point. As such, your writing becomes a lot clearer and your readers can follow your line of thought. An outline also prevents you from missing out any relevant information. It’s very difficult and frustrating to go back after you’ve written the whole essay just to fit in this information! Planning your essay also saves you a lot of time. Coming up with the structure makes you more familiar with your essay even before you start writing it. Thus, you can spend more time writing, revising, and proofreading your essay to make it the best version possible.

Reflective Essay Samples

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Reflective Essay Examples and Samples

Reflecting on a chosen topic requires deep insight, making reflective essays difficult to write. Read our samples of reflective essays to gain a greater understanding of how to write one on your own.

Introduction to Reflective Essay: An Exploration of Self

A reflective essay is a type of personal writing that allows you to explore and document your thoughts, feelings, and insights about a particular subject or experience. Unlike other forms of academic writing, a reflective essay is more subjective and focuses more on your personal perspectives and interpretations. Writing a reflective essay can be a powerful way to articulate your growth and discoveries, making it an essential tool for creative and personal writing.

The Importance of Personal Experiences in Reflective Writing

Reflective writing revolves around personal experiences. It’s through such experiences that we learn, grow, and evolve. As such, personal experience plays a crucial role in reflective essays. A well-written reflective essay should vividly describe the experience, delve into the feelings it evoked, and critically analyze the impact it had on you. Reflective essays are not just a recounting of events, but a deep exploration of how those events influenced your outlook on life, reshaped your beliefs, or contributed to your personal growth.

Creative Expression: The Heart of a Reflective Essay

Creative writing goes hand in hand with reflective essays. The very nature of reflective essays – introspective, personal, and subjective – calls for creative expression. The creative door is wide open when writing a reflective essay, allowing you to experiment with different writing styles, narrative structures, and descriptive techniques. The goal here is to create an engaging and compelling narrative that captures your personal insights and emotional journey in the most authentic way possible.

Examining Growth Through Reflective Essays: A Journey of Self-Discovery

Reflective essays often serve as a mirror, reflecting your journey of growth. Whether it’s overcoming a personal challenge, learning a new skill, or undergoing a transformative life experience, these growth narratives form the backbone of reflective essays. When writing a reflective essay, it’s essential to not only describe the event or experience but also to delve into how it contributed to your growth as a person. How did it change you? What did you learn about yourself? How have you evolved as a result? Answering these questions can lead to profound insights and self-discovery.

Using Books and Literature as a Catalyst for Reflection

Books and literature often serve as a catalyst for reflection. A classic novel, a thought-provoking non-fiction book, or a compelling piece of poetry can provoke deep reflection and become the subject of a reflective essay. Whether it’s a book that changed your perspective, a character you deeply resonated with, or a theme that made you rethink your beliefs, reflective essays about literature can be a powerful way to explore your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the written word.

Emotional Intelligence: Exploring Your Emotions in a Reflective Essay

Exploring your emotions forms an essential part of the reflective writing process. In fact, reflecting on our feelings and emotions is an exercise in emotional intelligence. A reflective essay offers a safe space to navigate complex emotions, understand emotional responses, and articulate emotional growth. Whether reflecting on a life-changing event or exploring your reactions to a particular book, it’s crucial to delve into your emotional journey. By understanding your feelings, you can gain deeper insights into your emotional patterns, personal triggers, and coping mechanisms.

• Understanding Emotional Responses: When writing a reflective essay, it’s crucial to delve deep into the emotions experienced during a particular event or circumstance. This could range from joy and excitement to confusion, disappointment, or even grief.
• Navigating Complex Emotions: Sometimes, experiences can elicit complex emotions that are hard to navigate. Reflective writing offers a safe space to untangle these emotions and gain a clearer understanding of your emotional state.
• Articulating Emotional Growth: A reflective essay allows you to document your emotional growth. Overcoming a difficult situation, managing negative emotions, or discovering a new perspective all signify emotional growth that can be articulated through reflective writing.
• Identifying Emotional Patterns: By consistently writing reflective essays, you can identify patterns in your emotional responses. This can help you better understand your reactions to similar situations in the future.
• Recognizing Personal Triggers: Reflective writing can help you identify personal triggers that prompt specific emotional responses. This awareness can equip you to manage these triggers more effectively.
• Developing Coping Mechanisms: Understanding your emotions through reflective writing can lead to the development of effective coping mechanisms. Whether it’s mindfulness, meditation, or simply taking a walk, recognizing what helps you manage your emotions is a significant step towards emotional intelligence.

Reflecting on College Class Experiences

College classes offer rich experiences that can provide plenty of material for a reflective essay. Perhaps it’s a creative writing class that opened up a new world of expression for you, or a challenging science class that pushed you to your limits. Reflecting on these experiences can help you understand your academic journey, recognize your learning style, and appreciate the knowledge you’ve gained. Discuss the skills you’ve acquired, the challenges you’ve faced, the friendships you’ve made, and how these experiences have contributed to your growth and development.

Time Management Reflections: Overcoming Procrastination

Reflecting on time management can lead to valuable insights about your work habits and productivity. Have you struggled with procrastination? Have you discovered effective time management skills? A reflective essay on this topic can discuss your past struggles, the strategies you’ve employed to overcome them, and the progress you’ve made. By examining your relationship with time, you can uncover patterns, identify areas for improvement, and devise strategies to enhance your productivity.

Reflective Essay Examples: Lessons and Insights

One of the best ways to understand reflective essays is by reading and analyzing examples. These examples can serve as a guide, offering insights into the structure, tone, and style of reflective writing. Whether it’s an essay reflecting on personal growth, a transformative travel experience, or a powerful book that left an impression, reflective essay examples can provide inspiration for your own writing. Using a paraphraser can also help you rephrase and improve your writing, ensuring your reflections are expressed clearly and effectively.

In conclusion, reflective essays are a powerful form of personal and creative writing. They allow you to explore your experiences, emotions, and growth in a deeply personal way. Through reflective writing, you can gain valuable insights about yourself and your journey, making it a rewarding and transformative process.

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Reflective Essay: Introduction, Structure, Topics, Examples For University

Table of Contents

If you’re not quite sure how to go about writing reflective essays, they can be a real stumbling block. Reflective essays are essentially a critical examination of a life experience, and with the right guidance, they don’t have to be too difficult to write. As with other essays, a reflective essay needs to be well structured and easily understood, but its content is more like a diary entry.

This guide discusses how to write a successful reflective essay, including what makes a great structure and some tips on the writing process. To make this guide the ultimate guide for anyone who needs help with reflective essays, we’ve included an example reflective essay as well.

Reflective Essay

Reflective essays require students to examine their life experiences, especially those which left an impact.

The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to challenge students to think deeply and to learn from their experiences. This is done by describing their thoughts and feelings regarding a certain experience and analyzing its impact.

Reflective essays are a unique form of academic writing that encourages introspection and self-analysis. They provide an opportunity for individuals to reflect upon their experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and effectively communicate their insights. In this article, we will explore the essential components of a reflective essay, discuss popular topics, provide guidance on how to start and structure the essay, and offer examples to inspire your writing.

I. Understanding Reflective Essays:

• Definition and purpose of reflective essays
• Key characteristics that distinguish them from other types of essays
• Benefits of writing reflective essays for personal growth and development

II. Choosing a Reflective Essay Topic:

• Exploring personal experiences and their impact
• Analyzing significant life events or milestones
• Examining challenges, successes, or failures and lessons learned
• Reflecting on personal growth and transformation
• Discussing the impact of specific books, movies, or artworks
• Analyzing the influence of cultural or social experiences
• Reflecting on internships, volunteer work, or professional experiences

III. Starting a Reflective Essay:

• Engage the reader with a captivating hook or anecdote
• Introduce the topic and provide context
• Clearly state the purpose and objectives of the reflection
• Include a thesis statement that highlights the main insights to be discussed

IV. Writing a Reflective Essay on a Class:

• Assessing the overall learning experience and objectives of the class
• Analyzing personal growth and development throughout the course
• Reflecting on challenges, achievements, and lessons learned
• Discussing the impact of specific assignments, projects, or discussions
• Evaluating the effectiveness of teaching methods and materials

V. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Reflective Essay Writing:

• Superficial reflection without deep analysis
• Overuse of personal opinions without supporting evidence
• Lack of organization and coherence in presenting ideas
• Neglecting to connect personal experiences to broader concepts or theories
• Failing to provide specific examples to illustrate key points

VI. Why “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is Classified as a Reflective Essay:

• Briefly summarize the essay’s content and context
• Analyze the introspective and self-analytical elements in Orwell’s narrative
• Discuss the themes of moral conflict, imperialism, and personal conscience
• Highlight Orwell’s reflections on the psychological and emotional impact of his actions

VII. Reflective Essay Structure:

• Engaging opening statement or anecdote
• Background information and context
• Clear thesis statement
• Present and analyze personal experiences, thoughts, and emotions
• Reflect on the significance and impact of those experiences
• Connect personal reflections to broader concepts or theories
• Provide supporting evidence and specific examples
• Summarize key insights and reflections
• Emphasize the personal growth or lessons learned
• Conclude with a thought-provoking statement or call to action

VIII. Reflective Essay Examples:

• Example 1: Reflecting on a life-changing travel experience
• Example 2: Analyzing personal growth during a challenging academic year
• Example 3: Reflecting on the impact of volunteering at a local shelter

During a reflective essay, the writer examines his or her own experiences, hence the term ‘reflection’. The purpose of a reflective essay is to allow the author to recount a particular life experience. However, it should also explore how he or she has changed or grown as a result of the experience.

The format of reflective writing can vary, but you’ll most likely see it in the form of a learning log or diary entry. The author’s diary entries demonstrate how the author’s thoughts have developed and evolved over the course of a particular period of time.

The format of a reflective essay can vary depending on the intended audience. A reflective essay might be academic or part of a broader piece of writing for a magazine, for example.

While the format for class assignments may vary, the purpose generally remains the same: tutors want students to think deeply and critically about a particular learning experience. Here are some examples of reflective essay formats you may need to write:

Focusing on personal growth:

Tutors often use this type of paper to help students develop their ability to analyze their personal life experiences so that they can grow and develop emotionally. As a result of the essay, the student gains a better understanding of themselves and their behaviors.

Taking a closer look at the literature:

The purpose of this type of essay is for students to summarize the literature, after which it is applied to their own experiences.

What am I supposed to write about?

When deciding on the content of your reflective essay, you need to keep in mind that it is highly personal and is intended to engage the reader. Reflective essays are much more than just recounting a story. As you reflect on your experience (more on this later), you will need to demonstrate how it influenced your subsequent behavior and how your life has consequently changed.

Start by thinking about some important experiences in your life that have had a profound impact on you, either positively or negatively. A reflection essay topic could be a real-life experience, an imagined experience, a special object or place, a person who influenced you, or something you’ve seen or read.

If you are asked to write a reflective essay for an academic assignment, it is likely that you will be asked to focus on a particular episode – such as a time when you had to make an influential decision – and explain the results. In a reflective essay, the aftermath of the experience is especially significant; miss this out and you will simply be telling a story.

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Considerations

In this type of essay, the reflective process is at the core, so it’s important that you get it right from the beginning. Think deeply about how the experience you have chosen to focus on impacted or changed you. Consider the implications for you on a personal level based on your memories and feelings.

Once you have chosen the topic of your essay, it is imperative that you spend a lot of time thinking about it and studying it thoroughly. Write down everything you remember about it, describing it as clearly and completely as you can. Use your five senses to describe your experience, and be sure to use adjectives. During this stage, you can simply take notes using short phrases, but make sure to record your reactions, perceptions, and experiences.

As soon as you’ve emptied your memory, you should begin reflecting. Choosing some reflection questions that will help you think deeply about the impact and lasting effects of your experience is a helpful way to do this. Here are some suggestions:

• As a result of the experience, what have you learned about yourself?
• What have you developed as a result? How?
• Has it had a positive or negative impact on your life?
• Looking back, what would you do differently?
• If you could go back, what would you do differently? Did you make the right decisions?
• How would you describe the experience in general? What did you learn from the experience? What skills or perspectives did you acquire?

You can use these signpost questions to kick-start your reflective process. Remember that asking yourself lots of questions is crucial to ensuring that you think deeply and critically about your experiences – a skill at the heart of a great reflective essay.

Use models of reflection (like the Gibbs or Kolb cycles) before, during, and after the learning process to ensure that you maintain a high standard of analysis. Before you get to the nitty-gritty of the process, consider questions such as: what might happen (in regards to the experience)?

Will there be any challenges? What knowledge will be needed to best prepare? When you are planning and writing, these questions may be helpful: what is happening within the learning process? Has everything worked according to plan? How am I handling the challenges that come with it?

Do you need to do anything else to ensure that the learning process is successful? Is there anything I can learn from this? Using a framework like this will enable you to keep track of the reflective process that should guide your work.

Here’s a useful tip: no matter how well prepared you feel with all that time spent reflecting in your arsenal, don’t start writing your essay until you have developed a comprehensive, well-rounded plan. There will be so much more coherence in what you write, your ideas will be expressed with structure and clarity, and your essay will probably receive higher marks as a result.

It’s especially important when writing a reflective essay as it’s possible for people to get a little ‘lost’ or disorganized as they recount their own experiences in an erratic and often unsystematic manner since it’s an incredibly personal topic. But if you outline thoroughly (this is the same thing as a ‘plan’) and adhere to it like Christopher Columbus adhered to a map, you should be fine as you embark on the ultimate step of writing your essay. We’ve summarized the benefits of creating a detailed essay outline below if you’re still not convinced of the value of planning:

An outline can help you identify all the details you plan to include in your essay, allowing you to remove all superfluous details so that your essay is concise and to the point.

Think of the outline as a map – you plan in advance which points you will navigate through and discuss in your writing. You will more likely have a clear line of thought, making your work easier to understand. You’ll be less likely to miss out on any pertinent details, and you won’t have to go back at the end and try to fit them in.

This is a real-time-saver! When you use the outline as an essay’s skeleton, you’ll save a tremendous amount of time when writing because you’ll know exactly what you want to say. Due to this, you will be able to devote more time to editing the paper and ensuring it meets high standards.

As you now know the advantages of using an outline for your reflective essay, it is important that you know how to create one. There can be significant differences between it and other typical essay outlines, mostly due to the varying topics. As always, you need to begin your outline by drafting the introduction, body, and conclusion. We will discuss this in more detail below.

Introduction

Your reflective essay must begin with an introduction that contains both a hook and a thesis statement. The goal of a ‘hook’ is to capture the attention of your audience or reader from the very beginning. In the first paragraph of your story, you should convey the exciting aspects of your story so that you can succeed in

If you think about the opening quote of this article, did it grab your attention and make you want to read more? This thesis statement summarizes the essay’s focus, which in this case is a particular experience that left a lasting impression on you. Give a quick overview of your experience – don’t give too much information away or you’ll lose readers’ interest.

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Reflection Essay Structure

A reflective essay differs greatly from an argumentative or research paper in its format. Reflective essays are more like well-structured stories or diary entries that are rife with insights and reflections. Your essay may need to be formatted according to the APA style or MLA style.

In general, the length of a reflection paper varies between 300 and 700 words, but it is a good idea to check with your instructor or employer about the word count. Even though this is an essay about you, you should try to avoid using too much informal language.

The following shortcuts can help you format your paper according to APA or MLA style if your instructor asks:

MLA Format for Reflective Essay

• Times New Roman 12 pt font double spaced;
• 1” margins;
• The top right includes the last name and page number on every page;
• Titles are centered;
• The header should include your name, your professor’s name, course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy);
• The last page contains a Works Cited list.

Reflective Essay in APA Style

• Include a page header on the top of every page;
• Insert page number on the right;
• Your reflective essay should be divided into four parts: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Reflective Essay Outline

Look at your brainstorming table to start organizing your reflective essay. ‘Past experience’ and ‘description’ should make up less than 10% of your essay.

You should include the following in your introduction:

• Grab the reader’s attention with a short preview of what you’ll be writing about.

Example:  We found Buffy head-to-toe covered in tar, starved and fur in patches, under an abandoned garbage truck.

• It is important to include ‘past experiences’ in a reflective essay thesis statement; a brief description of what the essay is about.

Example:  My summer volunteering experience at the animal shelter inspired me to pursue this type of work in the future.

Chronological events are the best way to explain the structure of body paragraphs. Respond to the bold questions in the ‘reflection’ section of the table to create a linear storyline.

Here’s an example of what the body paragraph outline should look like:

• Explicit expectations about the shelter

Example:  I thought it was going to be boring and mundane.

• The first impression
• Experience at the shelter

Example:  Finding and rescuing Buffy.

• Other experiences with rescuing animals
• Discoveries

Example:  Newly found passion and feelings toward the work.

• A newly developed mindset

Example:  How your thoughts about animal treatment have changed.

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Here’s How You Can Submit a Well-Written Reflective Essay for University

Even though writing a reflective essay may seem difficult at first, once you have a clear idea of what you will write and more importantly, how to write, it often gets easier as you go along. Here are five key writing tips to keep in mind when writing a reflective essay.

Choosing a Topic for Reflection

As a busy student, when was the last time you drowned yourself in thoughts and reflected on past experiences? Here is an assignment that intentionally puts you in that position.

Think about all of the experiences which have shaped you – a life-changing event, an interaction with someone you admire, a movie character that appealed to you, a book that gave you perspective, or any other experience which contributed to your character or thought process.

You should choose a topic that will help you reflect on your growth as an individual. Start brainstorming and record every idea that comes to mind.

Organize your thoughts in a mind map

The next step is to create a mind map to help you organize your essay once you have a rough idea of what you want to write.

You can use your mind map to quiz yourself by asking questions of relevance and putting together perspectives for your essay.

The purpose of this exercise is to give you an idea of what you want your essay to be about. It is important to keep pushing yourself to think more deeply and find meaning in your experiences in order to create a successful reflective essay.

From becoming a Writer Today, here are some tips on using mind maps to write better and faster

Start Freewriting

Sometimes, all you have to do is start writing. Essentially, that’s what freewriting is all about.

After brainstorming, creating a mind map, and organizing your thoughts, open a blank document and start writing. Do not stop to think or to edit – just write as your thoughts come to you.

The best part of freewriting is that it results in a steady flow of ideas you may not have thought of otherwise.

In other words, whether or not you’re motivated to write or are constantly second-guessing your ideas, it helps to let your ideas guide you and put them down on paper.

Structure the Essay

It’s time to put your ideas and thoughts into words and give them a proper structure. A reflective essay should have the following parts:

You should begin your essay with a hook to grab the reader’s attention. While setting the tone for the rest of the essay, your thesis statement should introduce the past experience you will be reflecting on;

In this section, you will elaborate on the experience and its significance, as well as its impact on your life. Avoid rambling on and on about the experience for readers to want to read more of your essay, you need to use your storytelling skills. If you can, use examples to strengthen your narrative;

A summary of your reflections is provided in the concluding paragraph. In your essay, you should describe how the experience shaped your life and how you intend to take your learnings and apply them.

Proofread, Proofread and Proofread

Be sure to proofread your reflective essay before submitting it. Before finalizing it, you need to do thorough proofreading. You will be surprised to see how many silly mistakes are made in the first draft.

Be on the lookout for grammatical, spelling, and sentence formation mistakes. Make sure your essay flows well and avoids plagiarism. If you want a fresh set of eyes on your essay, have a family member or friend read it too.

Reflective Essay Topics

Many students find choosing the right topic for a reflective essay difficult. Writing a reflective essay requires creativity and strong writing skills to express your emotions.

Reflective essays can be inspired by nature, places, relationships, and events. Here are some tips that will help you choose the right essay topic.

• Decide on a topic idea for your reflective essay that you are familiar with. You will find it easier to write an essay about a topic you are interested in. Never choose a topic that is new to you. This makes the writing phase difficult.
• Research your topic: Try to recollect minor details about it. Remember all the things that are related to your topic, and include them in your essay. Take notes about your topic.
• Pick a topic that you can explain from a unique viewpoint: Choose a topic that you can explain from a different perspective. Writing something unique that demonstrates your personality in an interesting way is a good technique. Share a memorable and meaningful experience from your life.

Topics for Reflective Essays for Middle School Students

Essay topics can be difficult to choose for some students. The following list of topics can be classified according to grade level. Pick from them and make topic selection easier.

Topics for Reflective Essays in Grade 7

• Taking a trip
• To go scuba diving
• Within your hometown
• Was something you were proud of
• Even when you were lost
• To your favorite cartoon
• During that time you lied
• When you were hunting
• Did your family play an important role in your life?
• Spending time outdoors

Topics for Reflective Essays in Grade 8

• Running in the outdoors
• While picking berries
• Will be your biggest loss
• Who is your biggest inspiration?
• What is your greatest fear?
• Tell me about your most exciting moment.
• What is your least favorite course?
• When you go on a date
• To a birthday party
• Which is your favorite online space?

