course reflection essay template

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 research paper writing service team EssayPro.

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

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

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.

Reflection Paper - How to Video Guide

Our experts have created a video guide on how to write a reflection paper step-by-step:

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.

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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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How To Write A Reflection Paper?

How to start a reflection paper, how long should a reflection paper be.

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.

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How to Write a Reflection Paper: An Easy-to-Follow Guide

Last Updated: June 6, 2024 Fact Checked

Brainstorming

Organizing a reflection paper, as you write, sample outline and paper, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,865,387 times.

Reflection papers allow you to communicate with your instructor about how a specific article, lesson, lecture, or experience shapes your understanding of class-related material. Reflection papers are personal and subjective [1] X Research source , but they must still maintain a somewhat academic tone and must still be thoroughly and cohesively organized. Here's what you need to know about writing an effective reflection.

How to Start a Reflection Paper

To write a reflection paper, first write an introduction that outlines your expectations and thesis. Then, state your conclusions in the body paragraphs, explaining your findings with concrete details. Finally, conclude with a summary of your experience.

• These sentences should be both descriptive yet straight to the point.

• For lectures or readings, you can write down specific quotations or summarize passages.
• For experiences, make a note of specific portions of your experience. You could even write a small summary or story of an event that happened during the experience that stands out. Images, sounds, or other sensory portions of your experience work, as well.

• In the first column, list the main points or key experiences. These points can include anything that the author or speaker treated with importance as well as any specific details you found to be important. Divide each point into its own separate row.
• In the second column, list your personal response to the points you brought up in the first column. Mention how your subjective values, experiences, and beliefs influence your response.
• In the third and last column, describe how much of your personal response to share in your reflection paper.

• Does the reading, lecture, or experience challenge you socially, culturally, emotionally, or theologically? If so, where and how? Why does it bother you or catch your attention?
• Has the reading, lecture, or experience changed your way of thinking? Did it conflict with beliefs you held previously, and what evidence did it provide you with in order to change your thought process on the topic?
• Does the reading, lecture, or experience leave you with any questions? Were these questions ones you had previously or ones you developed only after finishing?
• Did the author, speaker, or those involved in the experience fail to address any important issues? Could a certain fact or idea have dramatically changed the impact or conclusion of the reading, lecture, or experience?
• How do the issues or ideas brought up in this reading, lecture, or experience mesh with past experiences or readings? Do the ideas contradict or support each other?

• Verify whether or not your instructor specified a word count for the paper instead of merely following this average.
• If your instructor demands a word count outside of this range, meet your instructor's requirements.

• For a reading or lecture, indicate what you expected based on the title, abstract, or introduction.
• For an experience, indicate what you expected based on prior knowledge provided by similar experiences or information from others.

• This is essentially a brief explanation of whether or not your expectations were met.
• A thesis provides focus and cohesion for your reflection paper.
• You could structure a reflection thesis along the following lines: “From this reading/experience, I learned...”

• Your conclusions must be explained. You should provide details on how you arrived at those conclusions using logic and concrete details.
• The focus of the paper is not a summary of the text, but you still need to draw concrete, specific details from the text or experience in order to provide context for your conclusions.
• Write a separate paragraph for each conclusion or idea you developed.
• Each paragraph should have its own topic sentence. This topic sentence should clearly identify your major points, conclusions, or understandings.

• The conclusions or understandings explained in your body paragraphs should support your overall conclusion. One or two may conflict, but the majority should support your final conclusion.

• If you feel uncomfortable about a personal issue that affects the conclusions you reached, it is wisest not to include personal details about it.
• If a certain issue is unavoidable but you feel uncomfortable revealing your personal experiences or feelings regarding it, write about the issue in more general terms. Identify the issue itself and indicate concerns you have professionally or academically.

• Avoid dragging someone else down in your writing. If a particular person made the experience you are reflecting on difficult, unpleasant, or uncomfortable, you must still maintain a level of detachment as you describe that person's influence. Instead of stating something like, “Bob was such a rude jerk,” say something more along the lines of, “One man was abrupt and spoke harshly, making me feel as though I was not welcome there.” Describe the actions, not the person, and frame those actions within the context of how they influenced your conclusions.
• A reflection paper is one of the few pieces of academic writing in which you can get away with using the first person pronoun “I.” That said, you should still relate your subjective feelings and opinions using specific evidence to explain them. [8] X Research source
• Avoid slang and always use correct spelling and grammar. Internet abbreviations like “LOL” or “OMG” are fine to use personally among friends and family, but this is still an academic paper, so you need to treat it with the grammatical respect it deserves. Do not treat it as a personal journal entry.
• Check and double-check your spelling and grammar after you finish your paper.

• Keep your sentences focused. Avoid squeezing multiple ideas into one sentence.
• Avoid sentence fragments. Make sure that each sentence has a subject and a verb.
• Vary your sentence length. Include both simple sentences with a single subject and verb and complex sentences with multiple clauses. Doing so makes your paper sound more conversational and natural, and prevents the writing from becoming too wooden. [9] X Research source

• Common transitional phrases include "for example," "for instance," "as a result," "an opposite view is," and "a different perspective is."

• For instance, if reflecting on a piece of literary criticism, you could mention how your beliefs and ideas about the literary theory addressed in the article relate to what your instructor taught you about it or how it applies to prose and poetry read in class.
• As another example, if reflecting on a new social experience for a sociology class, you could relate that experience to specific ideas or social patterns discussed in class.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.csuohio.edu/writing-center/reflection-papers
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments/reflectionpaper
• ↑ Alicia Cook. Professional Writer. Expert Interview. 11 December 2020.
• ↑ https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assignment/how-write-reflection-paper
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
• ↑ https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/writing-assessment/reflective-writing/reflective-essays
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/sentencestructure

About This Article

To write a reflection paper, start with an introduction where you state any expectations you had for the reading, lesson, or experience you're reflecting on. At the end of your intro, include a thesis statement that explains how your views have changed. In the body of your essay, explain the conclusions you reached after the reading, lesson, or experience and discuss how you arrived at them. Finally, finish your paper with a succinct conclusion that explains what you've learned. To learn how to brainstorm for your paper, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Reflective writing is a process of identifying, questioning, and critically evaluating course-based learning opportunities, integrated with your own observations, experiences, impressions, beliefs, assumptions, or biases, and which describes how this process stimulated new or creative understanding about the content of the course.

