essay what i have learned

Guide on How to Write a Reflection Paper with Free Tips and Example

A reflection paper is a very common type of paper among college students. Almost any subject you enroll in requires you to express your opinion on certain matters. In this article, we will explain how to write a reflection paper and provide examples and useful tips to make the essay writing process easier.

Reflection papers should have an academic tone yet be personal and subjective. In this paper, you should analyze and reflect upon how an experience, academic task, article, or lecture shaped your perception and thoughts on a subject.

Here is what you need to know about writing an effective critical reflection paper. Stick around until the end of our guide to get some useful writing tips from the writing team at EssayPro — a research paper writing service

What Is a Reflection Paper

A reflection paper is a type of paper that requires you to write your opinion on a topic, supporting it with your observations and personal experiences. As opposed to presenting your reader with the views of other academics and writers, in this essay, you get an opportunity to write your point of view—and the best part is that there is no wrong answer. It is YOUR opinion, and it is your job to express your thoughts in a manner that will be understandable and clear for all readers that will read your paper. The topic range is endless. Here are some examples: whether or not you think aliens exist, your favorite TV show, or your opinion on the outcome of WWII. You can write about pretty much anything.

There are three types of reflection paper; depending on which one you end up with, the tone you write with can be slightly different. The first type is the educational reflective paper. Here your job is to write feedback about a book, movie, or seminar you attended—in a manner that teaches the reader about it. The second is the professional paper. Usually, it is written by people who study or work in education or psychology. For example, it can be a reflection of someone’s behavior. And the last is the personal type, which explores your thoughts and feelings about an individual subject.

However, reflection paper writing will stop eventually with one very important final paper to write - your resume. This is where you will need to reflect on your entire life leading up to that moment. To learn how to list education on resume perfectly, follow the link on our dissertation writing services .

Unlock the potential of your thoughts with EssayPro . Order a reflection paper and explore a range of other academic services tailored to your needs. Dive deep into your experiences, analyze them with expert guidance, and turn your insights into an impactful reflection paper.

Free Reflection Paper Example

Now that we went over all of the essentials about a reflection paper and how to approach it, we would like to show you some examples that will definitely help you with getting started on your paper.

Reflection Paper Format

Reflection papers typically do not follow any specific format. Since it is your opinion, professors usually let you handle them in any comfortable way. It is best to write your thoughts freely, without guideline constraints. If a personal reflection paper was assigned to you, the format of your paper might depend on the criteria set by your professor. College reflection papers (also known as reflection essays) can typically range from about 400-800 words in length.

Here’s how we can suggest you format your reflection paper:

How to Start a Reflection Paper

The first thing to do when beginning to work on a reflection essay is to read your article thoroughly while taking notes. Whether you are reflecting on, for example, an activity, book/newspaper, or academic essay, you want to highlight key ideas and concepts.

You can start writing your reflection paper by summarizing the main concept of your notes to see if your essay includes all the information needed for your readers. It is helpful to add charts, diagrams, and lists to deliver your ideas to the audience in a better fashion.

After you have finished reading your article, it’s time to brainstorm. We’ve got a simple brainstorming technique for writing reflection papers. Just answer some of the basic questions below:

• How did the article affect you?
• How does this article catch the reader’s attention (or does it all)?
• Has the article changed your mind about something? If so, explain how.
• Has the article left you with any questions?
• Were there any unaddressed critical issues that didn’t appear in the article?
• Does the article relate to anything from your past reading experiences?
• Does the article agree with any of your past reading experiences?

Here are some reflection paper topic examples for you to keep in mind before preparing to write your own:

• How my views on rap music have changed over time
• My reflection and interpretation of Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Why my theory about the size of the universe has changed over time
• How my observations for clinical psychological studies have developed in the last year

The result of your brainstorming should be a written outline of the contents of your future paper. Do not skip this step, as it will ensure that your essay will have a proper flow and appropriate organization.

Another good way to organize your ideas is to write them down in a 3-column chart or table.

Do you want your task look awesome?

If you would like your reflection paper to look professional, feel free to check out one of our articles on how to format MLA, APA or Chicago style

Writing a Reflection Paper Outline

Reflection paper should contain few key elements:

Introduction

Your introduction should specify what you’re reflecting upon. Make sure that your thesis informs your reader about your general position, or opinion, toward your subject.

• State what you are analyzing: a passage, a lecture, an academic article, an experience, etc...)
• Briefly summarize the work.
• Write a thesis statement stating how your subject has affected you.

One way you can start your thesis is to write:

Example: “After reading/experiencing (your chosen topic), I gained the knowledge of…”

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs should examine your ideas and experiences in context to your topic. Make sure each new body paragraph starts with a topic sentence.

Your reflection may include quotes and passages if you are writing about a book or an academic paper. They give your reader a point of reference to fully understand your feedback. Feel free to describe what you saw, what you heard, and how you felt.

Example: “I saw many people participating in our weight experiment. The atmosphere felt nervous yet inspiring. I was amazed by the excitement of the event.”

As with any conclusion, you should summarize what you’ve learned from the experience. Next, tell the reader how your newfound knowledge has affected your understanding of the subject in general. Finally, describe the feeling and overall lesson you had from the reading or experience.