Topics for Reflective Essays in Grade 9

• A new school
• Makes me think about the future.
• You participated in or watched a sporting event.
• You moved to a new city.
• You had an unforgettable dream.
• You were running and hunting.
• You cannot forget that dream.
• It was your childhood home.
• Watching the sunrise
• An award ceremony

Topics for Reflective Essays in Grade 10

• Defending someone in a situation
• While playing with friends
• It was a memorable dream
• About lying and hiding
• The most recent meal
• While getting lost in the dark
• As an intern at a hospital
• Or when someone’s life inspired you to change your own
• Challenges as a college freshman
• By participating in sports

Topics for Reflective Essays for College Students

For college students, the most difficult part of writing a reflective essay is choosing a topic. Some students are better at choosing the essay topic than others, but some will get stuck in this phase.

Here are some excellent reflective essay topics for college students for your convenience. Choose one and write a well-written essay.

• First time writing a thesis statement
• Your favorite video game
• The impact of social media on students
• A place you always try to avoid
• What was the best birthday memory you had?
• What is your favorite restaurant?
• The moment when you were proud of yourself
• The bravest moment of your life
• The most beautiful thing you have ever seen
• A time you were embarrassed

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Topics for Reflective Essays for High School Students

The choice of a topic for a reflective essay can be confusing for high school students. Your topic should be engaging and you should be able to explain your personal experience easily. Here is a list of good topics for high school students; choose something from the list for your essay.

• Shop at your favorite outlet store
• To relive your favorite childhood memory
• Of the most memorable holiday
• That scared you?
• That’s when you met your best friend
• And what you love about yourself
• Is playing with friends.
• What’s your favorite book?
• I loved playing in the mud as a kid.
• Having to move to a new town or city

Topics for Reflective Essays about Places

Reflective essays should be based on strong emotions and memories. You could write an essay about a day spent at your favorite café, favorite restaurant, etc.

It is easy to write a reflective essay about a place where you have really good memories. Here are some topic ideas that you can use and write an essay on.

• Your grandparents’ house
• A skating rink
• A place where you feel safe
• A favorite vacation spot
• A popular lunch spot
• On your first day at the circus
• The mall or your favorite store
• Your first trip abroad
• Best park in your town
• Your most memorable adventure

Topics for Reflective Essays about Events

A good way to grab the reader’s attention is to write about any event. Your essay can be about a birthday party, a farewell, or any other event that you have enough information about.

If you are writing a reflective essay about an event, include vivid details. Here are some interesting topics for reflection essays, choose one and write a good essay.

• Unexpected gift
• To travel on vacation
• While you were lost
• The first time you voted
• On your trip to the zoo
• When you got a new job
• It was one of your most memorable trips
• During the holiday season
• When you moved to a new city
• Or when you swam fishing

Topics for Reflective Essays on Nature

A reflective essay should provide the reader with a deeper and more meaningful experience. In addition to making your writing process more interesting, writing about nature also stimulates your imagination.

The following are some good reflective essay topics about nature:

• Mountain climbing
• Ocean diving
• Hiking in the woods
• Climbing rocks
• And watching the sunset
• While running in the forest.
• Spending quality time with your pet.
• Taking a hike in the woods
• And going swimming
• While watching animals at a zoo

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Topics for reflection on relationships

As relationships are filled with strong emotions, writing a reflective essay about them means expressing those emotions. The following are some good reflective essay topics about relationships:

• A wonderful family reunion
• When you spoke publicly for the first time
• What friendship means to me
• When you were punished by your parents
• During a family reunion
• When you apologized
• For a time you spent with friends without parental supervision
• Tell me about your relationship with a family member
• An angry conversation
• Or a genuinely funny laugh

Some reflective essay topics are the same as some of the questions you may ask in a job interview.

Examples of Reflective Essay

Check out some examples for inspiration now that you know what it takes to write a reflective essay.

An Example of a Reflective Essay on “My Little Brother”

Essay example reflecting on the arrival of a younger sibling, written at a middle or high school level.

“There have been many life-changing experiences in my short life. Every new experience has been the first experience at one point in time. For good or for bad, each event altered the course of my life. But, the most transformative event was the birth of my youngest brother.”.

Joel is someone my parents often refer to as a happy accident. My mother became pregnant when I was 13 and my other brother, Jake, was 10. We were what you would call a well-rounded family of four. In almost every way, we fit the ideal classification. My youngest brother’s striking blue eyes were the moment when we realized what we were missing.

Honestly, I resented having another sibling. It wasn’t necessary to add to our family, and my mother, already 38 at the time, was considered high risk because of her age. A pregnancy full of complications sent my life on a rollercoaster-like ride that my 13-year-old mind could not comprehend. Now I can see how forging through those loops helped me cope with the unforeseen challenges of life.

My mother took me to the hospital instead of my father on the day Joel was born. I was the next best alternative because Jake and my father were both feverish; it wasn’t a planned move. With each contraction, I gained a new appreciation for just how strong and powerful a woman could be at her weakest. Through holding her hand and feeding her ice chips, I gained a connection with my mother that I didn’t realize we lacked.

Almost simultaneously, my new baby brother entered this world. One doesn’t realize how much you need something until it’s sitting in your lap. Secondly, my life after this moment would never be the same the moment he curled his chubby little finger around mine, I understood the meaning of the words “happy accident.”.y.

Life has given me many experiences that have shaped me as a person. But, nothing so profoundly changed my views and outlook on life as the birth of my youngest brother. Joel’s arrival was a life-altering event that caused me to see the world through new eyes.”

Assignment Writing Purposes You Need to Know

Reflective Essay Example for “ Reading My Favorite Book”

This reflective essay example about a favorite book is something you might find at the middle or high school level.

When it comes to books, I don’t understand the appeal. Every time I was given an assignment, I would read one after another, not understanding what all the fuss was about. Nevertheless, the moment I read Pride and Prejudice, it was as if my literary eyes were opened for the first time. It stirred love within me for classics I didn’t realize could exist.

When I was first given the assignment of reading Pride and Prejudice, like many of my friends, I scoffed. With an eye roll, I internally calculated how much time I would have to read the book and write a report. I sighed at the loss of time with my friends for a stupid classic.

Cracking open the cover, I was determined to hate it before even reading the first words. By the time I reached page 3, I nearly stopped reading. But there was something about Elizabeth Bennet that quietly piqued my interest. I can’t say where, but somewhere along the way, my eyes devoured the pages instead of trudging along.

The moment I reached the end, I was ecstatic and disappointed at the same time. Their ending had been perfect, but I realized I would miss them. Not just them, but I would also miss being a part of their world.

It was the first time the characters of a story had affected me this way, so I tried to shake it off. However, after several days, that sadness carried me to the classics section of the school library. The moment I cracked open my next classic, my soul instantly felt more at ease, and I’ve never looked back.

I never thought I’d say a book changed me, but in this case, it’s true. The love I found in Pride and Prejudice introduced me to a beautiful world of classic literature I can’t imagine living without. Despite not reading Pride and Prejudice for a while, it will always be my favorite book.

In the conclusion of your reflective essay, you should focus on bringing your piece together. This will include providing a summary of both the points made throughout and what you have learned as a result. Try to include a few points on why and how your attitudes and behaviors have been changed.

Consider also how your character and skills have been affected, for example: what conclusions can be drawn about your problem-solving skills? What can be concluded about your approach to specific situations? What might you do differently in similar situations in the future? What steps have you taken to consolidate everything that you have learned from your experience?

Keep in mind that your tutor will be looking out for evidence of reflection at a very high standard.

Congratulations – you now have the tools to create a thorough and accurate plan which should put you in good stead for the ultimate phase indeed of any essay, the writing process.

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How do you start off a reflective essay?

As is the case with all essays, your reflective essay must begin with an introduction that contains both a hook and a thesis statement. The point of having a ‘hook’ is to grab the attention of your audience or reader from the very beginning.

Can you say I in a reflective essay?

In your reflective essay, you should use the first person with terms like I, me, my, and mine. The essay is an account of something that actually happened to you as well as your thoughts on the event.

What is an example of a reflection?

Common examples include the reflection of light, sound, and water waves. The law of reflection says that for specular reflection the angle at which the wave is incident on the surface equals the angle at which it is reflected. Mirrors exhibit specular reflection.

How do you start the first paragraph of a reflective essay?

Describe the subject matter of the paper in more detail. Include one or two sentences after the first sentence in which you describe the basic features of whatever topic you will be discussing in your essay. Describe them in terms of your feelings, and how you felt and experienced whatever you are discussing.

How many paragraphs should a reflective essay have?

The number of paragraphs depends on the requested essay length. However, it is recommended to write at least three paragraphs in this part. In the body, present your main points, arguments, and examples. This is the part of an essay where you express all your main ideas, develop them, and express your feelings and emotions.

What are the three parts of a reflective essay?

However, some major elements go into a typical reflective essay: introduction, body, and conclusion.

How Do You Write A Reflective Essay?

To write a reflective essay, follow these steps:

• Choose a topic: Select a specific event, experience, or concept that you want to reflect upon.
• Brainstorm and outline: Reflect on your chosen topic and jot down key points, thoughts, and emotions associated with it. Create an outline to organize your ideas.
• Introduction: Begin with an engaging hook to grab the reader’s attention. Provide background information and context related to the topic. End the introduction with a clear thesis statement that expresses the main insights or lessons you will discuss.
• Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect or experience related to your topic. Reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and observations, and support them with specific examples or evidence. Analyze the significance and impact of these experiences.
• Use reflection techniques: Incorporate reflection techniques such as asking yourself questions, exploring the “why” behind your thoughts and emotions, and connecting your experiences to broader concepts or theories.
• Conclusion: Summarize your key insights and reflections from the essay. Emphasize personal growth, lessons learned, or changes in perspective. Leave the reader with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action.

Which Of These Best Describes A Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is best described as a type of academic or personal writing that allows individuals to examine and reflect upon their experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It involves introspection, self-analysis, and the exploration of lessons learned or personal growth. Reflective essays provide a platform for individuals to communicate their insights and understanding of a particular event, concept, or life experience.

What Is A Reflective Essay And Examples?

A reflective essay is a form of writing where individuals express their thoughts, feelings, and observations about a specific experience, event, or topic. It goes beyond simply describing the experience and delves into analyzing the impact, significance, and lessons learned. Reflective essays encourage self-reflection and introspection, allowing writers to gain deeper understanding and insight.

Examples of reflective essay topics include:

• Reflecting on a life-changing travel experience and its impact on personal growth.
• Analyzing the challenges and successes encountered during a group project and the lessons learned.
• Reflecting on the influence of a particular book, film, or artwork and its effect on personal perspectives.
• Examining the role of personal values and beliefs in decision-making processes.

What Are The Parts Of A Typical Reflective Essay?

A typical reflective essay consists of the following parts:

• Introduction: It provides an engaging hook, background information, and context for the topic. The introduction ends with a clear thesis statement that states the main insights or lessons to be discussed.
• Body paragraphs: Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect or experience related to the topic. Writers reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and observations, supporting them with examples or evidence. They analyze the significance and impact of these experiences and connect them to broader concepts or theories.
• Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the key insights and reflections from the essay. It emphasizes personal growth, lessons learned, or changes in perspective. A thought-provoking statement or a call to action is often included to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

What Is A Goal Of The Introduction In A Reflective Essay?

The goal of the introduction in a reflective essay is to capture the reader’s attention and provide them with the necessary background information and context related to the topic. It should set the stage for the reflective journey that follows. The introduction concludes with a clear thesis statement that outlines the main insights or lessons the writer will discuss in the essay. It acts as a roadmap, guiding the reader through the writer’s reflections.

What Idea Would Most Likely Make The Best Reflective Essay?

The best idea for a reflective essay is a topic that holds personal significance and offers opportunities for introspection and deep reflection. An idea that involves a transformative experience, a significant life event, or a challenging situation often makes for a compelling reflective essay. It should be something that evokes strong emotions, prompts critical thinking, and allows for self-analysis. The best reflective essays are those that offer meaningful insights, growth, or lessons learned.

What Makes A Good Reflective Essay?

A good reflective essay possesses several key qualities:

• Authenticity: It reflects the writer’s genuine thoughts, emotions, and observations.
• Depth of reflection: It goes beyond surface-level descriptions and delves into meaningful analysis, exploring the “why” behind the experiences.
• Coherence and organization: The essay is well-structured, with clear paragraphs and logical flow of ideas.
• Use of specific examples: It supports reflections with specific examples, evidence, or anecdotes to enhance understanding and engagement.
• Connection to broader concepts or theories: It links personal experiences to broader concepts, theories, or societal issues to demonstrate critical thinking and understanding.
• Insight and personal growth: The essay offers meaningful insights, lessons learned, or personal growth as a result of the reflection.

By incorporating these elements, a good reflective essay effectively communicates the writer’s introspection and provides a thought-provoking reading experience.

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Ultimate guide to writing a reflective essay, carla johnson.

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Writing about yourself is a powerful way to learn and grow as a person. It is a type of writing that makes you think about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences and how they have affected your personal and professional growth. A reflective essay is a type of writing that lets you talk about your own experiences, thoughts, and insights. In this article , we’ll tell you everything you need to know about writing a reflective essay, from how to define it and figure out what it’s for to how to do it well.

What You'll Learn

Definition of a Reflective Essay

A reflective essay is a type of writing in which you write about your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It is a type of personal writing that lets you talk about your own thoughts and experiences and share them with other people. Students are often asked to write reflective essays for school, but they can also be used for personal or professional growth.

Purpose of a Reflective Essay

The goal of a reflective essay is to get you to think about your life and how it has affected your personal and professional growth. Reflective essays can help you learn more about yourself and your experiences, as well as find places where you can grow and improve. They can also help you get better at writing and better at getting your ideas across.

Importance of Reflective Writing

Writing about yourself and your work is an important way to grow personally and professionally. It can help you learn more about yourself, figure out where you need to grow and change, and learn more about how you think and feel. Writing about yourself can also help you get better at critical thinking and analysis , and it can help you get your ideas across better. It is a useful tool for anyone who wants to grow personally and professionally, and it can be used in many different situations, from academic writing to keeping a personal journal.

Writing about yourself and your work is a powerful way to grow personally and professionally. Reflective essays give you a chance to think about your own life and how it has affected your personal and professional growth. By writing about your thoughts and feelings, you can learn more about them, find ways to grow and improve, and improve your writing and communication skills . In the next parts of this article, we’ll show you how to write a good reflective essay step by step, from choosing a topic and organizing your thoughts to writing and revising your essay.

Elements of a Reflective Essay

A reflective essay is a type of writing that allows you to reflect on your personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. There are several essential elements that should be included in a reflective essay to ensure that it is effective in conveying your personal reflections and experiences.

Personal Reflection

The first essential element of a reflective essay is personal reflection. This involves exploring your own thoughts and feelings about the experience you are reflecting on. It is important to be honest and open about your thoughts and feelings, as this will make your essay more authentic and meaningful.

Description of the Experience

The second element of a reflective essay is a description of the experience that you are reflecting on. This includes providing details about the experience, such as where it took place, who was involved, and what happened. The description should be clear and concise, and should provide enough detail for the reader to understand the context of your reflection.

Analysis of the Experience

The third element of a reflective essay is analysis of the experience. This involves exploring the experience in more depth, and examining your thoughts and feelings about it. You should consider what you learned from the experience, and how it impacted your personal and professional growth .

Evaluation of the Experience

The fourth element of a reflective essay is evaluation of the experience. This involves examining the experience from different perspectives, and considering its strengths and weaknesses. You should reflect on what you would do differently if you were in the same situation again, and how you could improve your response or approach.

Identification of Key Learning

The fifth element of a reflective essay is identifying the key learning that you gained from the experience. This involves reflecting on the insights and lessons that you learned from the experience, and how these have impacted your personal and professional growth. This can include new skills, knowledge, or perspectives that you gained from the experience.

Planning for Future Action

The final element of a reflective essay is planning for future action. This involves considering how you can apply the lessons and insights gained from the experience to improve your future actions. You should reflect on how you can use what you learned to approach similar situations differently in the future.

How to Write a Reflective Essay

Writing a reflective essay can be a challenging task, but by following a few simple steps, you can write an effective and meaningful essay .

Steps for Writing a Reflective Essay:

1. Brainstorming and Selecting a Topic

Begin by brainstorming and selecting a topic for your reflective essay. Think about a personal experience or event that had a significant impact on your personal or professional growth.

2. Creating an Outline

Create an outline for your essay . This should include an introduction, body, and conclusion, as well as sections for each of the essential elements described above.

3. Writing the Introduction

Write the introduction for your essay . This should include a brief overview of the experience that you will be reflecting on, as well as the purpose and focus of your essay.

4. Writing the Body

Write the body of your essay, which should include the personal reflection, description of the experience, analysis of the experience, evaluation of the experience, identification of key learning, and planning for future action . Make sure to use specific examples and details to support your reflection.

5. Writing the Conclusion

Write the conclusion for your essay , which should summarize the key points of your reflection and provide closure for the reader. You can also include a final reflection on the experience and what it means to you.

6. Revising and Editing

Pay close attention to grammar, spelling, and sentence structure as you reread and edit your essay . Make sure your essay is easy to read and flows well. You might also want someone else to look over your essay and give you feedback and ideas.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to write a good reflective essay. Remember to be honest and open about your thoughts and feelings, and to support your reflection with specific examples and details. You can become a good reflective writer with practice , and you can use this skill to help your personal and professional growth.

Reflective Essay Topics

Reflective essays can be written on a wide range of topics, as they are based on personal experiences and reflections. Here are some common categories of reflective essay topics:

Personal Experiences

– A time when you overcame a personal challenge

– A difficult decision you had to make

– A significant event in your life that changed you

– A moment when you learned an important lesson

– A relationship that had a significant impact on you

Professional Experiences

– A challenging project or assignment at work

– A significant accomplishment or success in your career

– A time when you had to deal with a difficult colleague or boss

– A failure or setback in your career and what you learned from it

– A career change or transition that had a significant impact on you

Academic Experiences

– A challenging course or assignment in school

– A significant accomplishment or success in your academic career

– A time when you struggled with a particular subject or topic and how you overcame it

– A research project or paper that had a significant impact on you

– A teacher or mentor who had a significant impact on your academic career

Cultural Experiences

– A significant trip or travel experience

– A significant cultural event or celebration you participated in

– A time when you experienced culture shock

– A significant interaction with someone from a different culture

– A time when you learned something new about a different culture and how it impacted you

Social Issues

– A personal experience with discrimination or prejudice

– A time when you volunteered or worked for a social cause or organization

– A significant event or moment related to a social issue (e.g. protest, rally, community event)

– A time when you had to confront your own biases or privilege

– A social issue that you are passionate about and how it has impacted you personally

Reflective Essay Examples

Example 1: Reflecting on a Personal Challenge

In this reflective essay, the writer reflects on a personal challenge they faced and how they overcame it. They explore their thoughts, feelings, and actions during this time, and reflect on the lessons they learned from the experience.

Example 2: Reflecting on a Professional Experience

In this reflective essay, the writer reflects on a challenging project they worked on at work and how they overcame obstacles to successfully complete it. They explore their thoughts and feelings about the experience and reflect on the skills and knowledge they gained from it.

Example 3: Reflecting on an Academic Assignment

In this reflective essay, the writer reflects on a challenging academic assignment they completed and how they overcame difficulties to successfully complete it. They explore their thoughts and feelings about the experience and reflect on the skills and knowledge they gained from it.

Example 4: Reflecting on a Cultural Experience

In this reflective essay, the writer reflects on a significant cultural experience they had, such as traveling to a new country or participating in a cultural event. Theyexplore their thoughts and feelings about the experience, reflect on what they learned about the culture, and how it impacted them personally.

Example 5: Reflecting on a Social Issue

In this reflective essay, the writer reflects on their personal experiences with discrimination or prejudice and how it impacted them. They explore their thoughts and feelings about the experience, reflect on what they learned about themselves and the issue, and how they can take action to address it.

These examples demonstrate how reflective essays can be used to explore a wide range of personal experiences and reflections. By exploring your own thoughts and feelings about an experience, you can gain insights into your personal and professional growth and identify areas for further development . Reflective writing is a powerful tool for self-reflection and personal growth, and it can be used in many different contexts to help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you.

Reflective Essay Outline

A reflective essay should follow a basic outline that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. Here is a breakdown of each section:

Introduction: The introduction should provide an overview of the experience you will be reflecting on and a preview of the key points you will be discussing in your essay .

Body: The body of the essay should include several paragraphs that explore your personal reflection, description of the experience, analysis of the experience, evaluation of the experience, identification of key learning, and planning for future action.

Conclusion: The conclusion should summarize the key points of your reflection and provide closure for the reader.

Reflective Essay Thesis

A reflective essay thesis is a statement that summarizes the main points of your essay and provides a clear focus for your writing. A strong thesis statement is essential for a successful reflective essay, as it helps to guide your writing and ensure that your essay is focused and coherent.

