Reflective essays are part of the long list of assignments you will encounter in school. Instructors assign these essays to test a student’s understanding of life experiences. They let you communicate your thoughts and feelings about a particular subject and how it has shaped your understanding of the course. Even though they may seem easy, these essays can be challenging and a stumbling block if you know little about them. You must first understand the structure of the reflection paper to know what goes where and then come up with the theme you want to write about.
If this is your first time, you may wonder how to write a reflection paper. Luckily, we have developed a guide to help you get started. This guide will discuss the basic structure of a reflection essay, tips for writing one, and the perfect example to help you out.
Before you learn how to write a reflection paper, you must understand it. A reflection paper is a type of writing in which you must express your thoughts, feelings, and opinion about a particular subject and how it has shaped your understanding. This particular subject could be an event, a book, and/or an experience.
Unlike other types of academic writing, a reflection paper demands that you look within for inspiration. This means that you will write the paper from a first-person point of view, sharing your experiences without relying on the opinion of other people. So, at best, there is no wrong answer.
So what do you include in a reflection essay? The first thing you must consider is the experiences and observations you have gone through. But it's not all about listing them; you also have to discuss the following:
Professors will assign reflective essays for various reasons, including:
Reflection essays are divided into two types: Experimental and textual.
Experimental reflection papers are those that analyze personal experiences and observations. It allows you to think critically about your choices, past successes, failures, and actions and then assess how a particular theory relates to it.
On the other hand, textual reflection analyzes written text, which could be a book, article, essay, etc. Your opinions, thoughts, and feelings should be backed by evidence from the material in a quotation. This type of reflection should not include personal anecdotes because it is based on the content of the material you are reflecting on.
The following are ways you can approach each type of reflection writing.
Reflection on Your Experiences with the Course
If assigned this type of reflection paper, you must think of your experiences in terms of theory and practice. The aim is to assess the link between hypothetical thinking and reality. Experimental reflection aims to show how your experiences and skills fit in a professional practice. Think about how your actions and decisions have to your successes or failures. When you look at abstract concepts through your own experiences, they become clearer and can help you develop strategies for self-improvement.
To get started, let the following questions be your guide:
Reflection Paper about Course Reading
In this type of reflective essay, you must express your thoughts and opinion about your understanding of the course materials. This type of essay is common in social and behavioral sciences to show your thoughts about particular reading and its relevance. If you have any assumptions, this reflection will help you break down any biases you have about your interpretation of the course material. Begin by examining the course reading, starting from the introductory part, which includes the purpose, mission, and theoretical framework. Carefully think of the research questions and the ideas being conveyed. Is there something that has stood out to you? If yes, what is it?
Come up with your ideas based on what you have read by considering what you already know about that topic. Is there a personal experience that is influencing what you already know? Are your ideas in line with what you have read? If not, why?
Connect your thoughts and feelings with the ideas from the readings. Do those ideas challenge your existing beliefs? Have they changed your feelings?
There are no specific rules for how to write a reflection paper. This is because reflective essays are assigned to students taking social and behavioral sciences; therefore, instructions can vary depending on the program. The parts of a reflection paper will also depend on the instructions given to you by your instructor and the model chosen to frame your assignment. Additionally, since a reflection essay is based on your opinions and thoughts, your professor will let you handle it, however you see comfortable. Here is a basic format you can follow.
As you can see, this basic format is the same as that of other academic writings. But there are other formats you can use, such as journaling or a reflective model.
Journaling is about making daily or weekly entries about a particular subject or tasks you are performing or things observed. It is important even if you are not assigned a reflective essay task. This is because it will help you keep track of your learning experiences and note down important questions and observations to raise later in class. Then, when the need arises, you might reflect on your writing. This means you must reread what you wrote to contextualize your thoughts, feelings, or beliefs.
Figuring out how to write a reflection paper can sometimes be challenging because, unlike other types of writing, you will be writing based on your experiences and not that of others. Fortunately, these steps can guide you.
Think about the point of view you want to take in your reflection paper. What are you trying to convey to the reader? What do you want them to know or feel about your thoughts and feelings? Once you answer these questions, you will identify the purpose or theme of your paper. Use brainstorming techniques to come up with the right theme for your paper. Remember, you are doing more than retelling your experiences, so choosing a theme you feel strongly about will help you write your paper. For instance, if you want to share your experiences growing up in poverty, talk about how lack has changed your relationship with money.
Note that whatever theme you select will set the tone of your paper.
It’s essential to think about what you have experienced in and outside class and highlight the things to focus on. This part is called pre-reflection, and doing this will help you organize your thoughts and feelings about your experiences, both good and bad, and how they have impacted you. Note that figuring out how to write a reflection paper is about looking inward and reflecting on significant moments you have hard on in class.
Let your thesis statement guide you in developing the subject material or experience that stood out most during your studies. Once you identify these, look at them within the context of your feelings, observations, beliefs, and opinion to develop a key moment defining your learning growth. Use the following questions to identify these moments:
After answering these questions, use the answers to look at your experience from both personal and academic points of view. Those experiences have shaped your understanding of the course material and life.