There are a few good ways to conclude a reflection paper:

• Tie all the ideas from your body paragraphs together, and generalize the major insights you’ve experienced.
• Restate your thesis and summarize the content of your paper.

We have a separate blog post dedicated to writing a great conclusion. Be sure to check it out for an in-depth look at how to make a good final impression on your reader.

Need a hand? Get help from our writers. Edit, proofread or buy essay .

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

Step 1: create a main theme.

After you choose your topic, write a short summary about what you have learned about your experience with that topic. Then, let readers know how you feel about your case — and be honest. Chances are that your readers will likely be able to relate to your opinion or at least the way you form your perspective, which will help them better understand your reflection.

For example: After watching a TEDx episode on Wim Hof, I was able to reevaluate my preconceived notions about the negative effects of cold exposure.

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas and Experiences You’ve Had Related to Your Topic

You can write down specific quotes, predispositions you have, things that influenced you, or anything memorable. Be personal and explain, in simple words, how you felt.

For example: • A lot of people think that even a small amount of carbohydrates will make people gain weight • A specific moment when I struggled with an excess weight where I avoided carbohydrates entirely • The consequences of my actions that gave rise to my research • The evidence and studies of nutritional science that claim carbohydrates alone are to blame for making people obese • My new experience with having a healthy diet with a well-balanced intake of nutrients • The influence of other people’s perceptions on the harm of carbohydrates, and the role their influence has had on me • New ideas I’ve created as a result of my shift in perspective

Step 3: Analyze How and Why These Ideas and Experiences Have Affected Your Interpretation of Your Theme

Pick an idea or experience you had from the last step, and analyze it further. Then, write your reasoning for agreeing or disagreeing with it.

For example, Idea: I was raised to think that carbohydrates make people gain weight.

Analysis: Most people think that if they eat any carbohydrates, such as bread, cereal, and sugar, they will gain weight. I believe in this misconception to such a great extent that I avoided carbohydrates entirely. As a result, my blood glucose levels were very low. I needed to do a lot of research to overcome my beliefs finally. Afterward, I adopted the philosophy of “everything in moderation” as a key to a healthy lifestyle.

For example: Idea: I was brought up to think that carbohydrates make people gain weight. Analysis: Most people think that if they eat any carbohydrates, such as bread, cereal, and sugar, they will gain weight. I believe in this misconception to such a great extent that I avoided carbohydrates entirely. As a result, my blood glucose levels were very low. I needed to do a lot of my own research to finally overcome my beliefs. After, I adopted the philosophy of “everything in moderation” as a key for having a healthy lifestyle.

Step 4: Make Connections Between Your Observations, Experiences, and Opinions

Try to connect your ideas and insights to form a cohesive picture for your theme. You can also try to recognize and break down your assumptions, which you may challenge in the future.

There are some subjects for reflection papers that are most commonly written about. They include:

• Book – Start by writing some information about the author’s biography and summarize the plot—without revealing the ending to keep your readers interested. Make sure to include the names of the characters, the main themes, and any issues mentioned in the book. Finally, express your thoughts and reflect on the book itself.
• Course – Including the course name and description is a good place to start. Then, you can write about the course flow, explain why you took this course, and tell readers what you learned from it. Since it is a reflection paper, express your opinion, supporting it with examples from the course.
• Project – The structure for a reflection paper about a project has identical guidelines to that of a course. One of the things you might want to add would be the pros and cons of the course. Also, mention some changes you might want to see, and evaluate how relevant the skills you acquired are to real life.
• Interview – First, introduce the person and briefly mention the discussion. Touch on the main points, controversies, and your opinion of that person.

Writing Tips

Everyone has their style of writing a reflective essay – and that's the beauty of it; you have plenty of leeway with this type of paper – but there are still a few tips everyone should incorporate.

Before you start your piece, read some examples of other papers; they will likely help you better understand what they are and how to approach yours. When picking your subject, try to write about something unusual and memorable — it is more likely to capture your readers' attention. Never write the whole essay at once. Space out the time slots when you work on your reflection paper to at least a day apart. This will allow your brain to generate new thoughts and reflections.

• Short and Sweet – Most reflection papers are between 250 and 750 words. Don't go off on tangents. Only include relevant information.
• Clear and Concise – Make your paper as clear and concise as possible. Use a strong thesis statement so your essay can follow it with the same strength.
• Maintain the Right Tone – Use a professional and academic tone—even though the writing is personal.
• Cite Your Sources – Try to cite authoritative sources and experts to back up your personal opinions.
• Proofreading – Not only should you proofread for spelling and grammatical errors, but you should proofread to focus on your organization as well. Answer the question presented in the introduction.

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Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Experience — What I Learned in English Class: a Reflection

What I Learned in English Class: a Reflection

• Categories: English Language Personal Experience

About this sample

Words: 1087 |

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 1087 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Table of contents

What i have obtained, works cited, usefullness, writing a research paper, writing a profile paper.

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• Pears, R., & Shields, G. (2019). Cite them right: The essential referencing guide. Red Globe Press.
• Lunsford, A. A., & Connors, R. J. (2016). EasyWriter. Bedford/St. Martin's.
• Strunk Jr, W., & White, E. B. (2020). The Elements of Style. Penguin.
• Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2018). They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Williams, J. M., & Colomb, G. G. (2010). Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Pearson.