Importance of a Strong Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement is important for several reasons. First, it provides a clear focus for your writing, which helps to ensure that your essay is coherent and well-organized. Second, it helps to guide your writing and ensure that you stay on topic throughout your essay . Finally, it helps to engage your reader and provide them with a clear understanding of what your essay is about.

Tips for Writing a Thesis Statement

To write a strong thesis statement for your reflective essay, follow these tips:

– Be clear and concise: Yourthesis statement should clearly state the main focus and purpose of your essay in a concise manner.

– Use specific language: Use specific language to describe the experience you will be reflecting on and the key points you will be discussing in your essay .

– Make it arguable: A strong thesis statement should be arguable and provide some insight or perspective on the experience you are reflecting on.

– Reflect on the significance: Reflect on the significance of the experience you are reflecting on and why it is important to you.

Reflective Essay Structure

The structure of a reflective essay is important for ensuring that your essay is well-organized and easy to read. A clear structure helps to guide the reader through your thoughts and reflections, and it makes it easier for them to understand your main points.

The Importance of a Clear Structure

A clear structure is important for several reasons. First, it helps to ensure that your essay is well-organized and easy to read. Second, it helps to guide your writing and ensure that you stay on topic throughout your essay. Finally, it helps to engage your reader and provide them with a clear understanding of the key points you are making.

Tips for Structuring a Reflective Essay

To structure your reflective essay effectively, follow these tips:

– Start with an introduction that provides an overview of the experience you are reflecting on and a preview of the key points you will be discussing in your essay .

– Use body paragraphs to explore your personal reflection, description of the experience, analysisof the experience, evaluation of the experience, identification of key learning, and planning for future action. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear focus and supports your thesis statement .

– Use transition words and phrases to connect your paragraphs and make your essay flow smoothly.

– End your essay with a conclusion that summarizes the key points of your reflection and provides closure for the reader.

– Consider using subheadings to organize your essay and make it more structured and easy to read.

By following these tips, you can create a clear and well-structured reflective essay that effectively communicates your personal experiences and reflections. Remember to use specific examples and details to support your reflection, and to keep your focus on the main topic and thesis statement of your essay .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. what is a reflective essay.

A reflective essay is a type of writing that allows you to reflect on your personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It involves exploring your own thoughts and feelings about an experience, and reflecting on what you learned from it.

2. What are the elements of a reflective essay?

The essential elements of a reflective essay include personal reflection, description of the experience, analysis of the experience, evaluation of the experience, identification of key learning, and planning for future action.

3. How do I choose a topic for a reflective essay?

To choose a topic for a reflective essay, think about a personal experience or event that had a significant impact on your personal or professional growth. You may also consider professional experiences, academic experiences, cultural experiences, or social issues that have impacted you personally.

Reflective writing is a powerful tool for personal and professional development. By exploring your own thoughts and feelings about an experience, you can gain insights into your personal and professional growth and identify areas for further development. To write an effective reflective essay, it is important to follow a clear structure, use specific examples and details to support your reflection, and stay focused on the main topic and thesis statement of your essay . By following these tips and guidelines, you can become a skilled reflective writer and use this tool to improve your personal and professional growth.

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Reflective Essay Guide

Writing Reflective Essay

Last updated on: Feb 9, 2023

A Step by Step Guide to Writing a Reflective Essay

By: John K.

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: May 11, 2021

If you have been assigned the task of writing a reflective essay, it will be an excellent opportunity to polish your creativity and writing skills.

A reflective essay is slightly different from other essays as it requires a personal point of view of a chosen subject. Thus, you need to analyze a particular subject with your personal experience, understanding, and knowledge.

The only key to write a reflective paper is that you need to be more expressive. The more expressive you are, the merrier it will be for your essay. Feel free to talk about life experiences that are valid to your topic. Writing your reflections can actually be a strength in this kind of essay.

If this sounds like something that interests or concerns you, then keep reading! This blog contains every detail necessary to produce an impressive reflective essay.

On this Page

What Is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay describes an experience or event and analyzes the meaning of that particular experience and the lessons it delivers. One thing that makes it a reflective essay is that the writer analyzes an event of the past from the present.

When writing a reflective essay, you are required to open up about your emotions and thoughts to paint a clear picture of your personality, history, and individual traits.

It is required that you include a description and a vivid summary of the experience; it will make the reader feel that he has experienced it as well. Moreover, you need to explain your reactions, thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

A good reflective paper should be creative, insightful, and authentic. It needs to express your opinions on a specific topic interestingly so that the reader wants to follow what you're saying without getting bored or leaving it before reading.

Reflective Essay Format

REFLECTIVE ESSAY FORMAT AND TEMPLATE

How to Start a Reflective Essay?

Writing a great reflective essay is a chance to polish your skills of writing and enhance your creativity. However, sometimes, it gets difficult and confusing to write it. There are many high schools as well as college students who get confused thinking where to start.

So, we have compiled some steps that will help you to write a perfect essay.

Let’s discuss them in detail.

1. Choose Your Topic Carefully

If you are given the freedom to choose a topic and don’t have any idea regarding it, the best way is to brainstorm and research some trending and good topic ideas. Unfortunately, a common mistake when writing a reflective essay is to choose a topic that is too broad or too narrow.

2. Research About Your Subject

Make sure you do thorough research on your topic first. Close your eyes and start imagining or remembering. Then, watch, listen, and read the information regarding your topic.

3. Brainstorm

Before you even start writing, brainstorm your ideas first. It is always a wise step to take before writing anything.

4. Choose Reflection Questions

Take a look at the questions below to get a better idea:

• What did I notice?
• What do I feel about it?
• Why am I feeling this way?

5. Answer the Questions You Have Chosen

After selecting your questions, you need to give their answers. Start from one essay question; make sure you answer it properly. After that, head on to the next one.

6. Recognize Your Experience Meaning

Before you even start writing, you need to choose the most significant lesson you have learned from your experience. This “most significant lesson or thing” is going to be the thesis of your essay.

7. Follow the Structure

Like all the other essays, the reflective essay also has the same format, which comprises the introduction, body, and conclusion paragraph.

Therefore, follow these steps and makes your essay writing process easy.

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How to Write a Reflective Essay?

Here are some steps that you should follow when you start writing your reflective paper.

1. Write the Introduction

To understand and know how to start a reflective essay introduction, you must first understand that an introduction is a piece of brief information about the main topic and its background.

In the reflective essay introduction, you will recognize the subject and provide the reader with an overview of the impression you have taken from it. Therefore, the introductory paragraph of your reflective essay needs to include a thesis statement that will act as a focal point of your paper.

2. Body Paragraphs

The first body paragraph should mention the impactful impression your subject has made on you. Then, provide relevant facts to support your thesis statement.

Moreover, the body of your essay will also describe most of the ideas you touched on in your introduction.

3. Write a Conclusion

Restate your thesis statement and summarize all the reasons you have mentioned in the essay’s body paragraphs. After that, sum up your essay with your final thoughts on the subject; close your essay with some reflective thoughts.

4. Proofread and Edit

Never submit your essay without editing or proofreading. Even though you have spent hours of effort and put a lot of hard work in doing your essay, your essay will have no worth if you haven’t proofread and edited it.

Here is the reflective essay outline sample for your ease.

Reflective Essay Outline

REFLECTIVE ESSAY OUTLINE

Reflective Essay Examples

We have compiled some perfect reflective essay examples below to help you get started on your paper.

Personal Reflective Essay Examples

PERSONAL REFLECTIVE ESSAY EXAMPLES

ENGLISH REFLECTIVE ESSAY EXAMPLES

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Reflective Essay Topics

Check out these reflective essay ideas on the most common subjects you can write about:

• Something from your imagination
• Something you have experienced in real
• A special object
• Something you have seen, heard, read, watched, touched, or smelled.

We are sure these subjects must have sparked your imagination, but here are a few essay topics that will help you get the bigger picture. In addition, these topics will help you understand the kind of topics teachers like to assign.

• The desert, mountains, countryside, or beach
• A special room or hideaway
• The house you grew up
• Home of some relative
• A person that taught me how to improve reflective writing skills
• New Experiences
• When your piece of writing published
• Important conversation
• The older man line of thought
• The time you overcame your fears

A list of topics will help you get a picture of what good ideas are like and how to come up with one of your own.

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Your essays are assigned to highly qualified essay writers who have years of experience and education. They make sure to provide you with mind-blowing, error-free, and on-time essays. They don’t just cater to the reflective essay but help with all types of essays.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a reflective essay.

The reflective essay should be between 300 and 500 words. However, it will vary according to the chosen topic.

What is the purpose of a reflective essay?

A reflective essay is a great opportunity for the author to explore what has happened in their life and show how this specific event may have changed them.

PhD Essay, Literature

John K. is a professional writer and author with many publications to his name. He has a Ph.D. in the field of management sciences, making him an expert on the subject matter. John is highly sought after for his insights and knowledge, and he regularly delivers keynote speeches and conducts workshops on various topics related to writing and publishing. He is also a regular contributor to various online publications.

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Reflective essays

Reflective essays are academic essays; what makes an essay "good" will work for a reflective essay. What is different about a reflective essay is that the essay is about you and your thinking. However, you will need evidence from your course to back up your reflections.

You should structure a reflective essay as an essay, that is write to persuade your reader of your key reflections (or argument). The diagram above, details how to stucture your reflections through the essay. To find out more see the section on essay writing .

Business example

The following example comes from business. Thanks to Dr Colleen Hayes for the three samples.

Students were asked to write a reflective essay on their learning in the course by responding to the following question:

What key thing have you learned about corporate social responsibility in the course?

Example 1: Retelling

This writing is (1) descriptive/listing of content, not reflective and (2) not properly referenced (the definition of stakeholders is directly copied from Freeman in the lecture slides.

Example 2: Relating

This writing involves relating to personal experience and has some integration of course concepts (stakeholders).

Example 3: Reflecting

More reflective (forward-looking), better citation and integration of multiple course concepts, and reflection that links with personal experience.

An anthropology marking rubric

For this assessment, students were required to write a 1500-1800 word essay building on the themes of the course to address the question "We are all pirates". Attached under reference documents is the rubric used to mark the essay (thanks to Dr Caroline Schuster). Notice that it requires both the reflection (reflect, relate and retell) as well as the poor traditional requirements of an essay (Writing and organisation, Supporting claims with scholarly sources).

Reflective writing

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How to Write a Reflective Essay: A Quick Guide + Examples

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A reflective essay is a type of writing where you explore how an event, experience, or concept has influenced your development or perspective. It involves deep thinking, self-analysis, and personal reflection. In a reflective essay, you explai what you learned and how you changed as a result of that experience.

In this article, you will learn how to write a reflective essay, and how to highlight impactful experiences. A reflection essay seems easy as you don’t have to defend one’s point of view or convince the reader of something. But it has its challenges, so we recommend to keep on reading and find out everything you need to know about this type of essay. More complex examples are available down below.

What Is a Reflective Essay: Definition

A good question to start with is, “What is a reflective essay?” A reflective essay is a type of academic writing, in which the student has to test personal life experience/position towards a particular topic. Unlike in argumentative writing, the student does not have to defend the personal position. It does not require a complicated, professional language with some terminology. Do not define something - focus on sharing personal life experience, skills, development, and the most vivid examples to illustrate the topic.

Reflective Essay Format

A reflection essay student writes to meet the college writing standards has a different format from the one a magazine writer should present to reach the issue’s audience. However, each reflective paper has a similar outline. Reflective essay format depends on the general requirements your teacher provides. Some of them can ask for a specific format for your essay. APA writing style , MLA, and Chicago are the basic formats you can use. But if you don’t know exactly which formatting to use, you can use reflective essay apa format. This is the most common college essay format, so knowing its requirements is critical: Font:  Times New Roman, 12 points Interval:  Double interval Margins:  1 inch all round Page Numbers:  Insert a title in the upper left corner of each page.  

Reflective Essay Outline and Structure

Knowing how to write a reflective essay is essential. Even if you feel confident about your thoughts and knowledge, don’t start your writing without a clear and well-designed plan. Without logical essay structure , your essay will likely achieve lower marks. To avoid this situation, follow 10 easy steps we provided below. The first thing every student needs to understand how to write a good reflective essay is an effective, detailed outline. It has 3 typical sections: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Writing a reflective essay does not require any references – the only person to refer is the student who decides to share his thoughts & ideas. Let’s look at 4 main reasons to include an outline of reflective essays.  

• An outline assists in laying out the details the student wants to leave after narrowing down the draft before working on the final paper. It prevents them from concluding the essay by realizing something is missing.
• An outline provides a clear, concise roadmap, which prevents the writer from taking curvy paths and facing dead ends. It shows the way like a compass in the woods.
• An outline helps to save a lot of time.
• An outline helps the potential readers, including teachers & classmates, to avoid falling off the main point when reading the essay partially.

Reflective essay outline is not much different from other types of essays. Use this reflective essay template in creating your perfect reflective essay:

How to Start a Reflective Essay: Creating an Introduction

Let’s figure out how to write a reflective essay introduction. Start with stating the primary focus of the personal reflection. Avoid being indirect and covering a range of topics; stay direct and concise by underlining the basic purpose of sharing a life experience. Professional Opinion:

“Giving a preview of the most exciting part of the story is a clue. The target reader may lack time to read the full piece from cover to cover. “There are many things I have learned from Marketing class. The most valuable lesson I have obtained is checking the effectiveness of 2 different approaches or services through utilizing so-called A/B testing.” It will make the reader think about what is special about this specific method. The reader will go on reading the body paragraphs to find out!” Professor Hemsworth, History & Anthropology teacher and academic writer at StudyCrumb

Another way to attract attention in the introductory paragraph is to come up with the intriguing hook for essay sentences like statistics, fact, quote, metaphor, rhetorical question, or joke. It depends on the mood of your reflective narrative.

Working on Reflective Essay Thesis

Some people may say that a reflective essay does not need a thesis. However, the example shared in the previous section talking about introduction is an example of the inspiring thesis statement. Include at least a reflective summary of the primary idea. The best idea would be to focus on previewing the peak of the plot development or highlighting the most valuable lesson learned. Let’s take a look at this little reflective essay thesis sample.

If you find it challenging, rely on our  professional essay writing service  and have your reflective essay done with academic standards in mind. 

Writing a Reflection Essay Body Paragraph

What is the purpose of a body paragraph ? The body paragraphs of the reflective analysis interpret the way the author evolved or what he/she has absorbed from a particular life lesson (mention 3 different lessons). When writing your reflective essay you should mention the circumstances that forced you to pass a certain way. If you study a subject like English Literature or Arts, the paper’s prompt may ask you to describe how you changed as a field professional during the course of study. It is important to choose a specific interval of time to list the improvements. Compare & contrast the initial skills to the knowledge you have today. It is a great idea to tell the audience the ways various tasks, challenges, and lessons made the author grow since the beginning of his education. There is no need to conduct research to collect the supporting evidence. The author alone is responsible for defending every stated claim with the help of vivid samples that describe the topic the best. Example: In case the student has become more professional in the field of writing, he should list the causes of those changes (new English teacher, more practice at home, part-time job related to the field of writing). Who knows – some of the ideas may be used by other students to succeed!  

How to Write a Reflective Essay Conclusion

The question of how to end a reflection paper is not less important. The last challenge is to prepare an impressive, inspiring, and powerful conclusion, which will make the target readers want to develop the same positive way. Write a reflective summary regarding the way you have changed over a given period of time. Share some forecast by looking ahead: how the experiences listed in the essay would influence further personal development. By looking at the past events, decide which of them was the most important. The good idea is to compare & contrast past and future events to stress the gaps between the obtained skills and experience, possibly gained in the future. Don't want to bother with writing any conclusions? Use a summary maker to generate e reflective essay conlusion in seconds.

How to Write a Reflective Essay: 10 Easy Steps

Writing personal reflection helps students to stress their individuality by highlighting various skills, knowledge, behavior, feelings, and even mood. The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to show how the person changed over time and what factors played an important role in those metamorphoses. Keep on reading this section to learn steps that will make your reflective writing perfect. Step 1:  Think of the questions that interest you the most. It may be your experience, feelings, or an event in life. Make sure you analyzed the question well. Check credible sources and collect relevant information. Step 2:  Decide what you want to write about. Make sure you know how to title an essay . Identify the topic. Step 3:  After you decided on a topic, create an appealing title that will entice readers. Make sure your title is clear and to the point. Step 4:  Create an outline of your essay. Step 5:  Create an attention-grabbing hook for reflective essay. It should be some intriguing sentence or phrase that will arouse the interest of your readers. Step 6:  Create an introduction of your reflection paper. Step 7:  Think what you will include in the main body of your text. Start writing your body paragraphs. Step 8:  Diversify your text with all the necessary details to make your readers see a clear picture of the environment in your story. It can be some place, people, atmosphere, etc. Step 9:  After the reader is already familiar with the setting and characters, you should tell about yourself. What were your feelings? How has the situation affected you? What did you learn from this situation? Step 10:  Conclude your reflective essay. Briefly summarize all the points that were mentioned in your text and provide a short moral with recommendations. You can use these steps as a checklist for your writing process. In case you need another step-by-step guide on response essays  or any other type of writing, we've got you covered.

>> Read more: How to Write Essays

Reflective Essays Sample From Successful College Students

No recommendations, tips & tricks help the students to understand the way a particular assignment should look like in the end as effectively as the examples. The article contains one of the up-to-date reflective essay examples from a college student.

Writing a Reflective Essay: Bottom Line

Congratulations, we have learned how to write a reflective essay. We really do hope that our guidelines, tips, and examples were useful to you. Now, you can definitely work on your reflection assignment with a clear understanding of its structure and main points. So start your writing, and the sky's the limit! 

In case you need more writing tips, feel free to browse our Blog. Be it a diagnostic essay , a synthesis essay  or a response paper , we have tutorials for any type of writing. 

Consider  buying essay papers  in case you've got other plans for the evening. Submit your details to StudyCrumb and get an astounding paper written in line with your requirements. Your assigned writer will handle any assignment with a blink of an eye!

Frequently Asked Questions about Writing a Reflective Essay

1. what is a common mistake when writing a reflective essay.

A common mistake when writing a reflective essay is to drift away from the subject you're writing about. It usually happens when you don’t stick to your initial plan. So plan your writing well and if you feel that you go a bit off topic, be sure that you return to the same topic you originally discussed.

2. What is the purpose of writing a reflective essay?

The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to make a student write about their personal experience, explore it, reflect on it and find positive and negative aspects. The goal is to analyze how a student changed due to this experience and what made them change. What lesson a student learned is an essential point in persuasive writing.

3. How to write a reflective essay on a book?

If you are writing a reflective essay on a book, the main task is to show your teacher how you reflect on a chosen book, how you understand the problem presented by an author. To create a good essay, start with brief information about the author. Then, without spoilers, briefly summarize the main points of a book. After that explain the main conflicts, share your impressions. Ask questions like: “What are the peculiarities of the main characters?”, “What did an author want to say by indicating the main issues?”

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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How to Write a Reflective Essay

3-minute read

• 29th August 2018

If you think that a “reflective essay” is a college paper written on a mirror, this post is for you. That’s because we’re here to explain exactly what a reflective essay is and how to write one. And we can tell you from the outset that no mirrors are required to follow our advice.

What Is Reflective Writing?

The kind of “reflection” we’re talking about here is personal. It involves considering your own situation and analyzing it so you can learn from your experiences. To do this, you need to describe what happened, how you felt about it, and what you might be able to learn from it for the future.

This makes reflective writing a useful part of courses that involve work-based learning . For instance, a student nurse might be asked to write a reflective essay about a placement.

When writing a reflective essay, moreover, you may have to forget the rule about not using pronouns like “I” or “we” in academic writing. In reflective writing, using the first person is essential!

The Reflective Cycle

There are many approaches to reflective learning, but one of the most popular is Gibb’s Reflective Cycle . This was developed by Professor Graham Gibbs and can be applied to a huge range of situations. In all cases, though, it involves the following steps:

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• Description – You will need to describe your experiences in detail. This includes what happened, where and when it happened, who else was involved, and what you did.
• Feelings – How you felt before, during, and after the experience you describe.
• Evaluation and Analysis – Think about what went well and what could be improved upon based on your experience. Try to refer to ideas you’ve learned in class while thinking about this.
• Conclusions – Final thoughts on what you’ve learned from the experience.
• Action – How you will put what you’ve learned into practice.

If your reflective essay addresses the steps above, you are on the right track!

Structuring a Reflective Essay

While reflective essays vary depending upon topic and subject area, most share a basic overall structure. Unless you are told otherwise, then, your essay should include the following:

• Introduction – A brief outline of what your essay is about.
• Main Body – The main part of your essay will be a description of what happened and how it made you feel . This is also where you will evaluate and analyze your experiences, either as part of the description or as a separate section in the essay.
• Conclusion – The conclusion of your essay should sum up what you have learned from reflecting on your experiences and what you would do differently in the future.
• Reference List – If you have cited any sources in your essay, make sure to list them with full bibliographic information at the end of the document.