A reflective paper describes and explains in an introspective, first person narrative, your reactions and feelings about either a specific element of the class [e.g., a required reading; a film shown in class] or more generally how you experienced learning throughout the course. Reflective writing assignments can be in the form of a single paper, essays, portfolios, journals, diaries, or blogs. In some cases, your professor may include a reflective writing assignment as a way to obtain student feedback that helps improve the course, either in the moment or for when the class is taught again.

How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8.

Benefits of Reflective Writing Assignments

As the term implies, a reflective paper involves looking inward at oneself in contemplating and bringing meaning to the relationship between course content and the acquisition of new knowledge . Educational research [Bolton, 2010; Ryan, 2011; Tsingos-Lucas et al., 2017] demonstrates that assigning reflective writing tasks enhances learning because it challenges students to confront their own assumptions, biases, and belief systems around what is being taught in class and, in so doing, stimulate student’s decisions, actions, attitudes, and understanding about themselves as learners and in relation to having mastery over their learning. Reflection assignments are also an opportunity to write in a first person narrative about elements of the course, such as the required readings, separate from the exegetic and analytical prose of academic research papers.

Reflection writing often serves multiple purposes simultaneously. In no particular order, here are some of reasons why professors assign reflection papers:

• Enhances learning from previous knowledge and experience in order to improve future decision-making and reasoning in practice . Reflective writing in the applied social sciences enhances decision-making skills and academic performance in ways that can inform professional practice. The act of reflective writing creates self-awareness and understanding of others. This is particularly important in clinical and service-oriented professional settings.
• Allows students to make sense of classroom content and overall learning experiences in relation to oneself, others, and the conditions that shaped the content and classroom experiences . Reflective writing places you within the course content in ways that can deepen your understanding of the material. Because reflective thinking can help reveal hidden biases, it can help you critically interrogate moments when you do not like or agree with discussions, readings, or other aspects of the course.
• Increases awareness of one’s cognitive abilities and the evidence for these attributes . Reflective writing can break down personal doubts about yourself as a learner and highlight specific abilities that may have been hidden or suppressed due to prior assumptions about the strength of your academic abilities [e.g., reading comprehension; problem-solving skills]. Reflective writing, therefore, can have a positive affective [i.e., emotional] impact on your sense of self-worth.
• Applying theoretical knowledge and frameworks to real experiences . Reflective writing can help build a bridge of relevancy between theoretical knowledge and the real world. In so doing, this form of writing can lead to a better understanding of underlying theories and their analytical properties applied to professional practice.
• Reveals shortcomings that the reader will identify . Evidence suggests that reflective writing can uncover your own shortcomings as a learner, thereby, creating opportunities to anticipate the responses of your professor may have about the quality of your coursework. This can be particularly productive if the reflective paper is written before final submission of an assignment.
• Helps students identify their tacit [a.k.a., implicit] knowledge and possible gaps in that knowledge . Tacit knowledge refers to ways of knowing rooted in lived experience, insight, and intuition rather than formal, codified, categorical, or explicit knowledge. In so doing, reflective writing can stimulate students to question their beliefs about a research problem or an element of the course content beyond positivist modes of understanding and representation.
• Encourages students to actively monitor their learning processes over a period of time . On-going reflective writing in journals or blogs, for example, can help you maintain or adapt learning strategies in other contexts. The regular, purposeful act of reflection can facilitate continuous deep thinking about the course content as it evolves and changes throughout the term. This, in turn, can increase your overall confidence as a learner.
• Relates a student’s personal experience to a wider perspective . Reflection papers can help you see the big picture associated with the content of a course by forcing you to think about the connections between scholarly content and your lived experiences outside of school. It can provide a macro-level understanding of one’s own experiences in relation to the specifics of what is being taught.
• If reflective writing is shared, students can exchange stories about their learning experiences, thereby, creating an opportunity to reevaluate their original assumptions or perspectives . In most cases, reflective writing is only viewed by your professor in order to ensure candid feedback from students. However, occasionally, reflective writing is shared and openly discussed in class. During these discussions, new or different perspectives and alternative approaches to solving problems can be generated that would otherwise be hidden. Sharing student's reflections can also reveal collective patterns of thought and emotions about a particular element of the course.

Bolton, Gillie. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development . London: Sage, 2010; Chang, Bo. "Reflection in Learning." Online Learning 23 (2019), 95-110; Cavilla, Derek. "The Effects of Student Reflection on Academic Performance and Motivation." Sage Open 7 (July-September 2017): 1–13; Culbert, Patrick. “Better Teaching? You Can Write On It “ Liberal Education (February 2022); McCabe, Gavin and Tobias Thejll-Madsen. The Reflection Toolkit . University of Edinburgh; The Purpose of Reflection . Introductory Composition at Purdue University; Practice-based and Reflective Learning . Study Advice Study Guides, University of Reading; Ryan, Mary. "Improving Reflective Writing in Higher Education: A Social Semiotic Perspective." Teaching in Higher Education 16 (2011): 99-111; Tsingos-Lucas et al. "Using Reflective Writing as a Predictor of Academic Success in Different Assessment Formats." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 81 (2017): Article 8; What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse; Rykkje, Linda. "The Tacit Care Knowledge in Reflective Writing: A Practical Wisdom." International Practice Development Journal 7 (September 2017): Article 5; Using Reflective Writing to Deepen Student Learning . Center for Writing, University of Minnesota.

