You’re probably used to responding to different sources in essays. For example, in an academic essay, you might compare two books’ themes, argue for or against a position, analyze a piece of literature, or persuade the reader with facts and statistics.
In one way, a reflective essay is similar to an academic essay. Like an academic essay, a reflective essay can discuss ideas and concepts from books, literature, essays, or articles. However, unlike an academic essay, it focuses on how your personal experience relates to these things.
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What is a reflective essay?
Reflective essays are a type of personal essay in which the writer examines a topic through the lens of their unique perspective. Reflective essays are more subjective about their subjects than an academic essay, use figurative language, and don’t require academic sources. The purpose of a reflective essay is to explore and share the author’s thoughts, perspectives, and experiences.
Reflective essays are often written for college applications and cover letters as a way for the writer to discuss their background and demonstrate how these experiences shaped them into an ideal candidate. For example, a college applicant might write a reflective essay about how moving every few years because of their parent’s military service impacted their concept of home.
Sometimes, reflective essays are academic assignments. For example, a student may be assigned to watch a film or visit a museum exhibition and write a reflective essay about the film or exhibition’s themes. Reflective essays can also be pieces of personal writing, such as blog posts or journal entries.
Reflective essay vs. narrative essay
There are a few similarities between reflective essays and narrative essays. Both are personal pieces of writing in which the author explores their thoughts about their experiences. But here’s the main difference: While a narrative essay focuses on a story about events in the author’s life, a reflective essay focuses on the changes the author underwent because of those events. A narrative essay has many of the same elements as a fictional story: setting, characters, plot, and conflict. A reflective essay gets granular about the circumstances and changes driven by the conflict and doesn’t necessarily aim to tell a full story.
Reflective essays based on academic material
You might be assigned to write a reflective essay on an academic text, such as an essay, a book, or an article. Unlike a reflective essay about your own personal experiences, this type of reflective essay involves analysis and interpretation of the material. However, unlike in an analytical essay, the position you support is informed by your own opinion and perspective rather than solely by the text.
How to choose a topic
A reflective essay can be about any topic. By definition, a reflective essay is an essay where the writer describes an event or experience (or series of events or experiences) and then discusses and analyzes the lessons they derived from their experience. This experience can be about anything, whether big life events like moving to a new country or smaller experiences like trying sushi for the first time. The topic can be serious, lighthearted, poignant, or simply entertaining.
If your reflective essay is for an assignment or an application, you might be given a topic. In some cases, you might be given a broad area or keyword and then have to develop your own topic related to those things. In other cases, you might not be given anything. No matter which is the case for your essay, there are a few ways to explore reflective essay ideas and develop your topic.
Freewrite
Freewriting is a writing exercise where you simply write whatever comes to mind for a fixed period of time without worrying about grammar or structure or even writing something coherent. The goal is to get your ideas onto paper and explore them creatively, and by removing the pressure to write something submittable, you’re giving yourself more room to play with these ideas.
Make a mind map
A mind map is a diagram that shows the relationships between ideas, events, and other words related to one central concept. For example, a mind map for the word book might branch into the following words: fiction, nonfiction, digital, hardcover. Each of these words then branches to subtopics. These subtopics further branch to subtopics of their own, demonstrating just how deep you can explore a subject.
Creating a mind map can be a helpful way to explore your thoughts and feelings about the experience you discuss in your essay.
Real-life experiences
You can find inspiration for a reflective essay from any part of your life. Think about an experience that shifted your worldview or dramatically changed your daily routine. Or you can focus on the smaller, even mundane, parts of life like your weekly cleaning routine or trips to the grocery store. In a reflective essay, you don’t just describe experiences; you explore how they shape you and your feelings.
Reflective essay outline
Introduction
A reflective essay’s introduction paragraph needs to include:
- A hook
- A thesis statement
The hook is the sentence that catches the reader’s attention and makes them want to read more. This can be an unexpected fact, an intriguing statistic, a left-field observation, or a question that gets the reader’s mind thinking about the essay’s topic.