Finally, once you’ve written your essay, don’t forget to get it checked for spelling and grammar errors!

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Home ➔ What's an Essay? ➔ Reflective Essay – Definition, Format, Examples

Reflective Essay – Definition, Format, Examples

Education changes rapidly; teachers modify curricula to adjust them to today’s trends and help students pick up critical skills. One of such skills is the ability to witness and assess one’s learning. To master such dexterity, course instructors might assign to write reflective papers.

Although it’s not the most common writing task, knowing how to evaluate various occurrences and document them properly will help you excel in academia and understand your strengths and weaknesses. This guide encompasses all the information you need about a reflective essay, from the definition to do’s and don’ts. 

What is Reflective Writing? 

Reflective writing is an activity in which the writer chooses a memory, event, interaction, or scene, describes it, and includes a personal reflection. Such writing is valuable in the way it helps the writer thoroughly examine their thoughts and emotions and come up with a comprehensive conclusion as to what occurred in the past, how it affected their life, and what could have been done differently. A diary entry is an example of such writing.

People often cast their minds back to re-experience various moments that happened in the past. However, they usually don’t dive into analyzing these occurrences. Nor do they reflect on the outcomes of such events. Reflective writing is a similar practice that entails people’s personal thoughts about past events. Yet, it is way more effective and, above all, analytical. 

What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a first-person piece of writing in which you take a look at your life experiences and describe their meaning or what you have learned from them. As an academic analysis , it often involves reflecting on the material you learned in class.

A reflective essay is often a part of the academic syllabus, and students have to write reflective essays quite regularly. They often compose such pieces to reflect on their learning or an event that happened within an academic setting.

Unlike common reflections that many people exercise, this type of essay doesn’t usually cover an event or memory but a theory, reading, or an experience. Through this kind of self-evaluation, students explore learning techniques and their effects, analyzing them and identifying whether they are efficient and if there is room for improvement.

When writing a reflective essay, you might need to analyze a particular object, event, or concept. It is crucial to remember that a reflective essay isn’t just a summary of your observations. It should have an in-depth analysis of whatever you write about.

For instance, suppose you write a reflective essay on a theory that you’ve learned. In that case, you should include information on how you learned it, what you failed to understand (if any), and how you can apply the knowledge you obtained. 

Note: Read our article – What is an essay? – to learn more about academic essays and their features in general.

Why Students Write Reflective Essays

Students have to learn lots of information to make use of their studies. They attend classes and other extracurricular activities to enrich their knowledge and get one step closer to their desired jobs. However, hectic schedules full of classes, other activities, and the number of assigned tasks make students practice rote learning and cram for tests and exams. Such memorization techniques have nothing to do with thoughtful learning. As a result, you might end up being unable to apply the gained knowledge effectively.

Reflective essays aim to prevent students from mindless learning. Writing reflectively lets you review your approaches to studies and look at them from different perspectives. It also allows you to observe ideas and concepts and link them with theories learned during classes. Moreover, by writing a reflective essay, you improve your analytical thinking. It enables you to examine sources and consider various points of view when getting familiar with new ideas. 

Finally, reflective essay writing is vital in developing strong critical thinking abilities. Such papers help learners approach their studying methods more critically and determine whether they are fruitful or need improvement. Also, researchers contend that systemic reflections in the form of an essay or a journal help them evaluate classroom learning and choose the most effective studying strategy. 

Reflective essay writing is becoming an important element in academia, considering the spread of online education and the lack of comprehensive feedback from teachers. It might be especially helpful for students and professionals in composition, education, or health-related areas .

The Format of a Reflection Essay

A reflective essay must be structured appropriately and contain all the elements of an academic paper. It is always based on personal experience or learning and revolves around the three key components that make it thoughtful and coherent.

The Three Main Components of Reflection

#1: description.

The description is the first pillar of a reflection paper. It paints a picture of an event or experience and has to be concise and put in the introductory paragraph. The description should give a clear answer to what happened and what is being examined within your essay. 

#2: Analysis

The analysis is the second critical part of a reflective essay. This section is the most extensive. It determines peculiarities and other essential aspects of the analyzed idea, belief, or thoughts and feelings. Particularly, the writer must explain such an experience or learning by linking it to a relevant point. Whether your reflective essay touches upon an experience (an observation) or learning (a concept you have learned), posing the following questions might help you make your analysis more rigorous:

• Why did it happen? 
• What were you experiencing?
• What ideas can explain what happened?
• What did you find insightful or complicated? Does it have anything similar to what you’d experienced in the past? 
• Has it influenced you? Positively or negatively?

#3: Outcome

The outcome is the ultimate attribute of a reflective essay. When writing this part, the writer encapsulates the gained knowledge, explaining its validity, usefulness, and future implications. You can also ask additional questions if you have second thoughts about the subject. Those can be:

• What did you learn? 
• Suppose what you learned or observed was revealing; how different is it from what you used to think or do?
• Will you incorporate this knowledge in the future? How?
• Is the answer exhaustive, or do you need to research more to understand a theory, notion, etc.?

The Standard Academic Structure

Apart from the mentioned elements, a reflective essay mirrors a typical structure of an academic paper when written. Precisely, the following essential components:

• Introduction: The first paragraph states the topic and provides an overview. It has an opening sentence and describes the main idea. An introduction also includes a thesis statement, which gives a writer’s perspective on an experience, reading, or theory.
• Body: The central part usually works around the thesis, developing it and explaining what the writer has learned. Every main body section analyzes a single idea, provides a short conclusion, and transitions to the following body paragraph. The number of body paragraphs depends on the word count set by your instructor. Assuming it is a five-paragraph paper, it needs to consist of two to four main body paragraphs. 
• Conclusion: The last section ends your piece of writing and voices the outcomes of the topic (an idea, concept, or reading). The writer analyzes the results, highlighting their significance, applications, and overall reactions. 

Note: Read our article – How to Write an Essay – to learn more about basic essay writing techniques and components.

Analysis of Reflective Paper Examples

Writing a reflective essay might be demanding. Yet, it won’t be a complex assignment if you approach it correctly. Below are several examples we are going to analyze in a broader scope. Reading them will shed light on what a well-written reflective essay should look like, what you should focus on, and how to meet the main criteria (rubric). 

Good Samples

The next batch of reflective essay examples is produced by students majoring in the English language at Berry College. Overall, they are nice reflective essays; every work contains description, interpretation, and outcomes, meeting the primary attributes of a reflection paper. Nonetheless, it would be reasonable to take a closer look at each of them and identify where they excel.

Example 1 breakdown: The first paper kicks off with a good, informative, and compressed introduction about the writer’s reflections on the course at college. As can be seen, every paragraph has a straightforward structure. An introduction comprises an opening sentence, description, and an apt thesis statement. A body contains a topic sentence, analysis, and explanation. In turn, a conclusion wraps up critical information and provides outcomes. The essay also clearly analyzes the classes and their contents, explaining how they impacted the author. Other than that, the writer has met the final component of a reflective essay by posing relevant questions (e.g., “Have I grown as a reader and writer?”) and either answering them or expressing doubts. The essay can be considered an exemplary reflective essay. 

Example 2 breakdown: The second reflection paper begins with a perfect introduction, containing an impressive vocabulary and describing the experience of majoring in English. The writer followed a great strategy by asking a rhetorical question and thus catching the audience’s curiosity, making readers continue to read the piece to find the answer. The paper then moves toward analyzing classes along with the reading activities the writer was involved in. The writer managed to provide full-fledged analyses and connect them correctly. Regarding the outcomes, they clearly and successfully finished the paper. The writer has added how they can apply acquired skills in the future, including how the teacher helped shift the writer’s paradigm and think about the upcoming classes from various angles. 

Example 3 breakdown: The third essay is arguably the most academic. It includes formal vocabulary, constructions, and phrases. Besides, it has a transparent description with a powerful thesis. The entire paper is broken down into comprehensive sections, each analyzing different aspects. Notably, this reflection essay has a firm conclusion along with the outcomes of the writer’s long considerations. The author highlights that the major was an eye-opening experience; it helped the writer decide on their future career (e.g., “Thus, I’ve come to the conclusion academia is the niche for me.”) and make them apply to eight English literature Ph.D. programs. It is also essential to point out a frame structure the writer borrows from literary works. In other words, the essay starts with a question, “What is it you English majors do, precisely?” and repeats it in the end, finishing the work with a great answer.

Example 4 breakdown: The final reflection paper from the batch is equally stunning. It sparks the reader’s attention right away with a good hook – the message about being at a crossroads during the author’s sophomore year. Likewise, it contains a well-organized description of undertaken classes along with an analysis of them. The author managed to explain the importance of such courses and the challenges they encountered along the way. For instance, the writer talks about ENG 495, a class on Writing about Place. The first work didn’t end up being the one that the writer expected to see. Yet, this inspired them to work harder on the language and make it less eloquent, lifting, and occasionally overwhelming. 

A Sample That Needs Some Improvement

The second sample comprises a single reflective essay. Presumably, it was written by a high-school student aiming to enroll in a business, marketing, or PR course. Notwithstanding, this reflection paper demonstrates the piece’s idea (senior project), its analysis (what was exciting and most valuable to observe), and the outcomes (what worked well and what had to be improved). 

However, it doesn’t seem to be fully coherent. Although the reflection paper is broken down into them, they sometimes fail to bridge the main idea. For instance, the second section about past activities does not fit the other paragraphs well. It would be best to include the following phrases to strengthen the connection between units and increase the piece’s readability:

• For me, the most critical/useful/valuable
• At first, Initially, Subsequently, I thought/felt/knew
• This might be/is probably because of/related to/explained by

Apart from that, the last section looks clumsy and doesn’t fit the context that well. It doesn’t provide a conclusion to the paper. Neither does it answer a required list of questions from the above. This essay lacks unity and fails to meet all the characteristics of a reflection paper. To sum up, unlike the mentioned examples, this work doesn’t entirely fall into a good reflective essay because of vague transitions and paragraphs with redundant information. 

Final Tips on Writing Reflective Essays

A reflective essay is a type of paper that utilizes analytical thinking. That’s why it is crucial to remain focused and attentive to detail when reflecting on specific essay topics. The following is the list of recommendations to help you compose an effective reflective essay.

• Shape your structure: Academic essay writing involves following a certain structure and formatting style . Unlike a diary entry, it cannot be a free flow of your thoughts. Make sure your reflective essay has an apparent introduction, body, and conclusion sections.
• Make use of your notes: Relying on class notes can help you write a reflective paper. Specifically, it will speed up the writing process, make the paper pertinent to your curriculum, and save time looking for scholarly sources.
• Analyze your content: Many students confuse reflection essay writing with a narrative, describing their personal experience and thus scratching the surface only. Ensure analyzing what happened, why it happened, and what you learned from it.
• Use reflective questions: To improve your analysis, ask yourself a set of specific questions related to the topic. For instance, when writing about theoretical material, you can ask yourself, “How did it change my life?”, “How else can I apply this to my life?”, “What knowledge did I gain?”, “Does it make me more competent?” etc.
• Don’t use informal language: Although you need to speak from your point of view and use phrases, like I reckon, In my opinion, I believe, and so forth, there are still limitations. Avoid colloquial language, idioms, and other phrases that can negatively influence your piece, making it biased and overly subjective.
• Don’t exaggerate with descriptions: Whatever your topic, you need to describe it in the introductory paragraph. However, keep in mind that your task is to reflect on something. Therefore, keep the description short and clear.
• Don’t just recount what you experienced: Without a deep analysis, your reflective essay will turn out to be a book report or a simple story. You should not only narrate or describe but also analyze and draw conclusions .
• Don’t start without an outline: You risk failing overall unity and readability when writing a reflective essay without an outline . Furthermore, you will spend more time working on your piece. Create an essay outline before writing a reflective paper. 

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A complete guide to writing a reflective essay

(Last updated: 3 June 2024)

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“The overwhelming burden of writing my first ever reflective essay loomed over me as I sat as still as a statue, as my fingers nervously poised over the intimidating buttons on my laptop keyboard. Where would I begin? Where would I end? Nerve wracking thoughts filled my mind as I fretted over the seemingly impossible journey on which I was about to embark.”

Reflective essays may seem simple on the surface, but they can be a real stumbling block if you're not quite sure how to go about them. In simple terms, reflective essays constitute a critical examination of a life experience and, with the right guidance, they're not too challenging to put together. A reflective essay is similar to other essays in that it needs to be easily understood and well structured, but the content is more akin to something personal like a diary entry.

In this guide, we explore in detail how to write a great reflective essay , including what makes a good structure and some advice on the writing process. We’ve even thrown in an example reflective essay to inspire you too, making this the ultimate guide for anyone needing reflective essay help.

Types of Reflection Papers

There are several types of reflective papers, each serving a unique purpose. Educational reflection papers focus on your learning experiences, such as a course or a lecture, and how they have impacted your understanding. Professional reflection papers often relate to work experiences, discussing what you have learned in a professional setting and how it has shaped your skills and perspectives. Personal reflection papers delve into personal experiences and their influence on your personal growth and development.

Each of these requires a slightly different approach, but all aim to provide insight into your thoughts and experiences, demonstrating your ability to analyse and learn from them. Understanding the specific requirements of each type can help you tailor your writing to effectively convey your reflections.

Reflective Essay Format

In a reflective essay, a writer primarily examines his or her life experiences, hence the term ‘reflective’. The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to provide a platform for the author to not only recount a particular life experience, but to also explore how he or she has changed or learned from those experiences. Reflective writing can be presented in various formats, but you’ll most often see it in a learning log format or diary entry. Diary entries in particular are used to convey how the author’s thoughts have developed and evolved over the course of a particular period.

The format of a reflective essay may change depending on the target audience. Reflective essays can be academic, or may feature more broadly as a part of a general piece of writing for a magazine, for instance. For class assignments, while the presentation format can vary, the purpose generally remains the same: tutors aim to inspire students to think deeply and critically about a particular learning experience or set of experiences. Here are some typical examples of reflective essay formats that you may have to write:

A focus on personal growth:

A type of reflective essay often used by tutors as a strategy for helping students to learn how to analyse their personal life experiences to promote emotional growth and development. The essay gives the student a better understanding of both themselves and their behaviours.

A focus on the literature:

This kind of essay requires students to provide a summary of the literature, after which it is applied to the student’s own life experiences.

Pre-Writing Tips: How to Start Writing the Reflection Essay?

As you go about deciding on the content of your essay, you need to keep in mind that a reflective essay is highly personal and aimed at engaging the reader or target audience. And there’s much more to a reflective essay than just recounting a story. You need to be able to reflect (more on this later) on your experience by showing how it influenced your subsequent behaviours and how your life has been particularly changed as a result.

As a starting point, you might want to think about some important experiences in your life that have really impacted you, either positively, negatively, or both. Some typical reflection essay topics include: a real-life experience, an imagined experience, a special object or place, a person who had an influence on you, or something you have watched or read. If you are writing a reflective essay as part of an academic exercise, chances are your tutor will ask you to focus on a particular episode – such as a time when you had to make an important decision – and reflect on what the outcomes were. Note also, that the aftermath of the experience is especially important in a reflective essay; miss this out and you will simply be storytelling.

What Do You Mean By Reflection Essay?

It sounds obvious, but the reflective process forms the core of writing this type of essay, so it’s important you get it right from the outset. You need to really think about how the personal experience you have chosen to focus on impacted or changed you. Use your memories and feelings of the experience to determine the implications for you on a personal level.

Once you’ve chosen the topic of your essay, it’s really important you study it thoroughly and spend a lot of time trying to think about it vividly. Write down everything you can remember about it, describing it as clearly and fully as you can. Keep your five senses in mind as you do this, and be sure to use adjectives to describe your experience. At this stage, you can simply make notes using short phrases, but you need to ensure that you’re recording your responses, perceptions, and your experience of the event(s).

Once you’ve successfully emptied the contents of your memory, you need to start reflecting. A great way to do this is to pick out some reflection questions which will help you think deeper about the impact and lasting effects of your experience. Here are some useful questions that you can consider:

• What have you learned about yourself as a result of the experience?
• Have you developed because of it? How?
• Did it have any positive or negative bearing on your life?
• Looking back, what would you have done differently?
• Why do you think you made the particular choices that you did? Do you think these were the right choices?
• What are your thoughts on the experience in general? Was it a useful learning experience? What specific skills or perspectives did you acquire as a result?

These signpost questions should help kick-start your reflective process. Remember, asking yourself lots of questions is key to ensuring that you think deeply and critically about your experiences – a skill that is at the heart of writing a great reflective essay.

Consider using models of reflection (like the Gibbs or Kolb cycles) before, during, and after the learning process to ensure that you maintain a high standard of analysis. For example, before you really get stuck into the process, consider questions such as: what might happen (regarding the experience)? Are there any possible challenges to keep in mind? What knowledge is needed to be best prepared to approach the experience? Then, as you’re planning and writing, these questions may be useful: what is happening within the learning process? Is the process working out as expected? Am I dealing with the accompanying challenges successfully? Is there anything that needs to be done additionally to ensure that the learning process is successful? What am I learning from this? By adopting such a framework, you’ll be ensuring that you are keeping tabs on the reflective process that should underpin your work.

How to Strategically Plan Out the Reflective Essay Structure?

Here’s a very useful tip: although you may feel well prepared with all that time spent reflecting in your arsenal, do not, start writing your essay until you have worked out a comprehensive, well-rounded plan . Your writing will be so much more coherent, your ideas conveyed with structure and clarity, and your essay will likely achieve higher marks.

This is an especially important step when you’re tackling a reflective essay – there can be a tendency for people to get a little ‘lost’ or disorganised as they recount their life experiences in an erratic and often unsystematic manner as it is a topic so close to their hearts. But if you develop a thorough outline (this is the same as a ‘plan’) and ensure you stick to it like Christopher Columbus to a map, you should do just fine as you embark on the ultimate step of writing your essay. If you need further convincing on how important planning is, we’ve summarised the key benefits of creating a detailed essay outline below:

Now you’re familiar with the benefits of using an outline for your reflective essay, it is essential that you know how to craft one. It can be considerably different from other typical essay outlines, mostly because of the varying subjects. But what remains the same, is that you need to start your outline by drafting the introduction, body and conclusion. More on this below.

Introduction

As is the case with all essays, your reflective essay must begin within an introduction that contains both a hook and a thesis statement. The point of having a ‘hook’ is to grab the attention of your audience or reader from the very beginning. You must portray the exciting aspects of your story in the initial paragraph so that you stand the best chances of holding your reader’s interest. Refer back to the opening quote of this article – did it grab your attention and encourage you to read more? The thesis statement is a brief summary of the focus of the essay, which in this case is a particular experience that influenced you significantly. Remember to give a quick overview of your experience – don’t give too much information away or you risk your reader becoming disinterested.

Next up is planning the body of your essay. This can be the hardest part of the entire paper; it’s easy to waffle and repeat yourself both in the plan and in the actual writing. Have you ever tried recounting a story to a friend only for them to tell you to ‘cut the long story short’? They key here is to put plenty of time and effort into planning the body, and you can draw on the following tips to help you do this well:

Try adopting a chronological approach. This means working through everything you want to touch upon as it happened in time. This kind of approach will ensure that your work is systematic and coherent. Keep in mind that a reflective essay doesn’t necessarily have to be linear, but working chronologically will prevent you from providing a haphazard recollection of your experience. Lay out the important elements of your experience in a timeline – this will then help you clearly see how to piece your narrative together.

Ensure the body of your reflective essay is well focused and contains appropriate critique and reflection. The body should not only summarise your experience, it should explore the impact that the experience has had on your life, as well as the lessons that you have learned as a result. The emphasis should generally be on reflection as opposed to summation. A reflective posture will not only provide readers with insight on your experience, it’ll highlight your personality and your ability to deal with or adapt to particular situations.

In the conclusion of your reflective essay, you should focus on bringing your piece together by providing a summary of both the points made throughout, and what you have learned as a result. Try to include a few points on why and how your attitudes and behaviours have been changed. Consider also how your character and skills have been affected, for example: what conclusions can be drawn about your problem-solving skills? What can be concluded about your approach to specific situations? What might you do differently in similar situations in the future? What steps have you taken to consolidate everything that you have learned from your experience? Keep in mind that your tutor will be looking out for evidence of reflection at a very high standard.