How to Approach Writing a Reflection Paper

Thinking About Reflective Thinking

Educational theorists have developed numerous models of reflective thinking that your professor may use to frame a reflective writing assignment. These models can help you systematically interpret your learning experiences, thereby ensuring that you ask the right questions and have a clear understanding of what should be covered. A model can also represent the overall structure of a reflective paper. Each model establishes a different approach to reflection and will require you to think about your writing differently. If you are unclear how to fit your writing within a particular reflective model, seek clarification from your professor. There are generally two types of reflective writing assignments, each approached in slightly different ways.

1.  Reflective Thinking about Course Readings

This type of reflective writing focuses on thoughtfully thinking about the course readings that underpin how most students acquire new knowledge and understanding about the subject of a course. Reflecting on course readings is often assigned in freshmen-level, interdisciplinary courses where the required readings examine topics viewed from multiple perspectives and, as such, provide different ways of analyzing a topic, issue, event, or phenomenon. The purpose of reflective thinking about course readings in the social and behavioral sciences is to elicit your opinions, beliefs, and feelings about the research and its significance. This type of writing can provide an opportunity to break down key assumptions you may have and, in so doing, reveal potential biases in how you interpret the scholarship.

If you are assigned to reflect on course readings, consider the following methods of analysis as prompts that can help you get started :

• Examine carefully the main introductory elements of the reading, including the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework being used to test assumptions, and the research questions being addressed. Think about what ideas stood out to you. Why did they? Were these ideas new to you or familiar in some way based on your own lived experiences or prior knowledge?
• Develop your ideas around the readings by asking yourself, what do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge about this topic come from? What are the observations or experiences in my life that influence my understanding of the topic? Do I agree or disagree with the main arguments, recommended course of actions, or conclusions made by the author(s)? Why do I feel this way and what is the basis of these feelings?
• Make connections between the text and your own beliefs, opinions, or feelings by considering questions like, how do the readings reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How the readings challenge these ideas or assumptions? How does this text help me to better understand this topic or research in ways that motivate me to learn more about this area of study?

2.  Reflective Thinking about Course Experiences

This type of reflective writing asks you to critically reflect on locating yourself at the conceptual intersection of theory and practice. The purpose of experiential reflection is to evaluate theories or disciplinary-based analytical models based on your introspective assessment of the relationship between hypothetical thinking and practical reality; it offers a way to consider how your own knowledge and skills fit within professional practice. This type of writing also provides an opportunity to evaluate your decisions and actions, as well as how you managed your subsequent successes and failures, within a specific theoretical framework. As a result, abstract concepts can crystallize and become more relevant to you when considered within your own experiences. This can help you formulate plans for self-improvement as you learn.

If you are assigned to reflect on your experiences, consider the following questions as prompts to help you get started :

• Contextualize your reflection in relation to the overarching purpose of the course by asking yourself, what did you hope to learn from this course? What were the learning objectives for the course and how did I fit within each of them? How did these goals relate to the main themes or concepts of the course?
• Analyze how you experienced the course by asking yourself, what did I learn from this experience? What did I learn about myself? About working in this area of research and study? About how the course relates to my place in society? What assumptions about the course were supported or refuted?
• Think introspectively about the ways you experienced learning during the course by asking yourself, did your learning experiences align with the goals or concepts of the course? Why or why do you not feel this way? What was successful and why do you believe this? What would you do differently and why is this important? How will you prepare for a future experience in this area of study?

NOTE: If you are assigned to write a journal or other type of on-going reflection exercise, a helpful approach is to reflect on your reflections by re-reading what you have already written. In other words, review your previous entries as a way to contextualize your feelings, opinions, or beliefs regarding your overall learning experiences. Over time, this can also help reveal hidden patterns or themes related to how you processed your learning experiences. Consider concluding your reflective journal with a summary of how you felt about your learning experiences at critical junctures throughout the course, then use these to write about how you grew as a student learner and how the act of reflecting helped you gain new understanding about the subject of the course and its content.

ANOTHER NOTE: Regardless of whether you write a reflection paper or a journal, do not focus your writing on the past. The act of reflection is intended to think introspectively about previous learning experiences. However, reflective thinking should document the ways in which you progressed in obtaining new insights and understandings about your growth as a learner that can be carried forward in subsequent coursework or in future professional practice. Your writing should reflect a furtherance of increasing personal autonomy and confidence gained from understanding more about yourself as a learner.

Structure and Writing Style

There are no strict academic rules for writing a reflective paper. Reflective writing may be assigned in any class taught in the social and behavioral sciences and, therefore, requirements for the assignment can vary depending on disciplinary-based models of inquiry and learning. The organization of content can also depend on what your professor wants you to write about or based on the type of reflective model used to frame the writing assignment. Despite these possible variations, below is a basic approach to organizing and writing a good reflective paper, followed by a list of problems to avoid.

Pre-flection

In most cases, it's helpful to begin by thinking about your learning experiences and outline what you want to focus on before you begin to write the paper. This can help you organize your thoughts around what was most important to you and what experiences [good or bad] had the most impact on your learning. As described by the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre, preparing to write a reflective paper involves a process of self-analysis that can help organize your thoughts around significant moments of in-class knowledge discovery.