The thesis statement is a concise statement that introduces the reader to the essay’s topic. A thesis statement clearly spells out the topic and gives the reader context for the rest of the essay they’re about to read.
These aren’t all the things that a reflective essay’s introduction needs, however. This paragraph needs to effectively introduce the topic, which often means introducing a few of the ideas discussed in the essay’s body paragraphs alongside the hook and thesis statement.
Body paragraphs
Your essay’s body paragraphs are where you actually explore the experience you’re reflecting on. You might compare experiences, describe scenes and your emotions following them, recount interactions, and contrast it with any expectations you had beforehand.
Unless you’re writing for a specific assignment, there’s no required number of body paragraphs for your reflective essay. Generally, authors write three body paragraphs, but if your essay needs only two—or it needs four or five—to fully communicate your experience and reflection, that’s perfectly fine.
Conclusion
In the final section, tie up any loose ends from the essay’s body paragraphs. Mention your thesis statement in the conclusion, either by restating it or paraphrasing it. Give the reader a sense of completion by including a final thought or two. However, these thoughts should reflect statements you made in the body paragraphs rather than introduce anything new to the essay. Your conclusion should also clearly share how the experience or events you discussed affected you (and, if applicable, continue to do so).
6 tips for writing a reflective essay
1 Choose a tone
Before you begin to write your reflective essay, choose a tone. Because a reflective essay is more personal than an academic essay, you don’t need to use a strict, formal tone. You can also use personal pronouns like I and me in your essay because this essay is about your personal experiences.
2 Be mindful of length
Generally, five hundred to one thousand words is an appropriate length for a reflective essay. If it’s a personal piece, it may be longer.
You might be required to keep your essay within a general word count if it’s an assignment or part of an application. When this is the case, be mindful to stick to the word count—writing too little or too much can have a negative impact on your grade or your candidacy.
3 Stay on topic
A reflective essay reflects on a single topic. Whether that topic is a one-off event or a recurring experience in your life, it’s important to keep your writing focused on that topic.
4 Be clear and concise
In a reflective essay, introspection and vivid imagery are assets. However, the essay’s language should remain concise, and its structure should follow a logical narrative.
5 Stay professional
Although you aren’t bound to a formal tone, it’s generally best to use a professional tone in your reflective writing. Avoid using slang or overly familiar language, especially if your reflective essay is part of a college or job application.
6 Proofread
Before you hit “send” or “submit,” be sure to proofread your work. For this last read-through, you should be focused on catching any spelling or grammatical mistakes you might have missed.
Reflective essay FAQs
What is a reflective essay?
Reflective essays are a type of personal essay that examines a topic through the lens of thewriter’s unique perspective. They are more subjective about their subjects than an academic essay, use figurative language, and don’t require academic sources.
What’s the difference between a reflective essay and a narrative essay?
While a reflective essay focuses on its author’s feelings and perspectives surrounding events they’ve experienced or texts they’ve read, a narrative essay tells a story. A narrative essay might show changes the author underwent through the same conventions a fictional story uses to show character growth; a reflective essay discusses this growth more explicitly and explores it in depth.
What are example topics for a reflective essay?
- Moving abroad and adapting to the local culture
- Recovering from an athletic injury
- Weekly phone conversations with your grandmother
- The funniest joke you ever heard (and what made it so funny)
FAQs
How to Write a Reflective Essay? ›
A reflective essay should follow the classic essay format of introduction, body, and conclusion. Some other common formats include journaling or using a reflective model for only part of an essay or assignment.
How do you write a reflective answer? ›- Choose an interesting topic. ...
- Keep information relevant. ...
- Keep your tone professional. ...
- Select a topic and summarise the material or experience. ...
- Review and analyse the material. ...
- Select a theme. ...
- Make connections between your opinions. ...
- Write the paper.
- Introduction: the event, incident or topic.
- Description and problematisation of the event.
- Cause and effect of the critical event — don't write too much description at this stage.
A reflective essay should follow the classic essay format of introduction, body, and conclusion. Some other common formats include journaling or using a reflective model for only part of an essay or assignment.