Congratulations – you now have the tools to create a thorough and accurate plan which should put you in good stead for the ultimate phase indeed of any essay, the writing process.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Reflective Essay

As with all written assignments, sitting down to put pen to paper (or more likely fingers to keyboard) can be daunting. But if you have put in the time and effort fleshing out a thorough plan, you should be well prepared, which will make the writing process as smooth as possible. The following points should also help ease the writing process:

• To get a feel for the tone and format in which your writing should be, read other typically reflective pieces in magazines and newspapers, for instance.
• Don’t think too much about how to start your first sentence or paragraph; just start writing and you can always come back later to edit anything you’re not keen on. Your first draft won’t necessarily be your best essay writing work but it’s important to remember that the earlier you start writing, the more time you will have to keep reworking your paper until it’s perfect. Don’t shy away from using a free-flow method, writing and recording your thoughts and feelings on your experiences as and when they come to mind. But make sure you stick to your plan. Your plan is your roadmap which will ensure your writing doesn’t meander too far off course.
• For every point you make about an experience or event, support it by describing how you were directly impacted, using specific as opposed to vague words to convey exactly how you felt.
• Write using the first-person narrative, ensuring that the tone of your essay is very personal and reflective of your character.
• If you need to, refer back to our notes earlier on creating an outline. As you work through your essay, present your thoughts systematically, remembering to focus on your key learning outcomes.
• Consider starting your introduction with a short anecdote or quote to grasp your readers’ attention, or other engaging techniques such as flashbacks.
• Choose your vocabulary carefully to properly convey your feelings and emotions. Remember that reflective writing has a descriptive component and so must have a wide range of adjectives to draw from. Avoid vague adjectives such as ‘okay’ or ‘nice’ as they don’t really offer much insight into your feelings and personality. Be more specific – this will make your writing more engaging.
• Be honest with your feelings and opinions. Remember that this is a reflective task, and is the one place you can freely admit – without any repercussions – that you failed at a particular task. When assessing your essay, your tutor will expect a deep level of reflection, not a simple review of your experiences and emotion. Showing deep reflection requires you to move beyond the descriptive. Be extremely critical about your experience and your response to it. In your evaluation and analysis, ensure that you make value judgements, incorporating ideas from outside the experience you had to guide your analysis. Remember that you can be honest about your feelings without writing in a direct way. Use words that work for you and are aligned with your personality.
• Once you’ve finished learning about and reflecting on your experience, consider asking yourself these questions: what did I particularly value from the experience and why? Looking back, how successful has the process been? Think about your opinions immediately after the experience and how they differ now, so that you can evaluate the difference between your immediate and current perceptions. Asking yourself such questions will help you achieve reflective writing effectively and efficiently.
• Don’t shy away from using a variety of punctuation. It helps keeps your writing dynamic! Doesn’t it?
• If you really want to awaken your reader’s imagination, you can use imagery to create a vivid picture of your experiences.
• Ensure that you highlight your turning point, or what we like to call your “Aha!” moment. Without this moment, your resulting feelings and thoughts aren’t as valid and your argument not as strong.
• Don’t forget to keep reiterating the lessons you have learned from your experience.

Bonus Tip - Using Wider Sources

Although a reflective piece of writing is focused on personal experience, it’s important you draw on other sources to demonstrate your understanding of your experience from a theoretical perspective. It’ll show a level of analysis – and a standard of reliability in what you’re claiming – if you’re also able to validate your work against other perspectives that you find. Think about possible sources, like newspapers, surveys, books and even journal articles. Generally, the additional sources you decide to include in your work are highly dependent on your field of study. Analysing a wide range of sources, will show that you have read widely on your subject area, that you have nuanced insight into the available literature on the subject of your essay, and that you have considered the broader implications of the literature for your essay. The incorporation of other sources into your essay also helps to show that you are aware of the multi-dimensional nature of both the learning and problem-solving process.

Reflective Essay Example

If you want some inspiration for writing, take a look at our example of a short reflective essay , which can serve as a useful starting point for you when you set out to write your own.

Some Final Notes to Remember

To recap, the key to writing a reflective essay is demonstrating what lessons you have taken away from your experiences, and why and how you have been shaped by these lessons.

The reflective thinking process begins with you – you must consciously make an effort to identify and examine your own thoughts in relation to a particular experience. Don’t hesitate to explore any prior knowledge or experience of the topic, which will help you identify why you have formed certain opinions on the subject. Remember that central to reflective essay writing is the examination of your attitudes, assumptions and values, so be upfront about how you feel. Reflective writing can be quite therapeutic, helping you identify and clarify your strengths and weaknesses, particularly in terms of any knowledge gaps that you may have. It’s a pretty good way of improving your critical thinking skills, too. It enables you to adopt an introspective posture in analysing your experiences and how you learn/make sense of them.

If you are still having difficulties with starting the writing process, why not try mind-mapping which will help you to structure your thinking and ideas, enabling you to produce a coherent piece. Creating a mind map will ensure that your argument is written in a very systematic way that will be easy for your tutor to follow. Here’s a recap of the contents of this article, which also serves as a way to create a mind map:

1. Identify the topic you will be writing on.

2. Note down any ideas that are related to the topic and if you want to, try drawing a diagram to link together any topics, theories, and ideas.

3. Allow your ideas to flow freely, knowing that you will always have time to edit your reflective essay .

4. Consider how your ideas are connected to each other, then begin the writing process.

And finally, keep in mind that although there are descriptive elements in a reflective essay, we can’t emphasise enough how crucial it is that your work is critical, analytical, and adopts a reflective posture in terms of your experience and the lessons you have learned from it.

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Writing reflectively is essential to many academic programmes and also to completing applications for employment. This page considers what reflective writing is and how to do it. 

What is reflection?

Reflection is something that we do everyday as part of being human. We plan and undertake actions, then think about whether each was successful or not, and how we might improve next time. We can also feel reflection as emotions, such as satisfaction and regret, or as a need to talk over happenings with friends. See below for an introduction to reflection as a concept. 

Reflection in everyday life [Google Slides]

What is reflective writing?

Reflective writing should be thought of as recording reflective thinking. This can be done in an everyday diary entry, or instruction in a recipe book to change a cooking method next time. In academic courses, reflective is more complex and focussed. This section considers the main features of reflective writing. 

Reflective writing for employability

When applying for jobs, or further academic study, students are required to think through what they have done in their degrees and translate it into evaluative writing that fulfils the criteria of job descriptions and person specifications. This is a different style of writing, the resource below will enable you to think about how to begin this transition. 

There are also lots of resources available through the university's careers service and elsewhere on the Skills Guides. The links below are to pages that can offer further support and guidance. 

• Careers and Placements Service resources Lots of resources that relate to all aspects of job applications, including tailored writing styles and techniques.

The language of reflective writing

Reflective academic writing is: 

• almost always written in the first person.
• evaluative - you are judging something.
• partly personal, partly based on criteria.
• analytical - you are usually categorising actions and events.
• formal - it is for an academic audience.
• carefully constructed. 

Look at the sections below to see specific vocabulary types and sentence constructions that can be useful when writing reflectively. 

Language for exploring outcomes

A key element of writing reflectively is being able to explain to the reader what the results of your actions were. This requires careful grading of language to ensure that what you write reflects the evidence of what happened and to convey clearly what you achieved or did not achieve. 

Below are some ideas and prompts of how you can write reflectively about outcomes, using clarity and graded language. 

Expressing uncertainty when writing about outcomes:

• It is not yet clear that…
• I do not yet (fully) understand...
• It is unclear...
• It is not yet fully clear...
• It is not yet (fully?) known… 
• It appears to be the case that…
• It is too soon to tell....

Often, in academic learning, the uncertainty in the outcomes is a key part of the learning and development that you undertake. It is vital therefore that you explain this clearly to the reader using careful choices in your language. 

Writing about how the outcome relates to you:

• I gained (xxxx) skills… 
• I developed… 
• The experience/task/process taught me… 
• I achieved…
• I learned that…
• I found that… 

In each case you can add in words like, ‘significantly’, ‘greatly’, ‘less importantly’ etc. The use of evaluative adjectives enables you to express to the reader the importance and significance of your learning in terms of the outcomes achieved. 

Describing how you reached your outcomes:

• Having read....
• Having completed (xxxx)...
• I analysed…
• I applied… 
• I learned…
• I experienced… 
• Having reflected…

This gives the reader an idea of the nature of the reflection they are reading. How and why you reach the conclusions and learning that you express in your reflective writing is important so the reader can assess the validity and strength of your reflections. 

Projecting your outcomes into the future:

• If I completed a similar task in the future I would…
• Having learned through this process I would… 
• Next time I will…
• I will need to develop…. (in light of the outcomes)
• Next time my responses would be different....

When showing the reader how you will use your learning in the future, it is important to be specific and again, to use accurate graded language to show how and why what you choose to highlight matters. Check carefully against task instructions to see what you are expected to reflect into the future about. 

When reflecting in academic writing on outcomes, this can mean either the results of the task you have completed, for example, the accuracy of a titration in a Chemistry lab session, or what you have learned/developed within the task, for example, ensuring that an interview question is written clearly enough to produce a response that reflects what you wished to find out. 

Language choices are important in ensuring the reader can see what you think in relation to the reflection you have done. 

Language for interpretation

When you interpret something you are telling the reader how important it is, or what meaning is attached to it. 

You may wish to indicate the value of something:

• superfluous
• non-essential

E.g. 'the accuracy of the transcription was essential to the accuracy of the eventual coding and analysis of the interviews undertaken. The training I undertook was critical to enabling me to transcribe quickly and accurately' 

You may wish to show how ideas, actions or some other aspect developed over time:

• Initially 
• subsequently
• in sequence 

E.g. 'Before we could produce the final version of the presentation, we had to complete both the research and produce a plan. This was achieved later than expected, leading to subsequent rushing of creating slides, and this contributed to a lower grade'. 

You may wish to show your viewpoint or that of others:

• did not think
• articulated
• did/did not do something

Each of these could be preceded by 'we' or 'I'.

E.g. 'I noticed that the model of the bridge was sagging. I expressed this to the group, and as I did so I noticed that two members did not seem to grasp how serious the problem was. I proposed a break and a meeting, during which I intervened to show the results of inaction.'

There is a huge range of language that can be used for interpretation, the most important thing is to remember your reader and be clear with them about what your interpretation is, so they can see your thinking and agree or disagree with you. 

Language for analysis

When reflecting, it is important to show the reader that you have analysed the tasks, outcomes, learning and all other aspects that you are writing about. In most cases, you are using categories to provide structure to your reflection. Some suggestions of language to use when analysing in reflective writing are below:

Signposting that you are breaking down a task or learning into categories:

• An aspect of…
• An element of…
• An example of…
• A key feature of the task was... (e.g. teamwork)
• The task was multifaceted… (then go on to list or describe the facets)
• There were several experiences…
• ‘X’ is related to ‘y’

There may be specific categories that you should consider in your reflection. In teamwork, it could be individual and team performance, in lab work it could be accuracy and the reliability of results. It is important that the reader can see the categories you have used for your analysis. 

Analysis by chronology:

• Subsequently
• Consequently
• Stage 1 (or other)

In many tasks the order in which they were completed matters. This can be a key part of your reflection, as it is possible that you may learn to do things in a different order next time or that the chronology influenced the outcomes. 

Analysis by perspective:

• I considered

These language choices show that you are analysing purely by your own personal perspective. You may provide evidence to support your thinking, but it is your viewpoint that matters. 

• What I expected from the reading did not happen…
• The Theory did not appear in our results…
• The predictions made were not fulfilled…
• The outcome was surprising because… (and link to what was expected)

These language choices show that you are analysing by making reference to academic learning (from an academic perspective). This means you have read or otherwise learned something and used it to form expectations, ideas and/or predictions. You can then reflect on what you found vs what you expected. The reader needs to know what has informed our reflections. 

• Organisation X should therefore…
• A key recommendation is… 
• I now know that organisation x is… 
• Theory A can be applied to organisation X

These language choices show that analysis is being completed from a systems perspective. You are telling the reader how your learning links into the bigger picture of systems, for example, what an organisation or entity might do in response to what you have learned. 

Analysing is a key element of being reflective. You must think through the task, ideas, or learning you are reflecting on and use categories to provide structure to your thought. This then translates into structure and language choices in your writing, so your reader can see clearly how you have used analysis to provide sense and structure to your reflections. 

Language for evaluation

Reflecting is fundamentally an evaluative activity. Writing about reflection is therefore replete with evaluative language. A skillful reflective writer is able to grade their language to match the thinking it is expressing to the reader. 

Language to show how significant something is:

• Most importantly
• Significantly 
• The principal lesson was… 
• Consequential
• Fundamental
• Insignificant
• In each case the language is quantifying the significance of the element you are describing, telling the reader the product of your evaluative thought. 

For example, ‘when team working I initially thought that we would succeed by setting out a plan and then working independently, but in fact, constant communication and collaboration were crucial to success. This was the most significant thing I learned.’ 

Language to show the strength of relationships:

• X is strongly associated with Y
• A is a consequence of B
• There is a probable relationship between… 
• C does not cause D
• A may influence B
• I learn most strongly when doing A

In each case the language used can show how significant and strong the relationship between two factors are. 

For example, ‘I learned, as part of my research methods module, that the accuracy of the data gained through surveys is directly related to the quality of the questions. Quality can be improved by reading widely and looking at surveys in existing academic papers to inform making your own questions’

Language to evaluate your viewpoint:

• I was convinced...
• I have developed significantly…
• I learned that...
• The most significant thing that I learned was…
• Next time, I would definitely…
• I am unclear about… 
• I was uncertain about… 

These language choices show that you are attaching a level of significance to your reflection. This enables the reader to see what you think about the learning you achieved and the level of significance you attach to each reflection. 

For example, ‘when using systematic sampling of a mixed woodland, I was convinced that method A would be most effective, but in reality, it was clear that method B produced the most accurate results. I learned that assumptions based on reading previous research can lead to inaccurate predictions. This is very important for me as I will be planning a similar sampling activity as part of my fourth year project’ 

Evaluating is the main element of reflecting. You need to evaluate the outcomes of the activities you have done, your part in them, the learning you achieved and the process/methods you used in your learning, among many other things. It is important that you carefully use language to show the evaluative thinking you have completed to the reader.

Varieties of reflective writing in academic studies

There are a huge variety of reflective writing tasks, which differ between programmes and modules. Some are required by the nature of the subject, like in Education, where reflection is a required standard in teaching.

Some are required by the industry area graduates are training for, such as 'Human Resources Management', where the industry accreditation body require evidence of reflective capabilities in graduates.

In some cases, reflection is about the 'learning to learn' element of degree studies, to help you to become a more effective learner. Below, some of the main reflective writing tasks found in University of York degrees are explored. In each case the advice, guidance and materials do not substitute for those provided within your modules. 

Reflective essay writing

Reflective essay tasks vary greatly in what they require of you. The most important thing to do is to read the assessment brief carefully, attend any sessions and read any materials provided as guidance and to allocate time to ensure you can do the task well.

Reflective learning statements

Reflective learning statements are often attached to dissertations and projects, as well as practical activities. They are an opportunity to think about and tell the reader what you have learned, how you will use the learning, what you can do better next time and to link to other areas, such as your intended career. 

Making a judgement about academic performance

Think of this type of writing as producing your own feedback. How did you do? Why? What could you improve next time? These activities may be a part of modules, they could be attached to a bigger piece of work like a dissertation or essay, or could be just a part of your module learning. 

The four main questions to ask yourself when reflecting on your academic performance. 

• Why exactly did you achieve the grade you have been awarded? Look at your feedback, the instructions, the marking scheme and talk to your tutors to find out if you don't know. 
• How did your learning behaviours affect your academic performance? This covers aspects such as attendance, reading for lectures/seminars, asking questions, working with peers... the list goes on. 
• How did your performance compare to others? Can you identify when others did better or worse? Can you talk to your peers to find out if they are doing something you are not or being more/less effective?
• What can you do differently to improve your performance? In each case, how will you ensure you can do it? Do you need training? Do you need a guide book or resources? 

When writing about each of the above, you need to keep in mind the context of how you are being asked to judge your performance and ensure the reader gains the detail they need (and as this is usually a marker, this means they can give you a high grade!). 

Writing a learning diary/blog/record

A learning diary or blog has become a very common method of assessing and supporting learning in many degree programmes. The aim is to help you to think through your day-to-day learning and identify what you have and have not learned, why that is and what you can improve as you go along. You are also encouraged to link your learning to bigger thinking, like future careers or your overall degree. 

Other support for reflective writing

Online resources.

The general writing pages of this site offer guidance that can be applied to all types of writing, including reflective writing. Also check your department's guidance and VLE sites for tailored resources.

Other useful resources for reflective writing:

Appointments and workshops 

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Apr 16, 2023

How to Write a Reflection Essay | Outlines and Examples

Do you ever struggle to put your thoughts into words? If you've ever felt stumped by a reflective essay assignment, you're not alone. In this article, we'll explore some strategies for writing effective reflection essays that will help you communicate your ideas clearly and powerfully!

Reflective Essays take a look at a piece of writing or an experience in your life and write down how you feel about it. This strategy not only reveals fascinating insights about your perspective and personality, but it also makes for entertaining reading. Examining some model papers is a great way to hone your skills in outlining introspective essays.

What Is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay (also called a critical reflection) involves a deep examination of one's assumptions, beliefs, and reactions to knowledge, events, or experiences. This type of writing encourages the author to introspect and articulate their personal insights on various subjects, influenced by literature, experiences, or lectures. Unlike traditional academic essays, reflective essays focus on the writer's individual perspective, employing a more subjective and expressive language without the necessity for scholarly sources. Essentially, while maintaining the core criteria of effective essay writing, a reflective essay distinguishes itself by centering on the writer's internal dialogue and personal growth.

Reflection isn't something that comes naturally to everyone. Whether one is contemplating one's own life experiences or a piece of literature, it can be challenging to put one's thoughts into words and express them adequately. Because of this, utilising this ability effectively when writing is necessary. The more time you devote to contemplating and learning about a topic, the more straightforward and understandable it will become. This situation is more complex than it initially appears to be.

What is the Purpose of Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing is another way to convey both your growth and the feelings you've experienced. You can discover a lot about yourself and how you function by conducting an in-depth investigation of your interior workings. It is interesting to watch how they mature and change over time. The initial move is always the one that presents the greatest challenge. Because of this, developing a strategy for your reflective essay is a fantastic way to kick off the writing process.

How to Create a Reflective Essay Outline?

The first part of an essay, known as the introduction, is generally composed of three parts. On the other hand, as was stated earlier, a conventional formula might experience significant shifts when written down in this manner.

Introduction

The introduction needs to be so captivating to the reader that they feel compelled to keep going with the story. To achieve this, writers will often include ambiguities, sarcastic circumstances, and tense situations in their works. An outline can be used for any kind of essay, but it is especially helpful for introspective writing because it organizes your thoughts and makes it easier to read. The abstract, just like the remainder of the essay, should be broken up into three main sections that are presented in the same order as the rest of the essay. On the other hand, as was stated earlier, a conventional formula might experience significant shifts when written down in this manner.

An engaging and interesting opening statement will pique the interest of the audience and encourage them to continue reading. To achieve this, authors will often include ambiguities, irony, and conflict within their works. The expression "my first bachelor celebration" is a good example of this concept in action.

Reflection Essay Example:

This past weekend I attended my first college frat party thanks to some friends who invited me.

That one phrase perfectly exemplifies an attention-grabbing opening to a reflective essay. In just one phrase, you've hooked the reader and set the stage for what you'll be discussing. Your essay's opening should always provide a teaser for the more in-depth explanation that follows in the essay's body.

The conclusion of your reflective essay, which you'll write based on the most significant event, should be the last line of the introduction. This sentence effectively summarises the changes brought about by the catalytic event and their importance in the grand scheme of things. 

Body Paragraphs

The body of an introspective essay needs to expand on the topic presented in the essay's thesis. Students' first challenge in writing such essays is expressing their thoughts uninhibitedly. It's simple to get sidetracked and leap from one thought to the next. This leads us to a useful piece of advice: be consistent with the story arc you've established. If possible, create a distinct outline for the paragraphs in the main body.

You're free to include as many or as few body lines as you like. The text may have a one-sentence introduction and a secret closing, for instance, but the body will always be the largest section. Put your viewpoint on display as much as possible in the middle section. Put forth justifications to back up your claim or corroborating details to back up your statements. Examples, facts, occurrences of public life, events, real-life circumstances and experiences, scientific proof, references to scholars and scientists, etc., can all serve as argumentative points.

If you don't want to appear uncertain of your views, avoid giving too many examples. A personal reflective essay only needs one piece of proof. For reflective essays, interacting aspects of literary analysis, or speculative writing about a variety of phenomena, two examples will suffice. Overloading a free reflective essay with more than three examples of the facts to be discussed will be apparent.

For Example:

My weekend at a house party made it clear that the vast majority of my fellow college students have no tolerance for alcohol.

An effective introduction to a body paragraph is provided above. Your paragraph's subject sentence should tell the reader exactly what the paragraph is going to be about. The first line of each paragraph in the body of your writing should do what the introductory paragraph did: make the reader want to keep reading. Body paragraphs are where you can bring the essay to life with specific descriptions and examples.

In other terms, immerse the reader by providing relatable examples of circumstances and describing minor details with great care. A reader's excitement and interest will increase in proportion to the originality and literary charm of each phrase.