• Using a thesis statement as a guide, note what experiences or course content stood out to you , then place these within the context of your observations, reactions, feelings, and opinions. This will help you develop a rough outline of key moments during the course that reflect your growth as a learner. To identify these moments, pose these questions to yourself: What happened? What was my reaction? What were my expectations and how were they different from what transpired? What did I learn?
• Critically think about your learning experiences and the course content . This will help you develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding about why these moments were significant or relevant to you. Use the ideas you formulated during the first stage of reflecting to help you think through these moments from both an academic and personal perspective. From an academic perspective, contemplate how the experience enhanced your understanding of a concept, theory, or skill. Ask yourself, did the experience confirm my previous understanding or challenge it in some way. As a result, did this highlight strengths or gaps in your current knowledge? From a personal perspective, think introspectively about why these experiences mattered, if previous expectations or assumptions were confirmed or refuted, and if this surprised, confused, or unnerved you in some way.
• Analyze how these experiences and your reactions to them will shape your future thinking and behavior . Reflection implies looking back, but the most important act of reflective writing is considering how beliefs, assumptions, opinions, and feelings were transformed in ways that better prepare you as a learner in the future. Note how this reflective analysis can lead to actions you will take as a result of your experiences, what you will do differently, and how you will apply what you learned in other courses or in professional practice.

Basic Structure and Writing Style

Reflective Background and Context

The first part of your reflection paper should briefly provide background and context in relation to the content or experiences that stood out to you. Highlight the settings, summarize the key readings, or narrate the experiences in relation to the course objectives. Provide background that sets the stage for your reflection. You do not need to go into great detail, but you should provide enough information for the reader to understand what sources of learning you are writing about [e.g., course readings, field experience, guest lecture, class discussions] and why they were important. This section should end with an explanatory thesis statement that expresses the central ideas of your paper and what you want the readers to know, believe, or understand after they finish reading your paper.

Reflective Interpretation

Drawing from your reflective analysis, this is where you can be personal, critical, and creative in expressing how you felt about the course content and learning experiences and how they influenced or altered your feelings, beliefs, assumptions, or biases about the subject of the course. This section is also where you explore the meaning of these experiences in the context of the course and how you gained an awareness of the connections between these moments and your own prior knowledge.

Guided by your thesis statement, a helpful approach is to interpret your learning throughout the course with a series of specific examples drawn from the course content and your learning experiences. These examples should be arranged in sequential order that illustrate your growth as a learner. Reflecting on each example can be done by: 1)  introducing a theme or moment that was meaningful to you, 2) describing your previous position about the learning moment and what you thought about it, 3) explaining how your perspective was challenged and/or changed and why, and 4) introspectively stating your current or new feelings, opinions, or beliefs about that experience in class.

It is important to include specific examples drawn from the course and placed within the context of your assumptions, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. A reflective narrative without specific examples does not provide an effective way for the reader to understand the relationship between the course content and how you grew as a learner.

Reflective Conclusions

The conclusion of your reflective paper should provide a summary of your thoughts, feelings, or opinions regarding what you learned about yourself as a result of taking the course. Here are several ways you can frame your conclusions based on the examples you interpreted and reflected on what they meant to you. Each example would need to be tied to the basic theme [thesis statement] of your reflective background section.

• Your reflective conclusions can be described in relation to any expectations you had before taking the class [e.g., “I expected the readings to not be relevant to my own experiences growing up in a rural community, but the research actually helped me see that the challenges of developing my identity as a child of immigrants was not that unusual...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can explain how what you learned about yourself will change your actions in the future [e.g., “During a discussion in class about the challenges of helping homeless people, I realized that many of these people hate living on the street but lack the ability to see a way out. This made me realize that I wanted to take more classes in psychology...”].
• Your reflective conclusions can describe major insights you experienced a critical junctures during the course and how these moments enhanced how you see yourself as a student learner [e.g., "The guest speaker from the Head Start program made me realize why I wanted to pursue a career in elementary education..."].
• Your reflective conclusions can reconfigure or reframe how you will approach professional practice and your understanding of your future career aspirations [e.g.,, "The course changed my perceptions about seeking a career in business finance because it made me realize I want to be more engaged in customer service..."]
• Your reflective conclusions can explore any learning you derived from the act of reflecting itself [e.g., “Reflecting on the course readings that described how minority students perceive campus activities helped me identify my own biases about the benefits of those activities in acclimating to campus life...”].

NOTE: The length of a reflective paper in the social sciences is usually less than a traditional research paper. However, don’t assume that writing a reflective paper is easier than writing a research paper. A well-conceived critical reflection paper often requires as much time and effort as a research paper because you must purposeful engage in thinking about your learning in ways that you may not be comfortable with or used to. This is particular true while preparing to write because reflective papers are not as structured as a traditional research paper and, therefore, you have to think deliberately about how you want to organize the paper and what elements of the course you want to reflect upon.

ANOTHER NOTE: Do not limit yourself to using only text in reflecting on your learning. If you believe it would be helpful, consider using creative modes of thought or expression such as, illustrations, photographs, or material objects that reflects an experience related to the subject of the course that was important to you [e.g., like a ticket stub to a renowned speaker on campus]. Whatever non-textual element you include, be sure to describe the object's relevance to your personal relationship to the course content.

Problems to Avoid

A reflective paper is not a “mind dump” . Reflective papers document your personal and emotional experiences and, therefore, they do not conform to rigid structures, or schema, to organize information. However, the paper should not be a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness narrative. Reflective papers are still academic pieces of writing that require organized thought, that use academic language and tone , and that apply intellectually-driven critical thinking to the course content and your learning experiences and their significance.

A reflective paper is not a research paper . If you are asked to reflect on a course reading, the reflection will obviously include some description of the research. However, the goal of reflective writing is not to present extraneous ideas to the reader or to "educate" them about the course. The goal is to share a story about your relationship with the learning objectives of the course. Therefore, unlike research papers, you are expected to write from a first person point of view which includes an introspective examination of your own opinions, feelings, and personal assumptions.

A reflection paper is not a book review . Descriptions of the course readings using your own words is not a reflective paper. Reflective writing should focus on how you understood the implications of and were challenged by the course in relation to your own lived experiences or personal assumptions, combined with explanations of how you grew as a student learner based on this internal dialogue. Remember that you are the central object of the paper, not the research materials.