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Essay on What I Learned In School

Students are often asked to write an essay on What I Learned In School in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on What I Learned In School

Learning: a journey of discovery.

School has been a place of immense learning and growth. It has taught me a variety of subjects, from math and science to history and languages. I’ve gained knowledge that has broadened my understanding of the world and equipped me with skills that will be invaluable in my future.

Exploring Different Subjects

Math has taught me critical thinking and problem-solving. Science has ignited my curiosity about the natural world. History has given me a glimpse into the past and helped me understand the present. Languages have opened up new cultures and perspectives.

Skills for Life

Beyond academics, school has helped me develop essential life skills. I’ve learned how to communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and manage my time wisely. These skills will help me succeed in any endeavor I pursue.

Inspiration and Motivation

School has also introduced me to inspiring teachers who have encouraged me to think creatively, challenge myself, and never give up on my dreams. Their guidance has been instrumental in shaping my aspirations and goals.

Lifelong Learning

250 words essay on what i learned in school, what i learned in school.

School taught me a wide range of essential skills, knowledge, and life lessons that have greatly influenced who I am today. Here are some of the significant things I learned in school:

In school, I gained a solid foundation in various academic subjects, including Math, Science, English, Social Studies, and Languages. These subjects helped me develop critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and analytical skills. They also broadened my understanding of the world and its complexities.

Practical Skills

School provided opportunities to learn practical skills that are invaluable in everyday life. These included computer literacy, financial management, basic repairs, and cooking. These skills have empowered me to be more self-sufficient and confident in handling day-to-day tasks.

Social and Emotional Development

School played a crucial role in my social and emotional development. Through interactions with teachers and peers, I learned how to communicate effectively, cooperate, resolve conflicts, and empathize with others. These skills have helped me build strong relationships and thrive in diverse social settings.

Values and Ethics

School instilled in me the importance of honesty, integrity, respect, and responsibility. I learned to make ethical choices, consider the consequences of my actions, and always strive for the greater good. These values have shaped my character and guided my decisions both inside and outside of school.

Appreciation for Diversity

500 words essay on what i learned in school, the importance of education.

Everyone knows that education plays a vital role in shaping our lives. We spend years in school learning various subjects, like math, science, history, and language. But what exactly do we gain from all this learning?

Academic Knowledge

One of the primary things we learn in school is academic knowledge. This includes facts, concepts, and theories across various subjects. This knowledge is essential for our intellectual development and helps us understand the world around us.

Problem-Solving Skills

Critical thinking and analytical skills.

School teaches us to think critically and analyze information. We learn to evaluate evidence, identify biases, and form our own opinions. These skills are essential for making informed decisions and navigating the complexities of the modern world.

Communication Skills

School also emphasizes the importance of communication skills. We learn to express our thoughts clearly and effectively, both in writing and speaking. These skills are crucial for success in any career and for building strong relationships.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Time management and organization.

School teaches us the importance of time management and organization. We learn to prioritize tasks, set goals, and manage our time effectively. These skills are essential for success in any aspect of life, whether it’s academics, work, or personal endeavors.

School is not just about academics. It also plays a crucial role in our social and emotional development. We interact with peers, teachers, and other adults, which helps us develop our social skills, empathy, and emotional intelligence. We learn to navigate relationships, resolve conflicts, and work together.

In Conclusion

Our school years are a time of tremendous growth and development. We learn academic knowledge, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, time management, and social and emotional skills. These skills are invaluable and serve as a foundation for our future success. So, while school may sometimes seem challenging, remember that the lessons you learn there will stay with you for a lifetime.

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A complete guide to writing a reflective essay

(Last updated: 3 June 2024)

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We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

“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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Home Essay Samples Life

Essay Samples on Life Lesson

The most important lesson i learned in life: embracing resilience.

The journey of life is an intricate tapestry woven with threads of experiences, each contributing to the canvas of our growth and wisdom. Among these experiences, one lesson stands out as the most profound: the art of embracing resilience. In the mosaic of life, resilience...

• Life Lesson

Life Experiences That Taught a Lesson: How Experience Contributes to Our Growth

Life is a journey filled with countless experiences that shape who we are and how we navigate the world around us. Some of these experiences are simple and joyful, while others are challenging and transformative. This essay explores several life experiences that have taught valuable...

A Life Lesson I Have Learned and How It Continues to Shape Me

Life is a continuous journey of learning, filled with moments that impart wisdom and shape our perspectives. Some lessons are gentle whispers, while others are profound experiences that leave an everlasting imprint. In this narrative essay, I will share a significant life lesson that I...

• Life Changing Experience

Rising Above Negativity: A Journey in Music and Self-Belief

My Early Music Career Let me inform you about a time when I realized a life lesson. A couple of weeks ago, I started out producing music; I was once just starting as a producer, and I had no prior expertise in song theory. I...

Traveling Through Life: Learning, Evolving, and Reflecting

Life Lessons Learned on a Journey What is a journey. A journey is an act of traveling from one place to another and the time in between that act. We took a look at many texts relating to people going on a journey such as...