An independent closing paragraph is optional in reflective essays. If you choose an essay format that calls for a conclusion with supporting notes, keep it brief. The end must not be overly formal, however. The paragraphs in the body of the essay need to be supervised naturally by this section.

If you look for a model reflective essay online, you will most likely find one that has a complete, detailed conclusion. You could, of course, use them as models for your essays. However, if you want your viewers to be impressed and reflect deeper on your work, you shouldn't spoon-feed them your observations. Get your readers to ignore the surface-level explanations and focus on the meat of the text where your ideas and feelings are revealed.

As I reflect on my time spent at a college party, I realize that I can no longer advocate for the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors.

As you probably know by now, the end of your essay is where you restate your thesis and discuss its significance. Then, using the details from the body paragraph, you should draw a conclusion in which you quickly restate how this experience changed you physically and/or mentally. Conclude by giving the reader your concluding thoughts on the subject.

What is the Format of a Reflective Essay?

There is a unique structure for reflective writing. In this form of writing, the author employs a specific style, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA) .

There are a few things to keep in mind when writing in APA style:

Use Time New Roman Font 

Double-space your work and use a font height of 12 points.

The page number appears in the upper right-hand area.

The major sections of an essay are the introduction, the body, and the bibliography or list of sources.

Equally to APA, there are a few things to keep in mind when using MLA format:

Use Time New Roman Font

Select 12 as a font size

Make sure to center all of your essay's names.

Include your name, the course number, the instructor's name, and the date in the header of your work.

On the last page of the essay, include the cited work.

Some Tips on Writing the Reflective Essay

The essay's structure serves as the paper's framework. You can't write a winning essay without first crafting a plan. If you have to write a reflective essay, here are some tips to follow.

References should be listed on the final page of the writing.

In the essay, try to avoid using the same phrase multiple times.

Give your take on the topic in the writing.

Verify that you have explained everything that was previously unclear.

Connect your parts with appropriate transitional language.

Make sure your plan covers everything important.

Avoid using difficult language and provide an argument to support your position.

Learn to identify your best qualities and highlight them in the writing.

Before sending or publishing the essay, make sure it has been thoroughly proofread.

Writing a reflective essay can be challenging, but you can make your way through the process with the help of a good plan. Some pupils simply don't have enough time to complete all of the required essay writing assignments. They lack the time necessary to offer essay writing their full attention.

3 Reflective Essay Examples

Impact of social media on students

Social media has become an integral part of our lives in recent years. With the advent of smartphones and the internet, social media platforms have become more accessible to everyone, including students. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and others have had a profound impact on the way students interact with each other, access information, and learn.

Social media has created a platform for students to interact with their peers, teachers, and other individuals from different parts of the world. Social media platforms provide students with the opportunity to express their thoughts, share their experiences, and discuss topics that interest them. Through social media, students can participate in discussions, exchange ideas, and learn from others.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media on Students’ Life

One of the primary benefits of social media is its ability to provide students with access to information. Social media platforms have become a significant source of news, information, and educational resources for students. Students can learn about various topics, including history, science, literature, and more, from different social media platforms. For instance, Twitter provides students with the latest news on various topics, while Facebook and LinkedIn provide them with access to professional networks and job opportunities.

However, the impact of social media on students is not all positive. Social media has become a distraction for students, and many students spend more time on social media than they do studying. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, and many students find themselves spending hours scrolling through their feeds and interacting with their peers. As a result, many students experience a decline in their academic performance and find it difficult to focus on their studies.

Moreover, social media has also had a significant impact on the mental health of students. Social media platforms can be a breeding ground for cyberbullying and online harassment, which can have a profound impact on a student's mental health. Additionally, social media platforms have been linked to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues in students. Many students feel pressured to present a perfect image of themselves on social media, which can lead to low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy.

Furthermore, social media has also affected the way students interact with each other. Many students now prefer to communicate through social media rather than in person, which can lead to a lack of social skills and interpersonal communication skills. This can make it challenging for students to form meaningful relationships and communicate effectively in the workplace and other settings.

In conclusion, social media has had a significant impact on students, both positive and negative. While social media provides students with access to information and a platform to express themselves, it has also become a significant distraction and can hurt their mental health and social skills. Therefore, students need to use social media responsibly and balance their time between social media and other activities. Additionally, educators and parents can play a significant role in guiding students on how to use social media effectively and responsibly.

Taking a Hike Through Forest

Introduction:

Nature is a therapeutic and rejuvenating element in our lives. Walking through a forest is an excellent way to connect with nature, relieve stress, and experience a sense of calmness. A hike through the forest provides a sense of freedom, and the tranquillity of the trees helps to reconnect with oneself. In this essay, I will reflect on my experience of taking a hike through a forest.

I woke up early one morning, feeling the need to get out of the city and spend some time in nature. I packed my bag with essentials and set off on a drive to a nearby forest. Upon arriving, I took a deep breath and took in the fresh air, which filled my lungs with a sense of peace.

The path was lined with tall trees, and the forest floor was soft and covered with leaves. As I walked, I could hear the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. The serenity of the forest made me forget about the outside world and its pressures.

I kept walking deeper into the forest, and soon enough, I came across a stream. The sound of the water flowing over the rocks was soothing, and I sat down by the bank to take it all in. The quietness of the forest made me feel like I was in a different world altogether, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

As I continued my hike, I came across a clearing, and there, I saw a herd of deer grazing. I stood there, frozen, watching the beauty of nature unfold in front of my eyes. It was a moment of pure bliss, and I felt grateful for the opportunity to witness it.

I reached a hilltop, and from there, I could see the entire forest. The view was breathtaking, and it made me realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things. It also made me appreciate the beauty of the earth and the environment around us.

Conclusion:

Taking a hike through the forest was a humbling and rejuvenating experience for me. The calmness of the trees, the sound of the water, and the sight of the animals made me feel connected to nature. It reminded me that we are all a part of this beautiful planet and that it's our responsibility to take care of it. The forest gave me the space to reflect and connect with myself, and it was a reminder that sometimes, the best therapy is found in nature.

The role of Friendship in my Life

Friendship is one of the most essential aspects of human life. It is an integral part of our social fabric, as it provides a sense of belonging, support, and joy. Friendship is not just about having someone to talk to or hang out with; it is about having a deep and meaningful connection with someone who accepts and loves us for who we are. In my life, friendship has played a crucial role in shaping my personality and helping me navigate through different phases of life. This essay aims to explore the role of friendship in my life, its significance, and how it has impacted me.

The significance of friendship:

Friendship is essential for our well-being and mental health. It is a bond that helps us feel connected and loved , even in the most challenging times. A good friend can help us navigate through difficult situations, offer us a fresh perspective on our problems, and provide us with emotional support. Friends also provide us with a sense of belonging, a feeling that we are part of something greater than ourselves. The sense of community and companionship that comes with friendship can help us develop a positive outlook toward life and a strong sense of self-esteem.

Friendship in my life:

In my life, friendship has played a vital role in shaping my personality and helping me grow as an individual. Growing up, I was a shy and introverted child who struggled to make friends. However, I was fortunate enough to find a group of friends who accepted me for who I was and helped me come out of my shell. They encouraged me to pursue my passions and interests and supported me through the ups and downs of life.

As I grew older, I realized the true value of friendship. I have made many friends over the years, and each one of them has played a unique role in my life. Some have been there for me through thick and thin, while others have helped me discover new interests and passions. Some have challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, while others have offered me a shoulder to cry on. Regardless of the role they played, all my friends have helped me grow as a person and provided me with a sense of belonging.

Impact of friendship on my life:

The impact of friendship on my life has been profound. My friends have helped me develop a positive outlook toward life and have taught me to appreciate the little things. They have taught me to be more empathetic, kind, and compassionate toward others, and have helped me develop a strong sense of self-worth. They have been a source of strength and inspiration, and have helped me navigate through difficult times.

In conclusion, friendship is an essential aspect of human life. It provides us with a sense of belonging, support, and joy, and helps us grow as individuals. In my life, friendship has played a vital role in shaping my personality and helping me navigate through different phases of life. My friends have been there for me through thick and thin, and have taught me valuable life lessons. I am grateful for their presence in my life, and I believe that everyone should have a good friend or a group of friends who accept and love them for who they are.

Final Words

In conclusion, writing a reflection essay is a powerful tool for gaining self-awareness and insight into our experiences. By following a few simple steps, such as choosing a meaningful experience to reflect on, asking yourself critical questions, and structuring your thoughts into a clear and organized essay, you can effectively convey your thoughts and emotions to your reader. Essay topics like composing a reflective essay are a great opportunity to delve deeper into your own thoughts and feelings, and to connect with your readers on a deeper level.

However, we understand that the process of writing can sometimes be challenging, and that's where Jenni.ai comes in. Our AI-powered software can help you streamline the writing process, with features such as autocomplete and citation assistance that make it easier to create high-quality content efficiently.

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Examples of Reflective Writing

Types of reflective writing assignments.

A journal  requires you to write weekly entries throughout a semester. May require you to base your reflection on course content.

A learning diary is similar to a journal, but may require group participation. The diary then becomes a place for you to communicate in writing with other group members.

A logbook is often used in disciplines based on experimental work, such as science. You note down or 'log' what you have done. A log gives you an accurate record of a process and helps you reflect on past actions and make better decisions for future actions.

A reflective note is often used in law. A reflective note encourages you to think about your personal reaction to a legal issue raised in a course.

An essay diary  can take the form of an annotated bibliography (where you examine sources of evidence you might include in your essay) and a critique (where you reflect on your own writing and research processes).

a peer review  usually involves students showing their work to their peers for feedback.

A self-assessment task  requires you to comment on your own work.

Some examples of reflective writing

Social science fieldwork report (methods section).

Engineering Design Report

Learning Journal (weekly reflection)

Brookfield, S 1987, Developing critical thinkers: challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting , Open University Press, Milton Keynes.

Mezirow, J 1990, Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: a guide to transformative and emancipatory learning , Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

Schön, DA 1987, Educating the reflective practitioner , Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.

We thank the students who permitted us to feature examples of their writing.

Prepared by Academic Skills, UNSW. This guide may be distributed or adapted for educational purposes. Full and proper acknowledgement is required. 

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• How do I write reflectively?
• Examples of reflective writing
• ^ More support

Study Hacks Workshops | All the hacks you need! 28 May – 25 Jul 2024

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How to Write Reflection Paper: Step-by-Step Guide

Table of contents

• 1 What Is a Reflective Essay?
• 2.1 Critical Reflection Paper
• 2.2 Personal Reflection Paper
• 2.3 Reading Reflection Paper
• 3.1 Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
• 3.2 Boud’s Three-Level Model of Reflection
• 3.3 Schön’s Reflective Practitioner
• 3.4 Brookfield’s Four Lenses
• 3.5 Atkins and Murphy’s Model
• 3.6 Dewey’s Reflective Thinking
• 4 Writing a Reflection Outline
• 5 Reflection Paper Format
• 6.1 Choose the topic
• 6.2 Start with the main theme
• 6.3 Brainstorming part
• 6.4 Analyze how and why
• 6.5 Connect your opinion, experience, and observation
• 7.1 1. Describe the Experience Vividly
• 7.2 2. Use of First Person
• 7.3 3. Balancing Personal and Objective Elements
• 7.4 4. Authenticity and Honesty
• 7.5 5. Critical Self-Reflection
• 7.6 6. Demonstrating Growth and Learning
• 8 Reflection Paper Example
• 9 Ideas to Come Up with a Topic for a Reflective Essay
• 10 Reflective Essay Topic Ideas for Middle School Students
• 11 Reflective Essay Topics for College Students
• 12 Reflective Essay Topics for High School Students
• 13 Reflective Essay Topics about Places and Locations
• 14 Reflective Essay Topics about Events You Cherish
• 15 Reflective Essay Topics about Nature and Wildlife
• 16 Reflective Essay Topics about Relationships
• 17 Personal Reflective Essay Topics Ideas
• 18 Reflective Essay Topics about Nursing and Caring
• 19 Crafting Reflective Narratives

Have you watched or read something that impressed you much? In this case, you may want to talk about it in your essay. Often, students write such a paper not because they genuinely want to share something but because the professor wants to check how they have mastered the material. Thus, this article will give instructions to help you write an exciting and valuable reflection paper.

• Starting with an outline, we will walk you through the nuances of the reflection paper format.
• The article will guide you through the process of writing a reflection essay, from selecting a topic and identifying the central theme to engaging in brainstorming and analytical thinking.
• Emphasize the importance of connecting personal experiences and observations with your opinions.
• Moreover, the piece includes an extensive section on writing tips, where we discuss how to vividly describe experiences and balance personal insights with objective analysis.

What Is a Reflective Essay ?

Before we share what you need to know about effective reflection paper writing, we need to clarify what this type of essay is. It is your personal opinion and reaction about something, e.g., a movie or a trip. Accordingly, you must write about how that topic affected you instead of using only facts and arguments. As such, these papers are very appealing, and most students enjoy writing them. Of course, some don’t like these and rely on a writing essay service to complete a paper in no time.

In essence, the reflection’s purpose is to create a paper expressing your thoughts and opinions about the main topic. There are a few variations of reflection here, and we will explain each below.

Types of Reflective Writing

To write a reflection paper, you must pay close attention to the type you use. Word count is low here, so you must stay focused and use all the steps and proper elements. The essential element is to know about three different types. These will determine how to write a good reflection paper, how you need to optimize body paragraphs, and so much more. It is also one reason that makes writing reflection papers so hard.

Critical Reflection Paper

It is the most common and hardest type. It will be based on your study and has to include different points. For example, you need to elaborate on what you have learned, the experiences you received, and how and what challenges it took. However, you don’t have enough room, so you will need to be professional in this kind of academic writing, and you still need to focus on the main themes. Additionally, you will have to provide details about your experiences and reactions and analyze them in detail. Studying reflection paper examples may be necessary to get a general idea.

Personal Reflection Paper

Here, you also need to provide your experiences. Besides, you will also have to explain how it concerns you. There are countless examples and plenty of things you are about to discover. It differs from a critical reflection paper and focuses more on the experience’s personal element than anything else. You can always write a personal reflection essay how you like and want, but try to focus on the essential occasion.

Reading Reflection Paper

Being a pivotal component of education, a reflection paper plays a significant role in conveying the impact of literature, particularly books, on the individual. It necessitates clearly articulating how the reading material has influenced and shaped personal experiences. At many educational institutions, crafting a reflection on literature is a standard assignment. In meeting this requirement, it is essential to encompass all key aspects of this academic genre. Thus, the expected length of a reflection paper typically ranges from 2 to 3 pages, ensuring a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the insights gained from the literary experience.

Approaches to Reflective Inquiry

A reflection assignment is a powerful tool for personal growth and learning, allowing individuals to explore their experiences and derive meaning from them. Various approaches to thoughtful inquiry provide frameworks that can significantly enrich the narrative of a reflective essay. By incorporating these theories, writers can deepen their self-awareness, analyze their experiences from different perspectives, and articulate the transformative journey within their narratives. This exploration delves into five prominent approaches, each offering a unique lens through which individuals can reflect on something.

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

Graham Gibbs’ model offers a structured approach with six stages: Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan. This cycle ensures a comprehensive exploration of the experience by systematically guiding writers through each step. From initial impressions to actionable insights, Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle provides a robust framework for dissecting and creating a personal experience essay.

Boud’s Three-Level Model of Reflection

David Boud’s model comprises Descriptive Reflection, Dialogic Reflection, and Critical Reflection. By progressing through these levels, writers can move beyond surface-level observations, engage in a meaningful internal dialogue, and critically evaluate the broader implications of their experiences. Consequently, Boud’s model encourages writers to delve into the complexity of their reflections, fostering a more profound understanding of the self and the surrounding context.

Schön’s Reflective Practitioner

Donald Schön’s model distinguishes between Reflection-in-Action, Reflection-on-Action, and Knowing-in-Action. This approach emphasizes the importance of reflecting in real time, analyzing past experiences, and understanding how knowledge shapes future actions. Hence, Schön’s Reflective Practitioner offers a dynamic perspective that aligns with the ever-evolving nature of personal and professional development.

Brookfield’s Four Lenses

Stephen Brookfield’s model encourages writers to view their experiences through four distinct lenses: Autobiographical, Student, Colleague, and Theoretical. By adopting these different perspectives, writers gain a holistic understanding of their experiences, considering personal biases, the viewpoints of others, and theoretical frameworks that contribute to a more comprehensive self-reflection paper.

Atkins and Murphy’s Model

Sensing, Selecting, Executing, and Evaluating form the four stages of this model. Writers following this approach systematically progress through decision-making, implementation, and reflection, offering a practical reflection essay structure for examining the entire process. Particularly, Atkins and Murphy’s Model ensures writers reflect on the outcomes, decision-making, and implementation phases.

Dewey’s Reflective Thinking

John Dewey’s model follows a problem-solving approach with four stages: Identifying a Problem, Describing the Problem, Suggesting Solutions, and Testing Solutions. This model emphasizes recognizing challenges, contextualizing them, generating solutions, and assessing their effectiveness. Thus, Dewey’s Reflective Thinking aligns reflection with practical problem-solving, making it applicable in various contexts.

That being said, incorporating these reflective inquiry approaches into essay narratives enables writers to transcend surface-level descriptions, fostering a more profound understanding of their experiences. Whether examining emotions, analyzing actions, or considering multiple perspectives, these frameworks provide a structured pathway for meaningful self-discovery and growth.

Writing a Reflection Outline

Writing a reflection paper involves more than simply recounting experiences; it requires a thoughtful and organized approach to convey personal insights and growth effectively. That is why creating a reflective essay outline and adhering to a specific format can enhance the clarity and coherence of your reflective essay.

Reflection Paper Introduction:

• Briefly introduce the experience or topic of reflection.
• Provide context or background information as needed.
• Clearly state the purpose of the reflection.

Body Paragraphs:

• Organize each paragraph around a specific aspect/theme of the experience.
• Use headings to distinguish different elements of the reflection.
• Follow a chronological/thematic order, depending on the reflection’s nature.

Description:

• Begin with a detailed description of the experience.
• Capture sensory details, emotions, and the overall atmosphere.
• Set the stage for readers to immerse themselves in the narrative.
• Explore your emotions and thoughts during the experience.
• Discuss how the event impacted you on a personal and emotional level.
• Be honest and reflective in expressing your feelings.

Evaluation:

• Analyze the experience.
• Consider what worked well and what could have been improved.
• Reflect on the significance of specific moments or decisions.
• Reflect on what you learned from the experience.
• Connect the experience to broader concepts, theories, or personal beliefs.
• Consider how the experience contributed to your personal or professional development.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the critical insights gained from the reflection.
• Reinforce the significance of the experience in the broader context of your life.
• End a reflection paper with a compelling conclusion for a lasting impression.

Action Plan (Optional):

• Discuss how the insights will influence your future actions or decisions.
• Consider any changes you plan to implement based on the reflection.

Reflection Paper Format

Here, we can see one crucial fact about reflective writing. All papers of this kind must use proper formatting. Admittedly, a reflective paper format will make your essay look as it should, and you won’t have any issues with your professor making any mistakes possible. In simple terms, this is the template you can use for all papers of this kind.

To encourage you to explore your ideas for different reflective essay topics , we will have to interpret the main facts below so you can use them. Keep in mind that your school may have a different requirement, so you will have to talk to your professor and get the guidelines to use them to write a reflection essay.

An academic writing is different worldwide, but you must do this before starting any essay:

• You must write on A4 paper (in Office Word or on real paper).
• Margins must be 1 inch.
• The text size is 12 points.
• Fonts you can use are Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri.
• All lines must be paired with double spaces.
• A teacher will define the citation (usually APA or Chicago style).
• The length should be between 250 and 750 words.

How to Write Reflection Paper : Step-by-Step Guide

How to start a reflection paper? For this purpose, we will have a complete process of creating an effective reflective paper. All the experts use this simple guide, and it can have a huge effect on your writing. Undoubtedly, each reflective paper must follow the points, so you can imagine how crucial these are. If you skip at least one, you can finish poorly and get a lower grade. While at college, you can use these all the time but only on papers of this kind.

Choose the topic

The first is to pick the topic and thesis statement for reflective essay. Thus, you will have an easier time writing, and you will be able to focus more on the things you like and find interesting. You can also find some self-reflection paper examples . If the topic is not something you can opt for, you will probably have a harder time. Indeed, your chosen topic must perfectly match your experience and opinion and make you passionate. This is one of the reasons why so many students need help and want to get a good reflection paper done. They don’t want to write about some topic they don’t like. Luckily, you can always buy a research paper and get it over with.

Start with the main theme

You must write about what you have learned from the experience you are defining. Try to match the readers. They will want to be able to link up with you, and they will need that. In other words, if you can choose this, you already have a good reflection paper. They should be able to relate to that from reading your essay. Additionally, you can use strong words and many details if you are trying to define this from a book. At college, this is essential.