A reflective paper is not an all-inclusive meditation. Do not try to cover everything. The scope of your paper should be well-defined and limited to your specific opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what you determine to be the most significant content of the course and in relation to the learning that took place. Reflections should be detailed enough to covey what you think is important, but your thoughts should be expressed concisely and coherently [as is true for any academic writing assignment].

Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; Critical Reflection: Journals, Opinions, & Reactions . University Writing Center, Texas A&M University; Connor-Greene, Patricia A. “Making Connections: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Journal Writing in Enhancing Student Learning.” Teaching of Psychology 27 (2000): 44-46; Good vs. Bad Reflection Papers , Franklin University; Dyment, Janet E. and Timothy S. O’Connell. "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors." Innovative Higher Education 35 (2010): 233-244: How to Write a Reflection Paper . Academic Skills, Trent University; Amelia TaraJane House. Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas; Ramlal, Alana, and Désirée S. Augustin. “Engaging Students in Reflective Writing: An Action Research Project.” Educational Action Research 28 (2020): 518-533; Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; McGuire, Lisa, Kathy Lay, and Jon Peters. “Pedagogy of Reflective Writing in Professional Education.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2009): 93-107; Critical Reflection . Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo; How Do I Write Reflectively? Academic Skills Toolkit, University of New South Wales Sydney; Reflective Writing . Skills@Library. University of Leeds; Walling, Anne, Johanna Shapiro, and Terry Ast. “What Makes a Good Reflective Paper?” Family Medicine 45 (2013): 7-12; Williams, Kate, Mary Woolliams, and Jane Spiro. Reflective Writing . 2nd edition. London: Red Globe Press, 2020; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. “Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing.” Higher Education Research and Development (2022): 1-16.

Writing Tip

Focus on Reflecting, Not on Describing

Minimal time and effort should be spent describing the course content you are asked to reflect upon. The purpose of a reflection assignment is to introspectively contemplate your reactions to and feeling about an element of the course. D eflecting the focus away from your own feelings by concentrating on describing the course content can happen particularly if "talking about yourself" [i.e., reflecting] makes you uncomfortable or it is intimidating. However, the intent of reflective writing is to overcome these inhibitions so as to maximize the benefits of introspectively assessing your learning experiences. Keep in mind that, if it is relevant, your feelings of discomfort could be a part of how you critically reflect on any challenges you had during the course [e.g., you realize this discomfort inhibited your willingness to ask questions during class, it fed into your propensity to procrastinate, or it made it difficult participating in groups].

Writing a Reflection Paper . Writing Center, Lewis University; Reflection Paper . Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, University of Arkansas.

Another Writing Tip

Helpful Videos about Reflective Writing

These two short videos succinctly describe how to approach a reflective writing assignment. They are produced by the Academic Skills department at the University of Melbourne and the Skills Team of the University of Hull, respectively.

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How to Write a Reflection Paper Like a Pro

The reflection paper is common to many academic courses as it requires students to present their opinions on a specific topic. Even though it is an academic essay, this type of assignment may at times provide students the opportunity to write in the first person and to observe fewer formal restrictions. The reflection paper involves describing, analyzing, and summarizing personal experiences as they relate to a film, book, or idea. While it may seem easy to accomplish such a task, the guidelines presented here are essential to creating a high-quality paper.

What Is a Reflection Paper

This type of essay implies a reflective kind of writing. One of the most important considerations while working on a reflection paper is the necessity to introduce personal opinions, thoughts, and feelings regarding the topic provided by the professor or tutor. These can also be complemented by emotions or previous experiences that can be appropriately integrated into the reflective essay. The idea is to help the reader understand how your views correlate with your personal experiences. Sometimes, your analysis of a book or lecture will not be based exclusively on theoretical matters because previous experiences will also tend to shape your perception of the events and subjects you are describing.

The reflection paper assumes that many details will require consideration as you are in the process of its creation. The most important factor concerns incorporating real-life examples that you have either experienced or observed. Such details will demonstrate your understanding of the topic and will help you juxtapose your personal feelings and thoughts with the content of the book or film. Indeed, you can apply knowledge from any number of academic disciplines to a reflection paper in the process of characterizing events, analyzing the actions of a protagonist, or assessing the value of a lecture. Furthermore, this type of essay should be as detailed as possible because abstract notions and descriptions will not ensure a clear understanding of your views on the topic.

Even though the reflection paper is to be based on your personal opinions, you should consider using respected sources. In other types of academic works, scholarly or popular sources are used to provide deeper insight into a subject. However, they play a consultative role in reflection papers as they will either support or refute subjective considerations. While you will need to rely on your personal experiences, credible sources can help you to evaluate and compare those with expert opinions.

Types of Reflection Papers

Writing a reflection paper assumes that you will need to take an objective look at a certain subject. Types of reflective essays range from personal to educational, talking about experiences in a different manner. Undoubtedly, educational reflection papers are prevalent in an academic setting, but personal and professional essays are also possibilities. The latter essays lend themselves to analyzing your professional growth and are used to discover how you might evaluate your personal skills, assess opportunities, and aim to accomplish your future career goals.

Educational reflection papers may illustrate your experiences in a variety of categories, including book reviews, movies, events, and even academic courses to evaluate your understanding of the subject. For example, books and movies illustrate certain kinds of situations that people may encounter in daily life. At the same time, they offer solutions and include discussion on the subject. In a reflection paper, you will provide your opinions and views regarding the events in assigned books or movies and how these have contributed to your understanding of certain practices or techniques.

Reflective essays about events might be more complicated than the rest, but they are closely related to real-life experiences. You may write about a recent conference or a workshop where experts shared their practices and professional secrets. Thus, you might analyze how your newly acquired knowledge could be helpful for personal development or career growth.