How do you structure a reflective essay? ›Both the language and the structure are important for academic reflective writing. For the structure you want to mirror an academic essay closely. You want an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. Academic reflection will require you to both describe the context, analyse it, and make conclusions.
What are the 5 R's of reflective writing? ›The 5R framework for reflection will guide you through Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing to make sense of a learning experience.
What is a good opening sentence for a reflective essay? ›General Analysis • The most significant issue arising from this experience was … Alternatively this might be due to … I feel this situation arose because … Reflection on self • At the time I felt that …
How do you start the first paragraph of a reflective essay? ›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.
What is an example of reflection response? ›Common reflective statement stems:
“So you feel...” “It sounds like you...” “You're wondering if...” “For you it's like…” The listener can repeat or substitute synonyms or phrases and stay close to what the speaker has said.
- Describe an experience – provide some details on an object or an event.
- Examine the experience – integrate personal and academic contexts.
- Provide in-depth analysis of those experiences.
- Tell readers what you learned after analysis.
- Clarify how analyzed subject will be useful in your future.
What makes a good reflective essay? ›
Academic reflective writing requires critical and analytic thought, a clear line of argument, and the use of evidence through examples of personal experiences and thoughts and often also theoretical literature. You should aim for a balance between personal experience, tone, and academic practice and rigor.
What words do you use in a reflective essay? ›- aspect(s) element(s)
- For me, the [most] significant.
- Previously, thought (did not think)
- At the time, felt (did not feel)
- At first, I.
- Initially, noticed (did not notice)
- Subsequently, questioned (did not question)
- Later. realised (did not realise)
- The happiest or most frightening moment of your life so far.
- Ways you think you or people can make the world a better place.
- A time you felt lost.
- An introspective look at your choices or a time you made the wrong choice.
- A moment in your life you would like to relive.
- Tip #1—Choose a topic you're passionate about. ...
- Tip #2—Outline your reflection paper before you write. ...
- Tip #3—Write in first-person singular. ...
- Tip #4—Avoid too much description. ...
- Tip #5—Avoid colloquial expressions or slang. ...
- Tip #6—Critical reflection goes deeper.
Topic sentence: Introduce the main theory, skill or idea from the literature. This is also the main topic of your paragraph. Explanation: You may need to give further explanation about this theory, skill or idea. Evidence/example: Provide an example.
How long does it take to write a reflective essay? ›Be roughly 500-1000 words long (roughly 2-3 double-spaced pages). Maintain a generally academic tone. It's okay to be light or even humorous in your essay, but you should avoid being glib or dismissive of the portfolio process.
What are the 4 C's of reflection? ›The 4 Cs explain that good reflection is continuous, connected, challenging, and contextualized.
What are the 6 stages of reflection? ›One of the most famous cyclical models of reflection leading you through six stages exploring an experience: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan.
What are the 6 steps of reflection? ›- Step 1 – Description. This should be a brief description of the experience or event to set the scene and give context.
- Step 2 – Feelings. ...
- Step 3 – Evaluation. ...
- Step 4 – Analysis. ...
- Step 5 – Conclusion. ...
- Step 6 – Action Plan. ...
- Step 1 – Description. ...
- Step 2 – Feelings.
In reflective writing, the use of 'I' is not only acceptable, but expected. Reflective writing, however, needs to be more than a description of your observations or thoughts, or a simple summary of what happened in a situation.
Can you use I statements in a reflective essay? ›
As a large proportion of your reflective account is based on your own experience, it is normally appropriate to use the first person ('I'). However, most assignments containing reflective writing will also include academic writing.
What is the first sentence in reflection? ›A reflection paper's introduction specifies the topic, identifies the points it'll cover, and gives your thesis statement. In a reflection paper, your thesis can state what you came away with but in thought-provoking terms. Example: I've always associated a day at the zoo with an outing away from home for children.
What are 3 examples of real reflection? ›Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The law of reflection says that for specular reflection (for example at a mirror) the angle at which the wave is incident on the surface equals the angle at which it is reflected.
What is 1 example of reflection? ›A phenomenon of returning light from the surface of an object when the light is incident on it is called reflection of light. Examples: Reflection by a plane mirror. Reflection by a spherical mirror.