Brainstorming part

This can be an interesting part. You will need to relax and write down all the ideas that you have on your mind for self-reflective writing. It is not substantial how silly they are or how special they sound. Just write them down. Once you are done, you can organize them and make corrections. You should start with a title page when this is a more significant element. In general, you will have to write down anything memorable that may have any impact on the essay you are writing now.

✏️Example:

Main theme: A constant fear of missing out.

• I only feel FOMO when I’m studying instead of having fun.
• Studies show that FOMO is a display of fear of social exclusion.
• Social media foments the fomo.
• Now I realize the main solution to FOMO is to spend less time checking on the feed.

Analyze how and why

Now, you will need to choose and analyze that idea in depth. You will need to write about how and why it hit you and your experience at the end. This is more important than you may believe and has a huge role. While at school, you always need to ask yourself how to make a self-reflection assignment and why. These are mandatory questions for all types of writing, which can help you get your desired grade.

✏️Examples of reflective writing:

• “Before” questions: What will I receive from this experience? Which critical thinking skills do I need to overcome? Are there any issues I can face?
• “During” questions: What is the expertise I receive from the occasion? How do I feel about it? Does this experience change my outlook?
• “After” questions: How have these past experiences altered my life and thoughts? Did it meet my expectations? How can I express my feelings about it?

Connect your opinion, experience, and observation

You will need to write about the connection between what you thought about that idea, your experience, and what you observed. Try to link these simply and reach your readers as well. It may sound obvious, but one element can be essential for understanding. If you are writing a reflection essay about the book, you must say something about the author, the characters’ names, and how it affected you.

6 Tips on Writing Your Reflection Paper

Writing a reflective essay is a powerful vehicle for self-discovery and learning, allowing you to delve into your experiences and extract valuable insights. Here are six essential tips to enhance the effectiveness of your reflection paper:

1. Describe the Experience Vividly

Bring your experiences to life by vividly describing the details. Engage your reader’s senses with colorful language, capturing the moment’s sights, sounds, and emotions, especially if you are writing a reflection paper on a book. Transport them into the scene by painting a rich picture, allowing them to connect with your experience on a deeper level. Whether it’s a significant life event or a subtle moment of realization, the power of your reflection lies in the ability to convey the experience with clarity and depth.

2. Use of First Person

Reflection papers are inherently personal, so embrace the use of first-person pronouns. This approach allows you to express your thoughts, feelings, and perceptions authentically. Accordingly, using “I” and “me” invites the reader into your journey, fostering a connection and providing a more genuine reflection of your experiences. Don’t shy away from sharing your perspective; it is the foundation of a reflection paper format.

3. Balancing Personal and Objective Elements

Strike a balance between personal reflections and objective analysis. While conveying your emotions and subjective experience is crucial, incorporate objective elements to provide context and depth to your reflection in psychology and self-development. Besides, consider the broader implications of your experience and how it fits into the larger socio-cultural or academic context. This balance ensures that your reflection is both introspective and intellectually engaging.

4. Authenticity and Honesty

Authenticity is the heart of reflective writing. Be honest with yourself and your readers about your thoughts and emotions. Share the highs and lows, acknowledging moments of uncertainty or personal growth. No doubt, readers connect with authenticity, adding depth to your narrative. Also, avoid embellishment or artificial positivity; let your genuine voice shine through, creating a narrative that resonates with sincerity.

5. Critical Self-Reflection

Go beyond surface-level descriptions by engaging in critical self-reflection. Thereupon, challenge your assumptions, question your beliefs, and analyze your thought processes during the experience. After, consider how external factors or societal influences may have shaped your perspective. Critical self-reflection demonstrates intellectual rigor and a willingness to explore the complexities of your thoughts, contributing to a more nuanced and insightful reflection.

6. Demonstrating Growth and Learning

A reflection paper is not just about recounting an experience; it’s an opportunity to showcase personal growth and learning. Thus, reflect on how the experience has influenced your beliefs, attitudes, or actions. Discuss any changes in your mindset or behavior that have resulted from this reflection. Plus, articulate the lessons learned and highlight the ongoing process of development. Demonstrating growth adds a forward-looking dimension to your reflection, illustrating the transformative impact of your experiences.

Incorporating these tips into your reflective writing process will make your paper more engaging and provide a platform for genuine self-exploration and learning. Embrace the opportunity to share your unique perspective, allowing your reflection to resonate authentically with yourself and your readers.

Reflection Paper Example

“Reflecting on the Moment I Received a Long-Desired Possession” I still vividly remember the day I received the item I had been longing for – a sleek, silver MacBook Pro laptop. It was a momentous occasion for me, as I had been saving up for it for months and constantly researching and comparing different models and features. The laptop symbolized a new level of independence and creativity for me, and I was beyond excited to finally have it in my hands. As I eagerly tore open the box, I felt a rush of emotions – excitement, gratitude, and a sense of accomplishment. I had worked hard for this, and it was a tangible representation of my efforts and determination. I felt proud of myself for setting a goal and following through with it, and I couldn’t wait to start using my new laptop to its full potential. Using the MacBook Pro was like a dream come true. Its sleek design, fast processing speed, and advanced features made it so much easier for me to accomplish tasks and unleash my creativity. Whether I was working on school projects, writing personal essays, or just browsing the web, I felt inspired and empowered. This experience taught me a valuable lesson about the power of perseverance and hard work. I learned that if I set my mind to something and put in the effort, I can make it happen. This sense of control and autonomy was empowering and gave me a new level of confidence. In conclusion, receiving my long-desired MacBook Pro was a moment that will stay with me for a long time. It taught me about the rewards of hard work and perseverance, and gave me a new sense of confidence and independence. I am grateful for this experience, and I am looking forward to using my laptop for many years to come.

Ideas to Come Up with a Topic for a Reflective Essay

As you already know, writing a reflective essay requires speaking from experience and expressing yourself. That means that not only do you need to have an understanding of a specific matter. But you have to find a relation between the subject of the writing and yourself. That is related to creative skills, as interpreting that connection and experience is not an easy matter.

When writing such assignments, knowing how to pick your topic is crucial. For that, you should choose something of interest, and it can be anything dear to you—places, events, or meaningful moments with special people.

Always conduct thoughtful research. Finding information about your topic is crucial, as you must not only speak with your experiences but be able to confirm that with some facts and examples too. It is vital to ensure that you do not make up facts by yourself and provide truthful information, see from your perspective, and explain with your understanding.

Keep these tips in mind when selecting your reflective essay topic. They will greatly help and make the writing process more comfortable. Now it’s time to give you another shoulder. Check down below, and you will find reflective essay topic examples that inspire you to create the perfect one.

Reflective Essay Topic Ideas for Middle School Students

• What I Did During the Summer Vacation
• School Trips Are Fun
• The Impact of School Sports
• Season Changes and Their Beauty
• The Winter Vacations
• When Was The First Time You Lied?
• Best School Memory You Have
• How Important Is Family?
• Why Lies Are a Bad Thing
• First Day at School

Reflective Essay Topics for College Students

• What Is Your Favorite Computer Game?
• Was the Time You Spend Studying Worth It?
• The Impact Humans Leave on Nature
• A Gorgeous Person You Have Met
• When Were You Really Embarrassed for the First Time?
• The Best Birthday Memory You Have
• Your Special Person and Their Importance to You
• What Is Your Favorite Holiday Season?
• Are You Afraid of Failing at School?
• School Bullying, a Factor that Must Disappear

Reflective Essay Topics for High School Students

• Your Favorite Fast Food Place
• Playing on the Beach as a Middle Schooler
• Moving to a New Place and the Issues that Come With It
• Effects of Gaming on School Performance
• Life Behaviour and Understandings from the Perspective of a High Schooler
• Overstudying, Depression and Its Effects on the Modern Student’s Life
• How Does Social Media Influence the Life of Every High Schooler?
• The First Time You Fell in Love
• Features in the Educational System that Must Be Changed
• Your Favorite Hobby and Its Effects on Your Life

Reflective Essay Topics about Places and Locations

• The House in Which I Grew Up
• Your First School Trip and the Experience You Gained from It
• Dear Memories of Your Grandparent’s Place
• Which Place Makes You Feel Safe No Matter What?
• Your School Club and Its Importance to You
• The Part Where You Kissed Your Loved One
• Circus, the First Time You Ever Visited One
• The Mall and Its Vital Role in Every Student’s Life
• Your Favorite Coffee Place
• The Cinema Where You Went on a Date for the First Time

Reflective Essay Topics about Events You Cherish

• Your Best Birthday Party Memory
• The First Parenting Experience You Have Got
• The Importance of Getting a New Job
• Fishing and the Memories You Have Got from Your Grandparents
• First-Ever Experience with Your Favorite Sport
• The Time You Got Lost in a New City
• Your Favorite Sports Event
• The Time You Celebrated Your First Significant Anniversary
• Your First Time Going to a Bar for a Drink
• What Was the Best Unexpected Gift You Have Ever Gotten?

Reflective Essay Topics about Nature and Wildlife

• Your First Experience of Seeing and Touching a Wild Animal
• Farming, Your Experience with It, and Personal Observations
• The Most Beautiful Sunset You Have Ever Seen
• Rock Climbing and Its Effects Over People’s Mindset
• First Natural Disaster You Have Seen
• Your Experience with Insects
• Nature and Hiking, Importance of Healthy Life
• Your Thoughts about Winter and the First Snow Every Year
• Scuba Diving, Experiencing Life Beneath the Surface
• Your First-Ever Walk in the Summer Rain

Reflective Essay Topics about Relationships

• The Importance of Family in Your Life
• What Is the Most Significant Memory that You Have with Your Loved One?
• When Was the Last Time You Had a Good Laugh with Your Other Half?
• The First Time You Have Told Someone You Are Sorry for Your Actions
• The Impact of a Healthy Family Relation on the Positive Mindset of a Person
• Your Thoughts about Social Networking at Work
• School, Student, and Teacher Relationship and Its Importance over Studies
• Sincere Thoughts about Relationship with a Family Member
• Long Distance Dating, Pros and Cons of the Healthy Relationship
• When Was The Best Date You Ever Had?

Personal Reflective Essay Topics Ideas

• Eating During School and Your Personal Experience with It
• Your Most Significant Memory of Your First Workplace
• Graduation and My First Time Finding a Job
• The Most Beautiful Memory of a Walk in Nature
• When Was the First Time Someone Asked You on a Date?
• The Earliest Birthday Memory You Have
• Your First Job Interview
• The One Time You Unexpectedly Went on a Journey
• What Was the Thing That Made You Fall in Love?

Reflective Essay Topics about Nursing and Caring

• Your Thoughts on Nursing and the Hardships Related to It
• Nursing Studies, Your Experience of the Process
• Elderly People Homes and Nurse’s Importance
• Man in the Nursing Sector
• Your Insights on the Nursing Career Path
• The Importance of Fast Reaction and Time Management Issues
• Nursing and the Patients, Whose Interest Comes First
• Modern Ethics and Their Importance in the Nursing Sector
• My Life as a Nurse, Reflection Essay
• Nurse and Why Did I Choose to Become One?

Crafting Reflective Narratives

In navigating the landscape of reflective writing, embracing vivid descriptions, first-person engagement, and a delicate balance of personal and objective elements is essential. Authenticity and honesty form the bedrock of compelling reflections, creating connections between writer and reader. Otherwise, you can ask for help and Google someone who will perform your “ write my paper for me ” request or try to do it yourself.

Critical self-reflection elevates the discourse, fostering intellectual exploration. A well-crafted reflection paper should be a testament to growth and learning. As you embark on your reflective journey, remember that each experience, when authentically shared, has the potential to resonate profoundly. Embrace the transformative power of your narrative and let the true essence of your journey unfold!

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8 Tips For Writing A Great Reflective Essay (With Examples)

By writing a reflective essay, you can capture some of these ephemeral emotions and make sense of who you are. Below, I share eight tips (and a few examples) that will help you do it in a better way. You may have to write a reflective essay as a part of an academic assignment or a college paper. Or perhaps you want to create it for yourself and never show it to anyone. Regardless of the reason, after reading this article, you will hopefully become better at it. They helped a lot of students over the years, so you may check them out.

Here’s how to write a great reflective essay:

1. first, what is a reflective essay.

A reflective essay is a piece of writing in which you analyze your personal experience, reflect on how it changed your life, and what conclusions for the future can you draw from what you’ve learned. It’s a “know thyself” type of essay. The goal here is getting self-knowledge, by stopping to think about your memories, your values, and where you want to go from the present moment onward. By writing your thoughts down, you pursue some kind of deeper truth, about yourself and the world.

2. The power of writing introspectively

Many great men and women (like Charles Darwin or Frida Kahlo ) had a habit of keeping a journal. This seems to be forgotten these days as we record everything through our mobile devices. But the habit of introspective writing and journaling helps you get in touch with your inner self and even improves your mental health. The reflective essay serves a similar purpose. It lets you search for meaning in your life and lets you discover the underlying causes of your actions.

“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard

3. How do you start your essay?

You may start with an introduction of experience, an event, or a memory on which you’ll reflect. If your topic is “a life-changing incident you had when you were a child,” you could start with: I used to live on a sunny farm with my parents and grandparents when I was young. A few days after I turned six, something happened that would alter the course of my life forever. I’m fifty-two as I’m writing this…

This beginning has certain elements that make it effective:

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” – Ralph Ellison

4. Learn how to structure your essay

In terms of length, it all depends on your assignment, but usually, the reflective essay has between 300 and 700 words . It has a rather informal structure and the use of language. After all, you’re drilling into your personal experiences, and often, this requires a poetic turn of the phrase. You’re more than welcome to use a wide range of advanced vocabulary .

Introduction

In this part, you set the tone for your reflection. You implicitly or explicitly say what will you reflect on, and what prompted you to do that. If you’re writing an academic paper , you’ll have to be more direct and for example, say: “What follows, are my reflections on what I’ve learned about life during the first year of college”.

Here, you sum up your essay and leave your audience with a final thought. Look ahead into the future and write about how your experiences are going to affect your life from now on. What’s the direction you’re going to take? What is there to look ahead to? You may also look backward and see how different you were in the past, compared to now. “I think it’s good for a person to spend time alone. It allows them to discover who they are and to figure out why they are always alone.” – Amy Sedaris

5. Create an outline for your essay

As with most writing assignments , the work begins with ideation and then creating some sort of outline . Here’s a simple process you can use to get everything ready before you start writing: a) Scan your mind in search of powerful experiences, meaningful memories, and thoughts about your past. This will serve as a raw material from which you’ll sculpt a piece of prose. b) Consider the attractiveness of your topic from the reader’s point of view. You certainly don’t want to bore anyone, so pick something interesting, but important. c) Organize your essay and divide it into a couple of paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain one important idea. d) Decide in which sequence you would like to share your ideas. Put some logic and chronology behind it. e) Jot down any side notes included in the essay. It’s always better to have an overabundance of material.

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” – C.G. Jung

6. The essay-writing process

Once you have the idea, you can follow a simple process:, 7. how to pick the right topic for your essay.

If you’re writing an assignment, you’ll probably receive the prompt from your professor. If that’s the case, follow it diligently. This may be something like: a) Reflect on what you learned during your first year of high school. b) Think about your favorite book and how it changed your life . c) How did your writing skills change over the years? And why? Or it might be something really specific like Write a two-page reflection paper on the Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Here, it’s not only about your personal experience, but about your interaction with a specific text, event, play, or movie and the effect it had on you. But what if you want to write an essay on your own? Which topic would you choose then? First, pick something meaningful to you. Second, pick something that you know well. Third, pick something that you want to explore and get deep into.

Here’s some more inspiration in the area of topics:

Personal reflection:, reflection on life and meaning:, reflection on events:.

“Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens

8. Learn from the masters

Montaigne was the father of the essay as a literary form. He was the first writer to use informal tone, colloquial language, and rather prosaic themes to get to the deeper truth about human nature.

I recommend you check his essays for inspiration, along with other masterworks:

And here are a few books filled with great reflective essays:.

And here you may find a huge list of 450+ essay books on Goodreads.

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einstein

Example #1 of a reflective essay:

The misgivings about the high school football, here’s a second, shorter sample of a reflective essay:, the sources of love for instrumental music., looking backward, moving forward.

There are certain milestones in your life: finishing high school, falling in love for the first time, your first journey abroad, the first kiss, the first psychedelic trip, graduating from the university, getting your first job, getting married, having children… Each of these brings something new and unexpected and makes you grow as an individual. But you can run through life and never reflect on how it all changed , how silly and incompetent you were just a few years ago. And how you’ll think the same thing about the present in a few years. Perhaps you should compose a reflective essay and think about all of this, and about what’s coming. Next up, you may want to explore a list of the best essays of all time .

Rafal Reyzer

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

Best 10+ Reflective Essay Examples for Inspiration

Explore the top 10+ examples of reflective essays to ignite your inspiration and enhance your writing skills!

A reflective essay is a type of essay in which the writer reflects on their personal experiences, observations, or thoughts. It provides an opportunity for individuals to explore their feelings, ideas, and perceptions about a particular topic or event. In this article, we have compiled a list of the best reflective essay examples to inspire and guide you in your own writing journey.

So, what exactly is a reflective essay? It is a writing piece that requires the writer to delve into their own thoughts, emotions, and experiences to explore a specific topic. Unlike other types of essays that focus on presenting factual information or argumentative analysis, a reflective essay is more introspective.

Here are a few different types of reflective essays that you may encounter:

Personal Reflection: These essays focus on personal experiences, such as a memorable event, a challenging situation, or a significant life lesson. The writer reflects on their thoughts, emotions, and reactions to provide insights and lessons learned.

Reflective Essay on Literature or Film: These essays explore the writer's interpretation and analysis of a specific book, novel, poem, or film. The writer reflects on the themes, characters, and messages conveyed, discussing their own thoughts and perspectives.

Professional Reflection: These essays are often written by individuals in a specific profession, such as doctors, nurses, teachers, or social workers. They reflect on their experiences in the field, highlighting challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

• Reflective Essay on Academic Assignments: In these essays, students reflect on their learning and growth throughout a particular academic project or course. They analyze their progress, strengths, weaknesses, and how the experience has shaped their knowledge and skills.

Now that you have an understanding of what a reflective essay entails and the different types, let's explore how to write one effectively.

Example 1: A Personal Journey of Self-Discovery

Introduction.

Throughout my life, I have always been a people-pleaser. However, recently, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery that allowed me to explore my own desires and needs. This reflective essay will delve into the various experiences and moments that shaped my personal growth and led me to realize the importance of prioritizing myself.

• Inspiration from Others : I was inspired by reading stories and memoirs of individuals who embraced their true selves and pursued their passions unapologetically.
• Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone : I made a conscious effort to step out of my comfort zone by saying "no" when necessary and engaging in activities that challenged me.
• Unraveling My True Passions : By exploring different hobbies and interests, I discovered my true passions and realized the importance of pursuing them.
• Establishing Boundaries : I learned to set boundaries in my relationships and prioritize self-care in order to avoid burnout and maintain mental well-being.
• Embracing Self-Reflection : Regular self-reflection allowed me to identify patterns of behavior that hindered my personal growth and find ways to overcome them.
• Facing My Insecurities : Acknowledging and confronting my insecurities was crucial in building my self-confidence and accepting myself fully.
• Learning to Prioritize My Happiness : I realized that it is not selfish to prioritize my happiness and well-being, as it ultimately allows me to be a better person for those around me.
• Learning from Setbacks : Instead of viewing setbacks as failures, I learned to see them as opportunities for growth and resilience.
• Finding Support Systems : Surrounding myself with supportive friends and family members who encouraged my growth helped me navigate the challenges of self-discovery.
• Reflecting on the Journey : Looking back on my personal journey of self-discovery, I am grateful for the growth and the invaluable lessons learned along the way.

Embarking on a journey of self-discovery has been transformative for me. Through self-reflection, challenging my comfort zone, and embracing my true passions, I have gained a deeper understanding of myself and the importance of prioritizing my happiness. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to always strive for personal growth and to never forget the value of self-discovery.

Example 2: Overcoming Adversity and Finding Strength

Adversity is an inevitable part of life, and how we navigate through challenging situations can define our character and resilience. In this reflective essay, I will share my personal journey of overcoming adversity and the valuable lessons it has taught me about strength and determination.

• Identifying Adversity : Reflecting on the various adversities I have faced in my life, such as financial struggles or personal loss, allowed me to understand the impact they had on my personal growth.
• Resilience in the Face of Challenges : Despite the hardships I encountered, I discovered a sense of resilience within myself and learned to persevere through difficult times.
• Seeking Support : Realizing the importance of seeking support from friends, family, or professionals helped me navigate through adversity and maintain a positive mindset.
• Finding the Silver Lining : Although it may be challenging, looking for the silver lining in difficult situations allowed me to find hope and move forward.
• Embracing Failure as a Learning Opportunity : Rather than viewing failures as personal shortcomings, I began to see them as opportunities for growth and learning.
• Shifting Perspective : Adopting a positive and optimistic mindset enabled me to reframe my experiences and view challenges as opportunities for personal development.
• Self-Reflection and Self-Care : Engaging in regular self-reflection and self-care practices helped me maintain emotional well-being and build resilience.
• Embracing Vulnerability : Allowing myself to be vulnerable and open about my struggles not only helped me connect with others but also gave me the strength to overcome adversity.
• Celebrating Small Victories : Recognizing and celebrating small victories along the way boosted my self-confidence and motivated me to keep pushing forward.
• Reflecting on Personal Growth : Looking back on my journey of overcoming adversity, I am grateful for the strength it has instilled in me and the lessons it has taught me about resilience and determination.

