A reflective essay is a type of essay in which the writer chronicles his or her own experiences. These experiences add to an overall lesson that the writer targets to put across in the essay. The writer may also use his or her personal story to show the effect of a particular idea on a person. Reflective essays present a challenge to many students who find it difficult to write them because of a lack of understanding of how to do it. This post will guide you on how to write a reflective essay. Read on.Â
Your Unique Story Is The Anchor
When it comes to a reflective essay, your personal recount of events is the anchor of the entire essay. The essay will centre on your experiences and how they help you learn a particular concept or agree to it. Additionally, a reflective essay can also come in handy in detailing how you changed your mind on a particular concept after going through a certain period.
Format Of How To Write A Reflective Essay
Reflective essays look like normal essays at a glance. Each essay will have an introduction, body, and conclusion. What will, however, differentiate a reflective essay from a typical essay is what information goes into each section of the essay.
The Introduction
In a reflective essay, the introduction serves as more than just an invitation for the reader to read your essay. The introduction in a reflective essay gives the reader a sneak peek into what they can expect in the body. The introduction will let the reader know that you concluded about a certain matter because you went through a particular experience. You will also highlight the fact that before the experience that you are about to elaborate shortly, you had a different mindset or were lacking in understanding concerning the topic at hand.
The introduction also will let the reader know that what you are going to write about are actual experiences that helped shape you into the person you are now. To get the most out of your introduction, it is advisable to write it last. Additionally, make the introduction catchy but very short while detailed at the same time.
The Body
The body of the reflective essay your write will depend on two things: the experience you had and its comparison to a concept that you had no prior understanding of. It is this concept that influences the decisions you make as you undergo the changes that you do during your experience.
The ability of the body of your reflective essay to captivate will depend on how proficient you can narrate your truth and relate the same to the concept you’re dissecting. Reflective essay experts advise that you take this chance to write about each experience as truthfully as you can. Truth is what will capture the mind of the reader or the examiner when he or she goes through your essay. The uniqueness of your story additionally sets you apart from other examinees.
At the end of your body, reflect upon how the experience you went through made you a better person. Draw comparisons with the person that you were before that and let the reader in on the stand that you are on now. This stand can be something like a new level of expertise you gained after the experience you had.
The Conclusion
The conclusion of your reflective essay will quickly summarize the effect of the experiences you have had. The conclusion will highlight the type of person that you were before you embarked on the journey that changed you. It will then reflect on the most pivotal point of the experiences that you had. This point will be where and when exactly you started on the new path that you are on now.
Lastly, the conclusion will reaffirm the thesis statement that you chose when you started writing your reflective essay.
Final Thoughts
Reflective essays take the form of writing in a journal but now for a general audience rather than for personal use. Writing your unique story and how the experiences you went through helped improve, you will enable you to write compelling reflective essays.
An example of how to write a reflective essay
Reflective essay topics
Here are some of the topics:
1. The most formidable challenge in a marriage
2. Did your parents ever punished you unfairly when you were growing up
3. When you helped someone in need
4. Home alone on a weekend
5. The best summer vacation you will live to remember
6. A walk in the woods
7. Kissing in the rain
8. Hiking
9. Best high school prom moments
10. The impact of social media on a student’s character.
