A reflective essay aims to describe an event or an experience and analyze it so that meaning and understanding can get derived from it. The process of analyzing a past event is the reflective nature of the essay.
Writers get tasked to talk their minds and create emotions to illuminate history as accurately as it happened, cover the traits and the personalities of the characters present. A clear and concise description of the unfolding of events pulls the reader closer to make them feel like they have gone through the same thing before.
What to focus on
- A place
- An object
- An experience
- An imagination
Topics for a reflective essay
Places visited
- Someone’s office or home
- Crooked house
- The beach
- A mountain
- A desert
Life experiences
- A compelling conversation
- New or old experiences
- Crucial memories
- Special occasions and dates
Repetitive thoughts
- Embarrassing events or moments
- A dream or nightmare
- A strong emotion
Thrilling experiences
- Shows
- Concerts
- Trips
- Vacations
- Facebook post
- A book
- A movie
- A series
Respectable people
- An acquaintance
- Parent
- Grandparent
- Teacher
- Coach
- Priest
Structure and Organization of a reflective essay
The build of this paper is almost the same as other academic writings.
Introduction
In this section, you get to pinpoint the topic and bless the reader with a compelling impression you had. Make sure you present your thesis statement in this block.
Body paragraphs
- Give at least one reason that the subject of the discussion made a sighting, as stated in the introduction. Ensure that you answer the question of why. You are free to think freely because no answer is considered wrong in a reflective essay. You have to get it right anyway. Do this in the first body paragraph.
- In the second block, note the second reason about the previous point and also aim at answering the why question.
- When you get to the third [paragraph, and the last on the body, give the third reason and ensure to answer the why question
Conclusion
In this block, make a summary of the thesis statement and the critical arguments presented in the body. Afterward, sum up your thoughts and tell the reader about your opinion and wrap it up.
Steps on writing a reflective paper
- Select an idea or a topic
Make sure you choose a fascinating topic and one that you are comfortable writing. It will help you in speeding up the writing process.
- Conduct research on the subject
You will have to use your imagination skills in character building. You need to boost your skills through thorough reading, watching clips, and listening to similar pieces.
- Brainstorm
Note all the things you can think about the topic. You can have a description of a character based on the taste, smell, moves, or noises they make. Jot adjectives that will assist you in describing the plot as you write.
- Is there something different that I have?
- How is this event connected to the life I live?
- Has this changed me in any way? If so, how?
- How can this get me up the ladder in my career?
- What skills have I mastered from it?
- Has this altered my thinking? How so?
- Would I wish to go through the same experience again?
