What Is a Reflection Essay?
- A reflective essay is a paper that compiles course material -- whether it's from a lecture, text or other material used during a course -- into a written assignment. The essay may be about various components of the course or just about one topic. Research for the essay begins on the first day of class. Notes from each lecture are used to recall the course material, but the student should also use highlighted textbook material.
- Choose a specific topic for the paper or highlight all of the main points of the course. Review information provided in your textbook and from your professor. Write down the principal arguments you want to present in your essay. Develop an outline of your work; this could be from brainstorming ideas and then grouping each idea into categories. Then develop a thesis statement. Begin a table of contents and a bibliography. Write the content of the essay and revise whenever appropriate.
- A reflective essay is based on real-life events. To compile the essay's contents, the writer either uses notes, such as those that would be found in a journal, video or audio logs or memory. Reflective essays are usually completed after a milestone is achieved. For example, someone who set out to save $1 million might choose to write a reflective essay about how she was able to save that much money.
- Depending on the topic of the reflective essay, it could be difficult to recall the exact course of events without a detailed log. Review all the information and then compile it into categories. For example, group events into sections based on when they happened. Instead of simply listing the events and how they happened, a reflective essay demands the writer evaluate the experiences. Write an opening statement that gives the reader an idea of how you feel. For example, "I never thought the process of making $1 million would be so much fun."