In some cases, a tutor may ask you to write about a course you are taking and its contribution to your understanding of the subject. You may reflect on what you have gained in the class and how the course materials affected your decision-making skills. You could also mention what aspects and pieces of information require more attention in the process of developing a better understanding of some topic.

The reflection paper has fewer requirements than other types of academic writing tasks, but it should be structured according to general guidelines. The first paragraph is an introduction that represents the idea of the essay, a subject for further discussion, the source analyzed, and your expectations for the topic. A thesis statement is obligatory as well because it outlines the structure of the paper and depicts a clear and debatable argument. The main body consists of several paragraphs, but the length depends on the specific instructions and required word count provided by the instructor. Each body paragraph needs to highlight a single point or idea provided from your personal perspective. The conclusion is the last section, and it will summarize your considerations and reflections.

It is necessary to point out that the structure of any reflection paper must also take into account many factors related to the representation of the text and word choice. Even though this type of paper involves a discussion of personal opinions and experiences, it should offer a cohesive flow of information and should employ academic language. Use complete sentences and proper transition words to facilitate transmitting your ideas to a reader.

How to Start Writing a Reflection Paper

It is necessary to identify the main idea and the goal of the essay. Any student creating a reflection paper needs to realize the objective for writing it. Furthermore, it is important to summarize the material provided in the book, movie, event, or course materials under discussion. Also consider your reactions, emotions, or experiences related to the book, event, or lecture. Your reflection paper should discuss your personal feelings and perceptions that may have changed under the influence of the subject. Using scholarly or other credible sources is recommended because it allows comparing your personal opinions with those of experts. A thorough analysis of a book, movie, or event will probably result in unanswered questions that should also be mentioned. Obviously, you should create a draft of the paper prior to compiling the final version. That way, an instructor can provide feedback and recommendations regarding the structure or the content of the paper. The final version of the reflective essay should be deliberate and should incorporate informative sources.

You can familiarize yourself with the examples of reflective essays here .

Recommendations

• Consider creating a mind map or a concise plan that can help you to structure your reflection paper.
• Think of using additional sources such as articles from newspapers or other reputable publications in order to provide additional background information about the subject.
• Draw on the opinions of other authors in order to depict a multifaceted understanding of the topic.
• Mention any relevant theories or practices that are germane to reflection on a book, movie, event, or lecture.
• Make sure that each paragraph highlights a single idea and includes a smooth transition into the next section.
• Relate the reflective paper to the particular academic discipline, and try to discover a subject from its perspective as well.

Things to Avoid

• Do not simply summarize course materials or the plot of a book or movie. It is necessary to provide personal reflections and analysis of the subject.
• Do not neglect the importance of a thesis statement, but develop it as a concise and arguable sentence that outlines the structure of the essay and represents your main ideas.
• Do not distract from the topic nor include irrelevant information.
• Do not be too vague but provide specific details about your personal experiences and reflections.
• Do not neglect editing and proofreading because they greatly help to make a paper professional and attractive for readers.

Reflective papers provide an opportunity to express your thoughts, opinions, or feelings regarding a certain topic. These assignments can be educational, professional, or personal. While this kind of essay may not seem complicated, many requirements regarding its formatting and structure should be kept in mind. Reflection papers consist of an introduction, main body, and conclusion, and they are written in academic language and use credible sources. You will need to rely on your analytical skills instead of simply summarizing the materials and, in the case of an educational reflection paper, relate your thoughts to a particular course. Overall, the essay should be cohesively structured, should exclude unnecessary details that are not related to the subject, and should be proofread before finalizing.

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How to Write a Reflection Paper

Why reflective writing, experiential reflection, reading reflection.

• A note on mechanics

Reflection offers you the opportunity to consider how your personal experiences and observations shape your thinking and your acceptance of new ideas.  Professors often ask students to write reading reflections.  They do this to encourage you to explore your own ideas about a text, to express your opinion rather than summarize the opinions of others.  Reflective writing can help you to improve your analytical skills because it requires you to express what you think, and more significantly, how and why you think that way.  In addition, reflective analysis asks you to acknowledge that your thoughts are shaped by your assumptions and preconceived ideas; in doing so, you can appreciate the ideas of others, notice how their assumptions and preconceived ideas may have shaped their thoughts, and perhaps recognize how your ideas support or oppose what you read.

Types of Reflective Writing

Popular in professional programs, like business, nursing, social work, forensics and education, reflection is an important part of making connections between theory and practice.  When you are asked to reflect upon experience in a placement, you do not only describe your experience, but you evaluate it based on ideas from class.  You can assess a theory or approach based on your observations and practice and evaluate your own knowledge and skills within your professional field.   This opportunity to take the time to think about your choices, your actions, your successes and your failures is best done within a specific framework, like course themes or work placement objectives.  Abstract concepts can become concrete and real to you when considered within your own experiences, and reflection on your experiences allows you to make plans for improvement.

To encourage thoughtful and balanced assessment of readings, many interdisciplinary courses may ask you to submit a reading reflection.  Often instructors will indicate to students what they expect of a reflection, but the general purpose is to elicit your informed opinions about ideas presented in the text and to consider how they affect your interpretation.   Reading reflections offer an opportunity to recognize – and perhaps break down – your assumptions which may be challenged by the text(s). 

Approaches to Reflective Inquiry

You may wonder how your professors assess your reflective writing.  What are they looking for? How can my experiences or ideas be right or wrong?  Your instructors expect you to critically engage with concepts from your course by making connections between your observations, experiences, and opinions.   They expect you to explain and analyse these concepts from your own point of view, eliciting original ideas and encouraging active interest in the course material.

It can be difficult to know where to begin when writing a critical reflection.  First, know that – like any other academic piece of writing – a reflection requires a narrow focus and strong analysis.  The best approach for identifying a focus and for reflective analysis is interrogation.   The following offers suggestions for your line of inquiry when developing a reflective response.