Another thing you can do is critically consider the course content and what you learned. Doing this will give you a deeper understanding of these moments and why they matter. Show how these experiences have enhanced your understanding of a particular subject. Consider whether these experiences have challenged your current understanding of that subject.
Additionally, consider whether these experiences will affect you in the future in terms of thinking and behavior. Remember that reflection is about looking back; however, reflective writing aims to see how your experiences have transformed your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Also, consider whether a change in your thought or behavior will make you a better learner.
The introduction should be one or two paragraphs long, about 5 to 10, consisting of concisely written sentences. In this section, you will provide background information and context about the experiences you want to talk about in your paper. Review your texts and other relevant material to understand the content, then summarize the major readings about the learning objectives and show whether they support your position. Don’t go into great detail but provide enough so that your readers can know what your essay is about (personal experience, guest lecture, etc.) and their relevance.
The final part of your introduction should provide a thesis statement. This should be the main idea of your essay and what you want the readers to know or believe in the end.
This is the part where you must detail your thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the subject. Don’t hold anything back. You can be critical, creative and share your feelings about the subject and how it has encouraged or altered your beliefs or thought process. Share the meaning of these experiences in relation to your course. Additionally, include how you gained awareness of the connection between the experiences and what you have learned in class.
Provide arguments or evidence and examples that support your ideas. If you reflect on an article or a book, provide direct quotes from that source. This will show readers how your understanding of the subject is related to your course content. It will also show how you have grown as a learner.
The body paragraph is the most challenging part of learning how to write a reflection paper, and it’s to repeat what you wrote in the pre-reflection part. Your thoughts must be organized by the time you get to this part; otherwise, you won't write an engaging paper. You don't want readers to get bored and stop reading your essay. So, you should take a chronological approach, working through your experiences to ensure your work is systematic. For instance,
All the examples provided should be drawn from your course materials and must be relevant to what you have shared.
This is the final part of your reflective writing; it should scream that to readers. You must bring every piece together by briefly explaining all the points discussed in the body paragraph. Don't just highlight the differences between your past and present thoughts. Describe what you have learned so far from taking that course. Show what is now different about you. For instance, are you now more self-aware or more curious? Use the examples provided to frame your conclusion. You can do that in any of the following ways:
Summarize your work by showing.
Now that you know how to write a reflection paper, you should avoid these mistakes.
Writing a reflection paper is about you and your experiences. Everyone has their writing style, opinions, and feelings about a subject. But no matter how you express yourself, use these tips to ensure you understand how to write a reflection paper.
Below is an example of a reflection essay that considers the tips discussed above.
Reflection on Fieldwork Experience
One of the most fulfilling ways of conducting research is through fieldwork. When I was doing my master’s degree, I had an opportunity of conducting fieldwork. At first, it was enjoyable, but as I progressed, I learned the need to incorporate primary data into the study. However, I had no access to this data, so I used qualitative research data for my findings. While not ideal, this strategy, called methodological triangulation (Denzin,1970), allows the use of various methods of gathering data to ensure internal validity. So, I incorporated this method and designed interviews aimed at elite grips and those living in the slums to find out how the laws and policies set by the elite impact marginalized members of the community.
In my interviews, some of the members of the elite groups were not genuine in their responses, and they kept evading the questions. This, they said, was because those questions were politically sensitive. Politicians should not be interviewed using recording devices (Peabody et al., 1990) because it leads to anxiety and elusiveness. Even though I was irritated by this, I had to write down all the responses. In the process, I lost a lot of important information. But I tried to balance taking notes and interviewing the subjects. However, interviewing slum dwellers was smooth because they had much to share and were more cooperative, unlike politicians.
The data collection was hard and stressful, but I pressed on to meet my objectives. I learned the need to adapt because fieldwork can be unpredictable, especially when one research method fails. I realized I could have saved time and effort by sourcing my information from secondary sources. I also realized I should have trained my r search assistant, who doubled as my translator.
I also learned that an interpreter should be neutral and not add or subtract anything from the communication relayed. But this was not the case with my research. My assistant had much to say and even tried to impose their viewpoints on my subjects. He also didn't stick to the content of my script and failed to ask some interview questions.
Overall, the process was challenging, but it became clear that most things didn't go as planned in the field. I realized it’s important to be resilient and flexible to adapt to such situations. I acknowledged my lack of enough preparation, and I should have brought up alternatives. However, looking back, I feel like my study was fairly successful thanks to the cooperation from the slum dwellers. The research assistant's lack of focus and proper training were major pitfalls for the study.
The most important part of learning how to write a reflection paper is showing your understanding of your experiences and how they have shaped your learning. Before you embark on wring the paper, understand that the reflection begins with you. Look inward to examine your thoughts and feelings about a particular element and how it has affected your learning. The reflective process can also help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and knowledge gaps. When writing a reflective essay, you must be honest with your thoughts and opinions to communicate so readers can understand and make a connection effectively.
The above guide will help you write the perfect research paper. However, if you are struggling, try mind mapping to organize your thoughts and feelings.
The three basic parts of a reflection paper are:
A good reflection paper should:
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