Overcoming adversity is no easy feat, but it has the potential to shape us into stronger individuals. Through seeking support, embracing failures, and maintaining self-care practices, we can navigate through life's challenges with resilience and determination. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to always find strength in the face of adversity and embrace the opportunities for personal growth that accompany it.

Example 3: Lessons Learned from Traveling

Traveling is not merely about exploring new places; it is an opportunity for personal growth and self-discovery. In this reflective essay, I will share the valuable lessons I have learned from my adventures around the world and how they have shaped my perspective on life.

• Cultural Awareness and Acceptance : Experiencing different cultures and customs while traveling taught me the importance of tolerance, respect, and acceptance of diversity.
• Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone : Traveling pushes one to step out of their comfort zone, try new things, and embrace uncertainty, fostering personal growth and adaptability.
• Mindfulness and Living in the Present : Immersed in unfamiliar surroundings, I learned to appreciate the beauty of the present moment and cultivate mindfulness.
• Embracing Change and Flexibility : When things don't go as planned during travels, I learned to adapt and find solutions, thereby developing resilience and flexibility.
• Building Confidence : Navigating through unfamiliar environments and interacting with people from various backgrounds boosted my self-confidence and social skills.
• Breaking Stereotypes : Traveling challenged my preconceived notions and stereotypes about different cultures, helping me cultivate a more open and inclusive mindset.
• Appreciation for Nature : Witnessing breathtaking landscapes and experiencing nature's wonders reminded me of the importance of preserving our planet and living sustainably.
• Strengthening Interpersonal Connections : The friendships and connections forged while traveling allowed me to broaden my perspectives and learn from others' experiences.
• Learning from Other Travelers : Engaging with fellow travelers provided insights and knowledge that enriched my own travel experiences and inspired personal growth.
• Reflection and Gratitude : Reflecting on my travel experiences and expressing gratitude for the opportunities and lessons learned helped me internalize and appreciate the transformative power of travel.

Traveling is not just about visiting new places; it is a transformative journey that fosters personal growth, cultural awareness, and self-reflection. From embracing change to building confidence, the lessons learned while traveling have a profound impact on our perspective and approach to life. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to cherish the experiences and lessons gained from our travels and to always embrace the transformative power of exploration.

Example 4: Discovering the Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage our own emotions and empathize with others, plays a vital role in our personal and professional lives. In this reflective essay, I aim to explore how my understanding and application of emotional intelligence have evolved over time, and the impact it has had on my relationships and overall well-being.

• Awareness of Emotions : Reflecting on my past experiences, I realized how unaware I was of my own emotions and their impact on my behavior and interactions with others.
• Developing Empathy : Through personal experiences and growth, I began to develop empathy and a deeper understanding of others' emotions, which paved the way for more meaningful connections.
• Facing Emotional Challenges : Emotional intelligence taught me the importance of acknowledging and addressing my own emotional challenges rather than suppressing or ignoring them.
• Improved Communication : Understanding and managing emotions enabled me to communicate more effectively, express myself clearly, and resolve conflicts constructively.
• Recognizing and Regulating Stress : Emotional intelligence helped me recognize the signs of stress and develop strategies to regulate it, leading to improved well-being and resilience.
• Building Emotional Resilience : Learning to bounce back from setbacks and cope with adversity through emotional intelligence equipped me with the necessary tools to withstand life's challenges.
• Promoting Emotional Health : Sharing my journey and insights on emotional intelligence with others encouraged open conversations about mental health and inspired personal growth.
• Empowering Others : Applying emotional intelligence in leadership roles allowed me to empower others and create a positive impact on their personal and professional lives.
• Appreciating Diversity : Emotional intelligence fosters inclusive attitudes and respect for diverse perspectives, promoting harmony and understanding in various social settings.
• Continual Growth and Reflection : Recognizing that emotional intelligence is a lifelong journey, I actively seek opportunities for growth, reflection, and further refinement of my skills.

Emotional intelligence is a powerful tool for personal growth, building meaningful relationships, and navigating the challenges of life. From improved communication to building resilience, the journey towards understanding and applying emotional intelligence has had a profound impact on my well-being and relationships. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to continually nurture and strengthen our emotional intelligence, as it is a key component of personal and professional success.

Example 5: Lessons Learned from Volunteering

Volunteering provides not only a chance to give back to the community but also an opportunity for personal growth and self-reflection. In this reflective essay, I will share the valuable lessons I have learned from my volunteering experiences and the impact they have had on my perspective and values.

• Humility and Gratitude : Volunteering humbled me and reminded me to be grateful for the privileges I have in life.
• Embracing Empathy : Through volunteering, I learned to put myself in others' shoes, fostering empathy and understanding towards those facing difficulties.
• Appreciation for Small Victories : Witnessing the impact of small acts of kindness and the positive changes they brought about taught me the power of collective effort.
• Overcoming Stereotypes : Volunteering exposed me to individuals from different backgrounds, challenging stereotypes and biases I might have held.
• Building Resilience : Volunteering in challenging environments required resilience and adaptability, teaching me to persevere through adversity.
• Inspiring and Inspiring Others : Through my volunteering efforts, I not only had the opportunity to inspire positive change but also be inspired by the resilience and strength of those I served.
• Developing Organizational and Teamwork Skills : Volunteering in team settings honed my organizational and communication skills, promoting effective collaboration.
• Awareness of Social Issues : Volunteering increased my awareness of social issues and motivated me to advocate for positive change in my community.
• Paying It Forward : Volunteering sparked a desire to continue making a difference and inspired me to encourage others to engage in community service.
• Reflection and Growth : Regular reflection on my volunteering experiences allowed me to recognize personal growth, identify areas for improvement, and continually refine my impact.

Volunteering is a transformative experience that fosters personal growth, empathy, and a sense of community. From cultivating gratitude and empathy to developing organizational and teamwork skills, the lessons learned from volunteering have a profound impact on our perspective and values. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to cherish the experiences and lessons gained from volunteering and to continue making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Example 6: Learning from Mistakes: The Power of Self-Reflection

Mistakes are an inevitable part of life, but it is through self-reflection that we can extract valuable lessons and grow from them. In this reflective essay, I will explore the power of self-reflection in learning from mistakes and how it has shaped my personal growth and decision-making process.

• Admitting and Accepting Mistakes : Self-reflection allows us to acknowledge our mistakes and accept responsibility for our actions, facilitating personal growth and accountability.
• Identifying Patterns : By analyzing recurring mistakes, I was able to identify patterns of behavior or thought processes that were hindering my personal growth.
• Learning from Consequences : Self-reflection helps us understand the consequences of our actions, motivating us to make better choices in the future.
• Developing Self-Awareness : Engaging in regular self-reflection enables us to gain a deeper understanding of our values, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
• Taking Ownership of Growth : Self-reflection shifted my perspective from blaming external factors to taking ownership of my growth, empowering me to make positive changes.
• Seeking Feedback : Reflecting on mistakes encouraged me to seek feedback from trusted individuals, allowing me to gain different perspectives and learn from others.
• Setting Realistic Goals : Self-reflection helped me set realistic and achievable goals based on my learnings from past mistakes, promoting personal development.
• Developing Problem-Solving Skills : Reflecting on past mistakes improved my problem-solving skills by encouraging me to consider alternative approaches and solutions.
• Embracing Growth Mindset : Self-reflection cultivated a growth mindset, enabling me to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and persist in the face of adversity.
• Integration and Application : Active self-reflection translated into improved decision-making, helping me avoid similar mistakes and make more informed choices.

Self-reflection is a powerful tool in transforming mistakes into valuable lessons and personal growth. From admitting and accepting mistakes to seeking feedback and developing problem-solving skills, the practice of self-reflection has had a profound impact on my decision-making and overall personal development. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to engage in regular self-reflection and embrace the transformative power of learning from mistakes.

Example 7: The Impact of Mentorship: A Personal Journey

Mentorship is a valuable and transformative experience that offers guidance, support, and personal growth opportunities. In this reflective essay, I will share the impact of mentorship on my personal journey, highlighting the lessons learned and the positive transformation it has brought about.

• Finding Role Models : Mentors served as positive role models, inspiring me to strive for personal and professional growth.
• Guidance and Support : Mentors provided guidance and support throughout my personal journey, offering valuable insights and helping me navigate challenges.
• Boosting Confidence : The encouragement and belief of my mentors played an instrumental role in boosting my self-confidence and belief in my abilities.
• Expanding Networks : Mentors introduced me to new networks and opportunities, broadening my horizons and opening doors for personal and professional growth.
• Accountability and Goal-setting : Working with mentors helped me set actionable goals and provided the accountability necessary for their achievement.
• Challenging Limiting Beliefs : Mentors helped me recognize and challenge limiting beliefs, encouraging me to embrace new perspectives and take calculated risks.
• Fostering Self-Reflection : Through thought-provoking discussions and feedback from mentors, I developed a habit of self-reflection, fostering personal growth and clarity.
• Sharing Wisdom and Experience : Mentors shared their experience and wisdom, offering valuable insights that expedited my personal and professional development.
• Celebrating Achievements : Mentors celebrated my achievements, reinforcing the importance of recognizing and celebrating personal milestones.
• Paying It Forward : The impact of mentorship inspired me to become a mentor myself, and give back by supporting and guiding others on their own journeys.

Mentorship is a transformative experience that provides guidance, support, and personal growth opportunities. From boosting confidence and expanding networks to fostering self-reflection and challenging limiting beliefs, the impact of mentors on our personal journey is immeasurable. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to cherish the mentorship experiences and to continually seek opportunities to support and guide others on their own journeys.

Example 8: Understanding the Power of Empowerment

Empowerment plays a crucial role in personal and societal growth, enabling individuals to recognize their worth, tap into their full potential, and make positive changes. In this reflective essay, I will explore the power of empowerment, both in personal life and broader contexts, and the transformation it brings about.

• Recognizing and Embracing Individual Strengths : Empowerment begins with recognizing and embracing our own unique strengths, talents, and abilities.
• Setting Ambitious Goals : Empowerment enables individuals to set ambitious goals, encouraging them to strive for personal growth and expanded horizons.
• Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs : Through empowerment, individuals challenge self-limiting beliefs and replace them with positive and affirming thoughts.
• Promoting Confidence and Self-Esteem : Empowerment boosts self-confidence and self-esteem, allowing individuals to face challenges with resilience and self-assurance.
• Finding One's Voice : Empowerment empowers individuals to find and use their voice, promoting self-advocacy and effective communication.
• Encouraging Independence and Autonomy : Empowerment promotes independence and autonomy, encouraging individuals to make choices aligned with their values and aspirations.
• Seeking Knowledge and Skills : Empowerment drives individuals to seek knowledge and develop skills, equipping them with the tools necessary for personal growth and success.
• Cultivating Resilience : Empowered individuals develop resilience, enabling them to bounce back from setbacks and view obstacles as opportunities for growth.
• Leveraging Support Systems : Empowerment highlights the importance of supportive relationships, encouraging individuals to seek and provide support to others.
• Inspiring Positive Change : Empowered individuals inspire positive change in themselves and their communities, driving collective growth and transformation.

Empowerment is a catalyst for personal growth, allowing individuals to recognize their worth, tap into their potential, and make positive changes. From fostering confidence and independence to inspiring positive change, the power of empowerment transcends personal life and reverberates in broader contexts. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to embrace and promote empowerment, for it has the potential to transform individuals and communities alike.

Example 9: Transformative Lessons from Failure

Failure is often viewed negatively, but it is through failure that we learn valuable lessons, gain resilience, and grow as individuals. In this reflective essay, I will share the transformative lessons I have learned from failure and the ways in which it has shaped my personal development.

• Resilience and Perseverance : Failure taught me the importance of resilience and perseverance in overcoming challenges and achieving success.
• Identifying Areas for Improvement : Analyzing failures allowed me to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to enhance my skills and capabilities.
• Reframing Failure as Feedback : Viewing failure as feedback rather than a personal reflection of worth enabled me to learn from mistakes and grow.
• Adapting and Being Flexible : Failure taught me the importance of adaptability and flexibility in navigating unexpected circumstances or setbacks.
• Embracing Growth Mindset : Failure cultivated a growth mindset within me, encouraging a positive outlook on challenges and the potential for personal growth.
• Building Emotional Resilience : Failure taught me to manage and regulate my emotions, developing emotional resilience in the face of adversity.
• Recognizing the Value of Patience : Failure taught me patience and the understanding that success takes time and effort.
• Learning from Others' Experiences : Reflecting on others' experiences of failure and how they overcame it offered valuable insights and lessons that I could apply to my own journey.
• Celebrating Small Steps Forward : Failure taught me the importance of celebrating small victories and progress along the way, boosting motivation and self-confidence.
• Embracing Humility : Failure humbled me and taught me the importance of humility, enabling me to learn from others and seek help when necessary.

Failure, when viewed through the lens of growth and opportunity, is a transformative experience that shapes our personal development. From developing resilience and perseverance to embracing a growth mindset and learning from others' experiences, failure provides valuable lessons that propel us towards success. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to embrace failure as an integral part of the growth process and to always seek growth and improvement in the face of setbacks.

Example 10: Unveiling Personal Identity: A Journey of Self-Exploration

Understanding and embracing our personal identity is crucial for personal growth, self-acceptance, and fulfillment. In this reflective essay, I aim to delve into my own experience of self-exploration, share the milestones that shaped my personal identity, and the lessons learned along the way.

• Questioning Assumptions and Expectations : Reflecting on societal expectations and personal assumptions allowed me to uncover and challenge preconceived notions about who I should be.
• Exploring Interests and Passions : Engaging in various activities and hobbies helped me identify my true interests and passions, contributing to a clearer sense of personal identity.
• Navigating Cultural and Social Influences : Exploring different cultures and societies exposed me to diverse perspectives, shaping and broadening my personal identity.
• Embracing Individuality : Celebrating my unique qualities and accepting myself as an individual played a significant role in developing my personal identity.
• Building Authentic Relationships : Authentic relationships with supportive individuals fostered an environment where I felt safe to explore and express my personal identity.
• Accepting What Cannot Be Changed : Reflecting on aspects of my personal identity that cannot be changed enabled me to find acceptance and appreciate their significance in shaping who I am.
• Addressing Internal Conflicts : Acknowledging and addressing internal conflicts between different aspects of my personal identity allowed me to achieve a more cohesive and authentic sense of self.
• Setting Boundaries : Learning to set boundaries and prioritize my own mental and emotional well-being significantly contributed to the development of my personal identity.
• Fostering Growth Through Self-Reflection : Engaging in self-reflection and seeking feedback allowed me to constantly refine and grow within my personal identity.
• Continual Evolution : Recognizing that personal identity is not static, but a continuous journey of self-exploration and growth, empowered me to embrace change and embrace the unknown.

Unveiling personal identity through self-exploration is an ongoing journey that enables us to understand and embrace our authentic selves. From questioning assumptions and exploring interests to embracing individuality and addressing internal conflicts, the process of self-discovery shapes our personal identity and paves the way for personal growth and fulfillment. This reflective essay serves as a reminder to always engage in self-exploration and appreciate the transformative power of uncovering and embracing our personal identity.

Reflective essays offer an opportunity to explore personal experiences, lessons learned, and personal growth in a thoughtful and introspective manner. Through the ten examples provided above, we are reminded of the transformative power of self-reflection, personal journeys, and lessons derived from a wide range of contexts such as self-discovery, overcoming adversity, travel, volunteerism, emotional intelligence, mentorship, empowerment, failure, and personal identity. May these reflective essay examples inspire and encourage readers to embark on their own journeys of self-reflection and personal growth.

Reflective Essay

Reflective essay generator.

Sometimes, it is our experiences that startled and challenged our own voyage that strengthens and improves us to be the best versions of ourselves. If your life experience greatly moved you, there is a certain essay that allows you to compose your own endeavor. In this article, read through because we will be discussing the fundamentals of writing a reflective essay.

They say that being wise is better than being knowledgeable. Wisdom is acquired through reflection of one’s experience as well as of the environment. The more we reflect the more we become aware of ourselves. We become mindful of our existence as well as the meaning of life and all the things that surround us. Here we present different formats of essays like  essays in doc .

Reflective Essay Outline Template

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Personal Reflective Sample

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What Is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a written piece of literature that focuses on presenting and narrating a person’s experience and how it becomes an instrument towards a change of perception in life.

It is a way for a writer to share an important event in his/her life and how it affected him/her so that others may learn something from it. Reflective writing root on life-changing events. The writer shares a specific experience, provides a narration of the incident including the material elements. It offers a realization so that others who may have had the same experience can draw out a shared mutual lesson from it.

How to Write a Reflective Essay

To write a reflective short essay , you need to have the right disposition as well as the momentum. Remember that you are not just writing to say something but to share an important lesson in life.

1. Think of an important event.  What you will be writing on your reflective essay is something that is rooted in your own personal experience or encounter of something. Think deep and concentrate. You may also see personal essay examples & samples.

2. Introduce your topic. In your introduction, write the concrete event or experience that you want to share. Pattern it in a story form.

3. Develop your point. Write the main content of your essay with at least three to five paragraphs supporting your main topic.

Final Reflective Essay

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Tips on Writing a Reflective Essay

Writing a reflective essay is not persuasive writing where you have to convince your readers to accept your opinion. You simply have to share an experience.

1. Write a draft. Do not jump hastily onto formal writing . Write a draft where you can create a bulleted list of the things that  you want to share.

2. Think logically. When presenting a story, do it in a chronological manner so that your readers can understand the plot. Do this as well when presenting your ideas.

3. Create a summary. Use a summary writing to briefly state your insights and to give your final thoughts of the topic.

Importance of a Reflective Essay

In this era that we currently live in, personal reflection can be considered a thing of the past. Because of the gradual change and development of the things around us, we find it difficult to pause and reflect on the things that happen to our lives. You may also see academic essay examples .

The importance of  writing an essay is to present to us the things that we rarely encounter in our day-to-day activities. In this time when material things are all that mattered, we have become unappreciative of the abstract things like love, compassion, and mercy. We cannot learn these things from those electronic gadgets that keep us busy.

How to Start a Reflective Essay Correctly

As mentioned above, a reflective essay presents and narrates the experience of a writer and how it changes the way he/she perceives life. In a simpler sense, it talks about how the author reflected on a certain adventure. As an essayist, since it’s you who bears the story and lessons, you are the one who is responsible for expressing it.

Just like any other composition, it’s your introduction that catches the attention of the reader. Thus, in order for your essay to be fully read, it is important to start your essay remarkably. If you find writing an introduction for your reflective essay challenging, don’t worry, you’re not alone. In this section, we are going to slowly tackle the ways to compose a compelling introduction.

1. Being catchy is the key.

In writing your reflective essay, you must start with something that would captivate the readers right away. Since the purpose of the introduction is to grab some attention, you may include some unique and interesting facts or beliefs. In this part, showcase your creativity by adding an introduction that is written in a bizarre manner and not those that depict cliché experience. You may also utilize a highly moving quotation or a dialogue that would also be appropriate for your reader.

2. Write the thesis statement in one sentence.

A thesis statement refers to the sentence that carries the topic being discussed in the whole essay. Therefore, it bears the central idea in which your essay revolves around. In writing your own essay, construct this statement in a clear and concise sentence. In this way, the reader will have a better grasp of your topic and would be clearly oriented on what you want to convey. In most cases, thesis statements are written at the end of the introduction.

3. Stick to the first person POV.

Remembering that this essay is subjective and depends on the author’s interpretation, it is important to use the first person point of view. By using this POV, it would be easier for you to convey your thoughts and opinions, and it would engage you to the readers like you’re telling a story in person. The first person involves the pronouns I , me , my , and mine .

4. Keep it brief.

When it comes to writing your own essay, you must perceive what your readers feel or see in reading your composition. Always put into mind that readers also have their own time to spend, and without a mark in the writing industry, people won’t invest much time on reading your essay. Thus, it is important to keep your composition concise. You can utilize a paragraph of five to ten sentences in your introduction. Using this number of sentences, you must already express a complete and clear thought of an essay that is worth reading.

Reflective Essay Example

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Reflective Essay Format

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Basic Reflective Essay

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Standard Reflective Essay

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Sample Reflective Essay in PDF

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Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write a Reflective Essay on your most meaningful learning experience.

Create a Reflective Essay about a time when you showed leadership.