It is best to discuss your experiences in a work placement or practicum within the context of personal or organizational goals; doing so provides important insights and perspective for your own growth in the profession. For reflective writing, it is important to balance reporting or descriptive writing with critical reflection and analysis.

Consider these questions:

• Contextualize your reflection:  What are your learning goals? What are the objectives of the organization?  How do these goals fit with the themes or concepts from the course?
• Provide important information: What is the name of the host organization? What is their mission? Who do they serve? What was your role? What did you do?
• Analytical Reflection: What did you learn from this experience? About yourself? About working in the field? About society?
• Lessons from reflection: Did your experience fit with the goals or concepts of the course or organization?  Why or why not? What are your lessons for the future? What was successful? Why? What would you do differently? Why? How will you prepare for a future experience in the field?

Consider the purpose of reflection: to demonstrate your learning in the course.  It is important to actively and directly connect concepts from class to your personal or experiential reflection.  The following example shows how a student’s observations from a classroom can be analysed using a theoretical concept and how the experience can help a student to evaluate this concept.

For Example My observations from the classroom demonstrate that the hierarchical structure of Bloom’s Taxonomy is problematic, a concept also explored by Paul (1993).  The students often combined activities like application and synthesis or analysis and evaluation to build their knowledge and comprehension of unfamiliar concepts.  This challenges my understanding of traditional teaching methods where knowledge is the basis for inquiry.  Perhaps higher-order learning strategies like inquiry and evaluation can also be the basis for knowledge and comprehension, which are classified as lower-order skills in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Critical reflection requires thoughtful and persistent inquiry.  Although basic questions like “what is the thesis?” and “what is the evidence?” are important to demonstrate your understanding, you need to interrogate your own assumptions and knowledge to deepen your analysis and focus your assessment of the text.

Assess the text(s):

• What is the main point? How is it developed? Identify the purpose, impact and/or theoretical framework of the text.
• What ideas stood out to me? Why? Were they new or in opposition to existing scholarship?

Develop your ideas:

• What do I know about this topic? Where does my existing knowledge come from? What are the observations or experiences that shape my understanding?
• Do I agree or disagree with this argument?  Why?

Make connections:

• How does this text reinforce my existing ideas or assumptions? How does this text challenge my existing ideas or assumptions?
• How does this text help me to better understand this topic or explore this field of study/discipline?

A Note on Mechanics

As with all written assignments or reports, it is important to have a clear focus for your writing.  You do not need to discuss every experience or element of your placement.  Pick a few that you can explore within the context of your learning.  For reflective responses, identify the main arguments or important elements of the text to develop a stronger analysis which integrates relevant ideas from course materials.

Furthermore, your writing must be organized.  Introduce your topic and the point you plan to make about your experience and learning.  Develop your point through body paragraph(s), and conclude your paper by exploring the meaning you derive from your reflection. You may find the questions listed above can help you to develop an outline before you write your paper.

You should maintain a formal tone, but it is acceptable to write in the first person and to use personal pronouns.  Note, however, that it is important that you maintain confidentiality and anonymity of clients, patients or students from work or volunteer placements by using pseudonyms and masking identifying factors. 

The value of reflection: Critical reflection is a meaningful exercise which can require as much time and work as traditional essays and reports because it asks students to be purposeful and engaged participants, readers, and thinkers.

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Examples of Reflective Writing

Types of reflective writing assignments.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some examples of reflective writing

Social science fieldwork report (methods section), engineering design report, learning journal (weekly reflection).

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

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

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

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

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

Essay and assignment writing guide

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

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

Table of contents

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

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

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

What Is a Reflective Essay ?

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

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

Types of Reflective Writing

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

Critical Reflection Paper

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

Personal Reflection Paper

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

Reading Reflection Paper

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

Approaches to Reflective Inquiry

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

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

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

Boud’s Three-Level Model of Reflection

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

Schön’s Reflective Practitioner

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

Brookfield’s Four Lenses

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

Atkins and Murphy’s Model

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

Dewey’s Reflective Thinking

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

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

Writing a Reflection Outline

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

Reflection Paper Introduction:

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

Body Paragraphs:

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

Description:

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

Evaluation:

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

Conclusion:

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

Action Plan (Optional):

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

Reflection Paper Format

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

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

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

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

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

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

Choose the topic

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

Start with the main theme

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

Brainstorming part

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

✏️Example:

Main theme: A constant fear of missing out.

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

Analyze how and why

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

✏️Examples of reflective writing:

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

Connect your opinion, experience, and observation

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

6 Tips on Writing Your Reflection Paper

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

1. Describe the Experience Vividly

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

2. Use of First Person

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

3. Balancing Personal and Objective Elements

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

4. Authenticity and Honesty

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

5. Critical Self-Reflection

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

6. Demonstrating Growth and Learning

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

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

Reflection Paper Example

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

Ideas to Come Up with a Topic for a Reflective Essay

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

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

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

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

Reflective Essay Topic Ideas for Middle School Students

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

Reflective Essay Topics for College Students

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

Reflective Essay Topics for High School Students

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

Reflective Essay Topics about Places and Locations

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

Reflective Essay Topics about Events You Cherish

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

Reflective Essay Topics about Nature and Wildlife

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

Reflective Essay Topics about Relationships

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

Personal Reflective Essay Topics Ideas

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

Reflective Essay Topics about Nursing and Caring

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

Crafting Reflective Narratives

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

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

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

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

What Is a Reflective Essay: Definition

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

Reflective Essay Format

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

Reflective Essay Outline and Structure

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

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

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

How to Start a Reflective Essay: Creating an Introduction

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

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

Working on Reflective Essay Thesis

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

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

Writing a Reflection Essay Body Paragraph

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

How to Write a Reflective Essay Conclusion

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

How to Write a Reflective Essay: 10 Easy Steps

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

>> Read more: How to Write Essays

Reflective Essays Sample From Successful College Students

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

Writing a Reflective Essay: Bottom Line

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

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

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

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

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

Frequently Asked Questions about Writing a Reflective Essay

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay Outline

Reflective Essay Outline - Samples & Template

Published on: Oct 3, 2020

Last updated on: Jul 23, 2024

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The best essay starts with the perfect essay outline. An essay outline helps to get everything in order. It is the layout of one's thoughts and ideas related to the specific topic. With an outline, you can easily structure it properly.