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"Made In Heaven": An Analysis of Relationships and Life Lessons

Introduction The web series "Made In Heaven" on Amazon Prime has captivated the attention of the younger Indian audience. Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, the series has received both acclaim and criticism for its explicit depiction of sex, abusive dialogues, and portrayal of...

• Marriage and Family

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1. The Most Important Lesson I Learned in Life: Embracing Resilience

2. Life Experiences That Taught a Lesson: How Experience Contributes to Our Growth

3. A Life Lesson I Have Learned and How It Continues to Shape Me

4. Rising Above Negativity: A Journey in Music and Self-Belief

5. Traveling Through Life: Learning, Evolving, and Reflecting

6. “Made In Heaven”: An Analysis of Relationships and Life Lessons

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11 Most Valuable Lessons Learned in Life: Essay Ideas

Published on december 3, 2015 at 4:13 pm by caroline delbert in lists.

Every fall, teens applying to college ask themselves the same well-worn questions. Who is my best role model…in an essay of 500 words. What experience have I learned the most from…in an essay of 500 words. It’s common to ask high schoolers about life lessons, but what are the 11 most valuable “lessons learned in life” essay ideas?

For this list, I’ve mined life lessons from a variety of sources, from contemporary writers and motivational speakers like Ashli Mazer and Barrie Davenport to Jesus Christ, Jane Goodall, and Edward R. Murrow. New York Times readers offered their own best life lessons and so did a poll of 2,000 parents in the United Kingdom. Many lessons came up again and again and I’ve ranked them based on frequency, awarding 1 point for each of the nine total source lists where that lesson appeared.

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I was pleased to see that clichés like “things happen for a reason” or “always smile” were not widely cited. Human beings are smarter and more complex than cross-stitch samplers. And there are plenty of less common life lessons that don’t make the cut for the 11 most valuable but are good to keep in mind anyway.

The wisdom of Jane Goodall encourages us to be kind to the Earth and ensure our legacy in caring for the environment. One New York Times reader gives the great advice to avoid con artists and egomaniacs — even if they’re related to us. Barrie Davenport reminds us that our children are their own people and need to have room to grow and be themselves.

Some of the less common life lessons are bittersweet, like learning about the luck of the draw and that time and forgiveness help to heal our emotional pain. Being honest with yourself is a great life lesson but one that is often the most hard fought. Life is not about money, but life without money is incredibly hard and limits our choices and opportunities.

Just barely missing the list were many important ideas worth mentioning, too. Manners go a long way. Choose a good life partner. Learn to get along and to resolve your differences. Maybe one of these lessons will spark a memory that you know will make a terrific essay even though it isn’t one of the most common overall life lessons.

I remember my alma mater offering a very welcome “none of the above” prompt on its application form, and I remember stopping short at an outlandish prompt offered by a very prestigious university. The college essay has almost become a parody, with prompts themselves joining in on the joke. (Maybe you remember Rory Gilmore realizing in horror that all her classmates had  also chosen Hillary Clinton as their role model topic — and she attended a school like one of the 10 most expensive boarding schools in the world .) But the college essay is real, and it’s required, and you have these role models, life experiences, or life lessons stored in your mind. They’re waiting to get out. If you’re someone with excellent prose, skip to the next part. If not… well, no need to wonder, “I need help to  write an essay for me ,” just seek online help from CustomWritings service. Time’s precious!

Just wait, though, because after you graduate from the college of your dreams, you’ll be faced with an interview question that makes every job seeker long for an insipid college essay prompt instead: What is your greatest strength, and what is your greatest weakness?

11. Learn from your mistakes — 5 points

There’s an old adage: “Never make the same mistake twice.” That advice isn’t always practical — you’ve probably Game Over’d many times on the same tough level, and eventually got through it. Learning from our mistakes isn’t instant or automatic, nor is it obvious what exactly we end up learning.

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10. Give back — 5 points

Western society can get very hung up on the idea that charity is a matter of money alone, but giving back is a huge category. Think about how you spend your time as well as your money, and think about how your extra resources could improve the lives of others or simply brighten their day.

9. Don’t judge — 5 points

This idea is so simple yet so challenging to really do. What other people do, say, or believe generally doesn’t concern you. More than that, as a few lists also included, we should mind our own business. In a time when the microscope of social media is always pointed at everyone we know, it takes guts to step away and not engage. That choice to accept-not-except stands out in the 11 most valuable “lessons learned from life” essay ideas.

8. Put yourself out there — 5 points

The barebones archetype of putting yourself out there is asking someone on a date. It’s nervewracking and feels just as terrible every single time you psych yourself up to do it. But putting yourself out there is more than just romance — it’s applying for a challenging job, making a new friend, taking an improv class, and so much more. Without risk there is no reward.

Slideshow be yourself Jesus Christ life lessons Jane Goodall List XFinance college essays New York Times the golden rule Edward R. Murrow best essay topics great essay topics college essay topics put yourself out there learn from your mistakes most valuable life lessons judge not lest ye be judged best application essay ideas when life gives you lemons make lemonade 10 Most Expensive Boarding Schools In the World 11 Most Valuable Lessons Learned in Life: Essay Ideas Show more... Show less

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• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples

How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.