How do you write an introduction for a reflection paper? ›Begin with an introduction
Your introductory paragraph contains the purpose and topic of the paper. It contains your thesis statement and gives readers insight into your position regarding the topic. Your introduction can also include a summary of the article, book, or experience the paper analyses.
Two tones can be used in reflective writing: conversational and academic. A conversational tone is generally written in the first-person (using I). An academic tone includes more formal vocabulary and may use the third person point of view (using he/she/they).
How do you express feelings in reflective writing? ›Pay particular attention to describing your thoughts and feelings about the event, experience, person or thing. Describe your emotions and reactions from the time it took place and from your perspective, to prove you have thought about it and are able to reflect upon it. Remember your audience.
What are 3 sentences using reflection? ›(1) She was looking at her reflection in the mirror. (2) She grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. (3) Can you see your reflection in the glass? (4) She was studying her reflection in the mirror.
How do you start a conclusion for a reflective essay? ›Think of your thesis statement and use that purpose to guide your reflection. You might begin your conclusion with something such as “When I look back on that day, I consider how lucky I am to have survived.” You will then continue by restating some of the main points of your story that prove your thesis.
What is an example sentence for reflective? ›I walked on in a reflective mood to the car. Mike is a quiet, reflective man. The German government's support of the U.S. is not entirely reflective of German public opinion.
How many references should be used in a reflective essay? ›
Using too many references does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through. As a general rule, you should aim to use one to three, to support each key point you make. This of course depends on subject matter and the point you are discussing, but acts as a good general guide.
Does a reflective essay need paragraphs? ›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, express your feelings and emotions.
What are examples of reflective responses? ›Common reflective statement stems:
“So you feel...” “It sounds like you...” “You're wondering if...” “For you it's like…” The listener can repeat or substitute synonyms or phrases and stay close to what the speaker has said. The listener can make major restatements in which the speaker's meaning is inferred.
Some examples of reflective writing assignments include:
Analysing your experience of working on a group task. Critiquing a teaching or learning activity (self-review or peer review activities). Critiquing your experiences on a placement or internship.
Examples of reflective questions
How did I act during the event? What did I learn from the event that I did not know before? What links can I make between my experience and other events/ideas from my studies or workplace? How can I use the knowledge I have gained from this event/experience in the future?
Often reflective pieces are written in the first person (e.g., 'I', 'we', 'me', and 'us'). Example: “There are a couple of ways I can improve to contribute to my group positively . . .”
What are the 4 types of reflective questions? ›The framework consists of four different types of open-ended reflective questions: awareness, analysis, alternatives, and action.
What is a reflective response essay? ›A reflective essay is an essay in which the writer examines his or her experiences in life. The writer then writes about those experiences, exploring how he or she has changed, developed or grown from those experiences. The format of a reflective essay may change slightly depending on who the audience is.
What makes a good reflective writing? ›Academic reflective writing requires critical and analytic thought, a clear line of argument, and the use of evidence through examples of personal experiences and thoughts and often also theoretical literature. You should aim for a balance between personal experience, tone, and academic practice and rigor.
How do you start a reflective essay 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.
How do you start a reflection statement? ›
Introduce the topic you will discuss; Explain how this reflects on the work that you are discussing; Make reference to the Module you are studying.
What are simple examples of reflection? ›The simplest example of visible light reflection is the surface of a smooth pool of water, where incident light is reflected in an orderly manner to produce a clear image of the scenery surrounding the pool.
What is a good sentence for reflective? ›I walked on in a reflective mood to the car. Mike is a quiet, reflective man. The German government's support of the U.S. is not entirely reflective of German public opinion.
How do you write a reflective essay sample? ›- Understand and summarize the material. ...
- Analyze the material. ...
- Select a theme. ...
- Make connections between your opinions. ...
- Begin with an introduction. ...
- Write the body of the paper. ...
- End with a good conclusion. ...
- Proofread and edit.
Example Sentences
She was looking at her reflection in the mirror. He saw the reflections of the clouds on the lake.