Here is a guide that helps you in creating the perfect reflective essay outline.

Creating the essay outline for a reflective essay is like getting your thoughts in order. It works as an essay bone structure. An essay outline is a way of organizing thoughts and ideas in one place.

Writing the outline is the first step of a well-written essay. An outline helps in your entire essay, and you don't forget the essay's main points.

An outline gives you a clear roadmap and saves your writing time. With the outline's help, you won't struggle to remember the important points of the essay.

An outline helps from the start to the end of the essay, and you can easily finish the essay before the deadline. Collect all information and create a well-structured essay outline. Without a perfect outline, you would never create a good college essay and make it difficult for you.

The structure of the  college essay  depends on the topic and purpose of the essay. A properly structured outline will help you to present the necessary information in the essay easily. When writing the reflective essay outline, keep some key points in mind, and create the perfect essay.

• Describe the significance of the essay
• Identify personal intentions and link them with previous experiences.
• Think about future options
• Recognize your own beliefs
• Organize information in a sensible manner.
• Categorize the main points

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How to Write a Reflective Essay Outline?

Writing a  reflective essay  is a way of describing your personal experience and explain how those life experiences influenced and how they changed your lives.

When writing the outline, one thing to keep in mind is the chronological order. Explain all the events in logical order. Creating a good outline will make your essay writing phase easy and quicker.

When you start creating the college essay outline, make sure you include three sections i.e., introduction, body, and conclusion.

• Attention-grabbing hook
• Overview of the topic
• Thesis statement
• Paragraph 1 with a detailed description of the event, person, or place
• Paragraph 2 with a description of thoughts and feelings
• Paragraph 3 with analysis and evaluation of the experience
• Summary of the essay
• Restate the thesis statement

Let's discuss them in detail.

The essay introduction is based on your experiences, feelings, and situations. When you start writing the reflective paper introduction, focus on the main parts that make your introduction a good one.

The introduction part of the essay should start with an attention-grabbing hook statement. It is a statement that grabs the reader's attention. A great hook statement makes the readers want to read more.

It is the first statement that the reader read and decide to read the entire essay or not. The hook statement should start with a quote or an interesting question.

The introduction is a small overview of the reflection essay topic. Briefly mention the main points related to the topic. In this section, you need to communicate directly with the purpose of the essay. The first few sentences give a glimpse of the big picture that you reveal in the body paragraphs.

The thesis statement describes what the essay is all about. It is your entire essay's core statement, and it is called "reflective essay thesis." The thesis statement is all about places, events, experiences, and thoughts described further in the essay.

The body paragraph is the next section after the introduction. Writing the body paragraphs is sometimes time-consuming if you have not prepared the perfect outline.

Start the body paragraph with a topic sentence and explain the main idea. The reflective essay body paragraph is categorized into three paragraphs, like other essays.

In the first body paragraph, describe the event, person, or place. But describe all the events in chronological order so the reader easily understands. Not define the events in the body paragraphs without any order.

Describe the main issues related to the topic. Use quotations and cite sources related to the literature. Include precise examples of the events that occurred during this period.

The third part will be related to your personal reflections about the event. You need to add supporting details about the event and make a successful essay. In this paragraph, you describe what lessons you have learned after experiencing the event.

The essay's conclusion paragraph should be the finishing touch that brings the complete piece of the writing together. It contains two parts that make the essay successful.

The conclusion wraps the entire essay but does not add irrelevant details. Only add important points in the essay. It is the final part that the reader reads, so make it strong and powerful. In this part, encourage the reader to do further research.

In conclusion, restate the thesis statement and rewrite the main points. It is the closing part of the essay, and it must be concise. Inform the reader of your final opinion about the topic.

Reflective Essay Outline Format

The reflective essay format is different from other essays. It is a type of writing in which an essay writer uses the MLA format or APA style.

In APA style, you should consider a few points:

• Use Time New Roman
• The font size is 12, and all text should be double-spaced.
• The page number is located at the top right corner of the page.
• The title page, abstract, main body, and references are the main parts of the essay.

Similarly APA format, you should consider a few points in MLA format:

• The font size is 12.
• All the titles of the essay should be centered.
• Your paper's header should have your name, course number, professor's name, and date.
• On the last page of the essay, include the cited work.

Reflective Essay Outline Template

Creating a good outline is necessary for all essays. Without an outline, you will not complete your essay on time. Here is a template that will help you in creating a good reflective essay.

Reflective Essay Outline Examples

If you write the reflective essay for the first time, get help from these examples and craft a good essay. These examples will help in your writing the perfect reflective essay.

Example of Reflective Essay

Personal Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay Example About Travel

Tips on Writing the Reflective Essay

The outline is the backbone of the essay. For writing the perfect essay, you have to create the outline. Here are some tips that you should follow when writing a reflective essay.

• Use the outline for your daily entries.
• Avoid repetitive sentences in the essay.
• State your own opinion in the essay.
• Make sure that you have supported every moment that seemed unclear to you before.
• Use transition words between paragraphs.
• Include all the key points in the outline.
• Don't use complex words in the essay and present your point of view.
• Know the strong points that you need to showcase in the essay.
• Proofread and edit the essay before submitting or publishing it.

Reflective essay writing might be tough, but you can easily write the essay with the right outline. Some students have too little time, and they are overloaded with essay writing tasks. They cannot give appropriate time to essay writing.

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Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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