The main goals of an introduction are to:

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

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Table of contents

Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.

Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.

Examples: Writing a good hook

Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.

• Braille was an extremely important invention.
• The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly  why the topic is important.

• The internet is defined as “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities.”
• The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education.

Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.

• Mary Shelley’s  Frankenstein is a famous book from the nineteenth century.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement.

Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.

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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

• Historical, geographical, or social context
• An outline of the debate you’re addressing
• A summary of relevant theories or research about the topic
• Definitions of key terms

The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.

This is the most important part of your introduction. A  good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.

The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.

For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.

When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .

You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.

Checklist: Essay introduction

My first sentence is engaging and relevant.

I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.

I have defined any important terms.

My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.

Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).

In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.

This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/introduction/

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June 26, 2024

published by phi beta kappa

Print or web publication, what i have taught—and learned.

After 50 years as a professor, I understand that my job is to make students think hard about thinking

My teaching career has been more than five decades long, but only now have I begun to dig into what it has meant—to those I’ve taught and to me. What was I doing, in what human situation was I participating, when, in all those classrooms, lecture halls, and seminar settings over the years, I “taught”? What was I giving out, giving up, and getting back, and what were students giving up and getting back? A little procession of plausible answers has wandered into my thinking. I was, I could say, “supplying information”—about, say, William Faulkner or Herman Melville or Shakespeare or, year after year, James Joyce. I could assert that the students were learning, but just how sure could I be about that? Even if they told me (which they did) about the value of those hours we spent together, what did they then possess that I had given to them? Even if I were, year after year, diligently turning over what I thought they needed to know, how depressingly secondary my role must have been. Such information as I had was no more mine than anything else I could pilfer from the teachers and writers who had come before me. What kind of dignity was attached to having been that sort of conduit, a dutiful middleman between knowledge and the mind of a student?

Climbing up a rung or two on the ladder of pride, I could announce that I had for years been “inspiring” my students, giving them, through my own example, a sense of how one could live amid books and authors and beauty and wisdom. Thinking this way, I could find myself in euphoric agreement with Henry Adams that “a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell when his influence stops.” As long as I never tested such a noble sentiment, never examined too closely just how far my influence had gone, I could indulge a soothing sense of having made a consequential impact on my students.

But when I thought of the teachers I fondly remembered, what exactly did their inspiration amount to? I recalled little that they said. I remembered instead their way of speaking, their faces and posture, if they stood or sat, the titles and some of the contents of the books they taught, but few details of anything they lectured me about or tested me on. For one college teacher, John Ashmead at Haverford, I could come up only with the memory that he devoted an entire hour to detailing the difference between bunkum and balderdash . Of another, Tom Flanagan at Berkeley, I know he was both the wittiest and the most informed person I had ever encountered. He is now gone; I cherish everything I can recall about him. But the memory is all too slender. I can’t bring back to mind, in any particulars, the knowledge he gave me. Emerson put it this way: “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” How odd a relationship, one that leaves me only with some blurred pictures about what my teachers have tried to teach me. How can this constitute inspiration? Yet I knew that, in Emerson’s phrase, they had indeed made me.

Later, when I became the teacher rather than the student and when I thought about what I was doing in the classroom, Chaucer’s modest description of the clerke in The Canterbury Tales struck me as about right: “And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.” I taught as I learned, learned as I taught. But on some other days, my thinking darkened when I stared into the deeper dimensions of what I was up to. If, as psychological studies have reported, most of the content of what anyone learns in a classroom is quickly forgotten (according to some experiments, up to 80 percent in two weeks), then another dynamic, hidden from view, might better define my relationship to my students. Muppet master Jim Henson said that children “don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” If content wasn’t really at the heart of my transactions with my students, what was?

Such unsatisfying explanations brought me, unwillingly, to power. It is hard to think of any human relationship—familial, political, sexual, social, professional—in which the intricate workings of power can’t be found. Even the frisson of romantic love is partly fueled by power in its most delicate and treasured form. Where is power found in teaching? Like another profession often cited as the oldest, teaching is founded on a relationship that is at once formal and intimate. Its mysteries as well as its satisfactions are bound up with all the complexities of every human connection: trust and lack of trust, intimacy as well as its absence, patience and exasperation, purpose mixed with random curiosity, submission and, yes, power. This last element is the least understood and most potent part of teaching. Because power is alien to the polite ethic of congenial agreement between teacher and student, it deserves close attention.

In my teaching, power has been present even when disguised by intimacy. It existed simply because I was older than my students (but not much older when I started out) and had organized the class. I also issued the assignments, called on students, controlled the grade book, and was in all ways the authority. When the child psychologist and psychotherapist Haim Ginott taught, he came to the same understanding: “I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.” College classrooms lack the innocent intensity of elementary schoolrooms, but a professor’s power is constantly deployed in a hundred ways. Some are devious.

Here’s one: what you don’t say, what you don’t tell, what you leave out. It has to do with timing, and it works this way: “I am now teaching you everything you need to know about this author. But I’m not teaching you everything I know.” Like strippers, teachers hold something back. So, when teaching the ominously disturbing short stories of Franz Kafka, I waited a long time before disclosing that Kafka would laugh aloud when reading those stories to his close friends. For my students, first came the terror, and only much later, when the horror had struck deep, Kafka’s peculiar comedy. It’s timing. Anyone in charge of a classroom knows the tactic, firmly staking out the distance between the portion of understanding initially disclosed to the student and the portion held in reserve.

When students progress from satisfaction with what they have to a desire for more, teachers who withhold knowledge are negotiating with them. Once that relationship, never explicitly acknowledged, becomes secure, a minor miracle can happen in a classroom: the moment when one student, and then perhaps another, much to their surprise but owing to the artificially enclosed arena in which they find themselves, say something they did not know they had the insight to say—or the skill or the courage. It may well be something they could never say to their friends or parents. It may be something unknown even to the student until that moment. It represents an advance from which there is little likelihood of retreat. It is learning.

The learning created in those special moments has little to do with facts or numbers, dates or places. Instead, the student, enclosed within the classroom walls, suddenly becomes aware of the potential strength of his or her own mind and thus how capable a human mind is of creating further insights, recognitions, and perceptions. In those moments, a touch of mastery comes to the student. Building on this mastery, instance after instance, can reward the student with the confidence that defines education in a sense that is not simply practical or utilitarian. The student hasn’t necessarily learned something new; he or she has gotten to know what “knowing” can be.

The process is delicate. The teacher, armed with the power central to the profession, must diminish that power so that its imbalance, always to be preserved in the teacher’s favor, is nonetheless slowly tipped, encounter after encounter, to give the student greater command and greater confidence. No matter how much the teacher gives, the sources will never run dry, because what is given is not primarily information but the mutual recognition that the student is on the way to knowing. And the student, taking all that can be given, can be surprised by the access to perception suddenly acquired.

Of course the encounter often fails. Fatigue on everyone’s part, student listlessness, inept teacher preparation, or a good question badly put and badly answered: these and every other sort of weakness can damage a classroom, leaving it a scene of human enterprise gone amiss. But the beginning touches of mastery, those moments of recognition, can prove resilient. Sometimes they are strong enough, memorable enough, to salvage a class even after it seems wrecked. Such occasions constitute the insurance policy every good teacher wants to have.

If what I believe about a classroom at its best is true, MOOCs (massive open online courses) will never be able to create the ideal classroom’s human complexity or improvisational magic. The focus of MOOCs is “deliverables,” and the method of such delivery is unidirectional—from content provider to passive recipient. In contrast, the classroom at its best employs content only as the means, not the ends, of education. That kind of education tells students what their minds can do, not what their minds can contain.

The delicacy and fragility of this classroom experience can be tested in many ways. In a graduate seminar on W. B. Yeats that I took long ago at Berkeley, the teacher, Tom Flanagan, had a single pedagogical method: he would ask questions, one by one, carefully doling them out. Each question would be lofted into space, and the dozen students in the seminar would seemingly gaze at it for what felt like minutes but surely was only seconds. Then one of us would clumsily try to frame a response. One day Flanagan aimed his question directly at the only one of us who had, until that moment, not spoken a word. Minutes, not seconds, did pass as the student and teacher stared at one another. Silence filled the room, the kind of silence, prolonged and painful, that cries out for mercy. At last the student spoke and slowly assembled a series of sentences that were clear, handsome in their fullness, and wholly responsive to both the question and all it implied. Flanagan then said, “You, sir, now know how to talk about Mr. Yeats. The rest of you have seen the kind of thinking your colleague can do. I trust that all of you will take this example to heart.” That was teaching; that was power. It was also the formal intimacy, the tacit trust of one person in another, and the patience out of which thought and learning can emerge. Without the teacher’s shrewd encouragement, the student might never have spoken. And yes, we took the example to heart.

Without such moments, little genuine education can happen. In an unmistakable yet tacit way, then, the student needs the teacher. Just as surely, the teacher needs the student—not for a job, not for self-satisfaction, but for something much better: the privilege of being present at the moment when a younger mind takes flight and becomes stronger, possibly strong enough one day to surpass the teacher in power and authority.

But note: a student who surpasses a teacher may then reject the teacher. Intellectual worship turns into disillusion. Much of the progress of scholarship is founded on the ascendance of new finding against old finding, of student contending with teacher. Students can come to resent the power of a teacher or tire of a relationship in which they are secondary. Good teachers recognize these complications and try to guard against them. They know that the connection can become so intense, so riddled by the complexities of power, that it is best to bring it to an end. Emerson sought a way to break such fever: “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion.” Writing at about the same time, Amos Bronson Alcott said, “The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.”

But good teachers inevitably create disciples; having them is intrinsic to the profession. Some students can even come to think of their teachers as suprahuman. Once, while grocery shopping, I encountered a student in the produce aisle and she blurted out in astonishment, “I didn’t know you ate.” That embarrassing moment reminded me of what Joyce said when a young man came up to him in Zurich and asked, “May I kiss the hand that wrote Ulysses?   ” Joyce replied, somewhat like King Lear, “No, it did lots of other things too.”

The complicated, formally intimate, and occasionally competitive relationship I am describing here exists everywhere in teaching but is found most intensely in the disciplines that focus on the formal and the intimate: the humanities. What studies of literature, the fine arts, music, and kindred fields share is a focus on the ways in which the stubbornly human is configured in designs, patterns, and superimpositions that are extrahuman. A book is written by a person, but the book is not the person; Beethoven did not compose himself; the paintings of Matisse are not autobiographies; the stories of Hemingway are not his life. Those patterns, those constructs, have a way of nonetheless turning us back on ourselves and reminding us of what we are as humans. For this reason, a classroom in a humanities field is unlike a science laboratory (a powerful teaching arena, but in a different way). A humanities course is situated at the center of human emotion, desire, aspiration, and hope. It can recall us to ourselves, in both our human capacities and our lack of capacity, our ambitions, our admirations, our envies, and our inner perplexities.

Which explains, I now understand, why it mattered less what I taught during all those years than that I taught. The subject matter was secondary to the essential matter at hand: what it means to be human, mortal, unfinished, weak and strong, stupid and smart, imperfect. Beginning teachers, as I recall from my own time as a beginner, believe they must know everything about their subjects. They fear they might seem to lack omniscience in the presence of their students. Such fear is nonsensical. Teachers are not appointed to be encyclopedias. Their primary role, as mine was for my students, is not to provide information about authors. It is to exploit (ugly word, but true) the authors to the greater end of teaching students about themselves. In recognizing now what I had been doing all those years, I mean no disservice to the authors. They cannot be dislodged from the place they rightfully have. My role was not to worship the writers and to tell my students how great they were. The late David Foster Wallace had it right:

One has only to spend a term trying to teach college literature to realize that the quickest way to kill an author’s vitality for potential readers is to present that author ahead of time as “great” or “classic.” Because then the author becomes for the students like medicine or vegetables, something the authorities have declared “good for them” that they “ought to like,” at which point the students’ nictitating membranes come down, and everyone just goes through the requisite motions of criticism and paper-writing without feeling one real or relevant thing. It’s like removing all oxygen from the room before trying to start a fire.

My role was to supply that oxygen. Only teachers can provide it, and not all teachers, sad to say, do so easily. Learning needs human beings in rooms, teachers and students with all they can bring to the occasion. It is indeed expensive, and it flourishes in small settings, seminars, and tutorials—wherever the formal intimacy I am talking about occurs. Perhaps the only quotable remark ever made by President James A. Garfield says something true about the intimacy of good teaching: “Give me a log hut, with only a simple bench, Mark Hopkins on one end and I on the other, and you may have all the buildings, apparatus, and libraries without him.” Garfield was a student of Hopkins when Hopkins taught at Williams College and where he served as president. Williams and colleges like it supply a lot of oxygen to students. That’s invaluable.

But are bright young people the only ones to be supplied the necessary oxygen? Today I teach in a continuing studies program for the not-young—parents and grandparents, professionals, retired professionals, home-keepers, successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs, physicians, attorneys, technicians, and accountants. Some of my students are older than I am, but we all are old enough to remember, say, Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Such programs are growing around the country as universities wake up to the potential of educating the adult populations surrounding their campuses. Those schools and those new students are asking the old questions: Is education wasted on the young? Can older men and women get as much out of it as undergraduates? Can they get even more out of it? Meanwhile, I ask the same questions about teaching older students that I asked about the younger ones: “What am I giving out, giving up, getting back, and what are students giving up and getting back?”

Some things have remained the same. I’m still the authority. My new students wouldn’t have it any other way; they want to believe I come equipped with strengths and knowledge otherwise not available to them. My younger students took it for granted that I knew more than they, but my students of today engage in a willing suspension of disbelief about that; they impute to me a power beyond their own. They do so to make the course worth their time. My job is to live up to that high expectation. This is the nature of our trust, their believing that I possess something they couldn’t get on their own, my knowing I have to deliver.

As they trust me, I profit from them. All of us are cluttered by experience; many of my students have more of it than I have. Jobs, marriage, children, disappointments, successes, illnesses, some hopes shattered and others realized—the array of bruises and pleasures that life parcels out. The histories they bring to the classroom make the teaching of some books more satisfying than it often is with the young. Consider King Lear, Shakespeare’s most painful tragedy. Whatever a 19-year-old student might see in the play, that student is in no position to assess the danger of dividing an estate among one’s children, or the approaching peril of great dominion gone awry, or the onset of senility. My current students know enough to talk about such challenges in knowing ways. They haven’t been kings, but most are parents; most have had to make decisions that have changed the lives of others; and most have not escaped the agony of regret. Or consider the situation of Mr. Leopold Bloom, who, in Ulysses, must confront the knowledge that his wife will be unfaithful to him on a certain day—June 16, 1904. Bloom does not stand in the way of that infidelity. In fact, he helps to make it inevitable, but why? Out of what weakness, what forbearance, what cowardice, and yet perhaps what wise love? My students of today know enough, while pondering such agonizing questions, to withhold easy judgment; my students of yesterday did not.

One element of my teaching, however, remains the same: I exploit authors to the greater end of having students find out more about themselves. They come to my classes for the purest reason of all: they want to learn. But to learn what? The answer: intellectual and emotional truths lost to them when, on the way to adult lives, they had had to shunt aside certain provinces of knowledge and understanding to make room for others. They now have the freedom to confront and study things they had left behind. Here is what one of my students, a retired surgeon, wrote to me before taking one of my courses. Note the candor; note the deferential formality clothing the intensely personal; both have become familiar to me:

Over the last decade, my personal observations of the impermanence of “solid-facts” and the futility of chasing the ever-moving goal posts of “success” have awakened in me a persistent thirst for the bliss of “wisdom.” Your course is the first step on my journey toward uncovering what I know lies within me, so that I may seek a better understanding of the human condition.

Students like him are recovering lost time. Undergraduates, no matter how bright and ambitious and winning, won’t know how many things they will be giving up on the journey to adulthood. Such regret, mild or deep, will come later to them, as it has come to my students of today. Those older students, when young, could not imagine “being old.” Now they know.

What about the pedagogical striptease? Do I hold back anything from my current students? Should I? Isn’t it risky not to protect certain reservoirs of my knowledge? Don’t I undermine my necessary authority if I put everything on view? With my undergraduate students, that was a central part of the strategy. With my current students, however, I see such strategy as fakery and I keep no secret knowledge from them. I’m more likely now to say, “I don’t know,” and then ask them to answer the questions they put to me, particularly if the questions approach the ultimate meaning of anything. Despite their imputation of power to me, we really are in this together.

Thinking about them, I come upon a surprise. I see in them the older versions of the undergraduates I once taught. Those young students, lost in the mysteries of time, are now filing back to me, one by one. They are not the same individuals, but that doesn’t matter. The young are returning. They are announcing a readiness to take full advantage of the teaching they once were given but imperfectly understood. Anatole France, writing in 1881, described this gratifying relationship: “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.” Curiosity then; satisfaction now.

And what about those surprises, those minor miracles I described earlier, the moments when students say something in a classroom they did not know they had the knowledge or courage to say? Does this happen now? Yes, but in a way appropriate to the men and women my students have become. Their insights don’t burst upon them with the nervous excitability of youth, but with modest self-congratulation that they are saying something about their lives that, having rested half-submerged in their minds, is only now finding its way to the surface. They are releasing knowledge to themselves. So it is not surprising if one of them says, “Linear thinking has been my life. That’s how I worked and lived. It’s good, but so is poetry,” or, more poignantly, “I understand my parents for the first time even though they are dead.” And then there is the student who, rising to rhetorical grandeur, one day announced, “What I am is what I was. Faulkner got it right: ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ ”

Thus, again, the peculiar power of the classroom, a place both prompting and safeguarding incremental self-knowledge. Thus, again, the psychological perceptions taking place in that special arena being just as significant as the content of the books we read. Thus, again, power and the way it is disposed—but that power now more evenly shared among all participants, and this because it is impossible to suppress the truth that, where it counts, we are all students. As I study them, they study me. I believe they want to know what makes me tick, why I think what I think, how I wound up as a teacher, and where I go when I go home. Bestowing power on me, at the same time they want to collect me into their fraternity. When we talk about consequential matters, we move toward equality.

Not all books are equal. Some of them work well for older students, and others don’t. When I teach, the books I prefer are distinctly problematic, those that again and again prove challenging, even abrasive, the ones that leave us with no easy answers. I apply a simple test when making my list of what we are going to read: do I want to think about it again? So Herman Melville rather than John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf rather than Anthony Trollope, Kafka rather than F. Scott Fitzgerald, the later but not the earlier poems of Yeats, the tragic rather than the comic Shakespeare, and Joyce in “The Dead” and, above all, Ulysses . As Lionel Trilling, masterly teacher, once said, “real books read us.” Because of the astonishing classroom force they can generate, those “real books” are the ones I choose to teach. My preferences might appear wrongheaded to other teachers, but they aren’t teaching my courses. What any teacher does is private and idiosyncratic. Teaching is neither a public activity nor a committee undertaking. At its best, and when it works, it is enjoyably lonely and risky. You always get to do it by yourself.

One part of the loneliness arises from the awareness that while you are, for a time, the center of attention in a classroom, everything you give is soon dispersed in a thousand directions, all unknowable to you. After class is finished, you no longer exist, save in memory. When Yeats died, W. H. Auden wrote: “Now he is scattered among a hundred cities / And wholly given over to unfamiliar affections.” All students leave their teachers behind, taking with them what they will, often looking back, but always translating what they were taught into what they learned, and these two, the teacher comes to understand, can never be the same.

After five decades and counting of doing it, of “giving out, giving up, and getting back,” first with the young and now with the kind of people those young men and women have gradually become, I am beginning to understand what it has been all about. Teaching is not a “delivery system.” It is a human engagement. It’s what we, as a species, do all the time when at our best: using the power we have, helping each other, giving a hand, extending hope through sharing, and figuring out ways to shoulder the load. Most of us teach, one way or another. My way has been in the classroom.

William M. Chace is professor of English emeritus at Stanford University, where he teaches courses on James Joyce, Irish fiction, critical thinking, and poetry. He was president of Wesleyan University from 1988 to 1994 and of Emory University from 1994 to 2003 and is the author of One Hundred Semesters: My Adventures as Student, Professor, and University President.

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What I Learned about Myself: My Personal Message

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• Topic: Personal Beliefs , Personal Life , Personal Statement

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