Essay writing seems to be one of the easiest forms of writing in academic circles. If you look closer, you can see that there are many criteria which one has to abide by in writing an academic essay. Among these forms of writing is a reflective essay, where the writer uses their personal experience and shares it in a more subjective manner for their audiences. You can say that a reflective essay is more of exploring your thoughts and perspective on a particular subject. For example, you are told to write an essay about your experience in the lecture class or to share your learning from a movie which you recently saw. To get a better understanding of the way reflective essays are written, the following are some of the useful tips for you.
Selection of interesting topic
The topic is the first step which you should select when writing a reflective essay. This topic has to be interesting as it should appease the reader. In this way, you are at liberty to make your essay more interesting for the readers. In a more general way, a reflective essay is less in word count so that relevant information can be put in a short and precise manner for the readers. You should not write lengthy paragraphs as this will only lose the interest of your audience. In this way, you will be able to meet the word count as well as keep your essay compelling for your readers. One thing you have to keep in mind while selecting the topic of the essay is that it should be based on your personal experience. In this manner, you will be able to reflect your views with relevant information in the reflective essay.
The structure of the essay
Once you have selected your topic, you should next make a structure of your essay. In the academic field, an essay is divided into three sections. First is the ‘Introduction’, next comes the ‘Body’ and the final part is the ‘Conclusion’. Under this structure, a reflective essay is written. You should know that ‘Introduction’ is the part where you have to give an overview of the topic which you have selected. In this way, your readers will have a clear idea about the topic which is to be discussed in the essay. Here, you are to pen down your thesis and the reason for you choosing the topic. Next is the ‘Body’ of the essay, where you are to elaborate your understanding of the topic which you have chosen. In this portion, you are to analyse your experience, which you want to discuss. It is advisable to divide the body into respective paragraphs. Division of paragraphs provides the readers with a clear view of the relevant information used in different sections of the ‘Body’. You can write critically or be argumentative based on the topic you have chosen for the paper. The last section of a reflective essay is the ‘Conclusion’, which comprises your thesis statement and your final opinion on the subject. This will be the last paragraph of the essay, where you discuss whether your experience has affected you or not. In this final part of the essay, you should align your thoughts with the thesis to give relevance to the selection of the topic.
Provide relevant information
Before starting to write in the paper, you should have a clear set of information which you have to put in the essay. In this way, you can bifurcate your thoughts and experiences, which you have to pen down. A good writer knows the use of proper information at the relevant place. It is upon you to identify the applicable points that you want to put in your paper. In a similar way, you can use information from other researchers in your paper to compare your experience with theirs. It is notable that when you are citing other researchers’ work, you should have a reference list in your essay to give relevancy to the information taken and, at the same time, acknowledge their work. You can also use references from other authors to argue in your essay or abide by their work. In this process, you will make the reader more absorbed in your paper. Using your experience and aligning or refuting with the works of other authors shows your art of writing dramatically and analysing.
Use of other sources
In the academic field, the use of theories and models provides credibility to the paper. If you observe, you can see that there are models which guide you in writing your experience in a proper way. One of the famous models for reflection is the Gibbs Reflective Model. This model is based on six stages for writing your experience. Under the first stage, you are to give a brief description of the experience which you have been through. Here, you discuss what you have been through in the situation. The second phase consists of you discussing your feelings which you felt in the situation you were in. In the third phase, you are to evaluate your feelings as to whether it was good or bad. The fourth phase of the model is very important as this allows you to analyse the situation and try to make meaning out of it. The fifth stage is your Conclusion, thoughts as to what you may have done, which could lead to a different outcome. Action Plan is the final stage in this model, where you are required to make a plan which will help you to improve any of your personal requirements for the future.
A reflective essay starts with your thoughts and experiences. It is upon you to assess and pick out relevant information which you want to put in your writing. The use of appropriate words and sentences is the key to writing an attractive essay paper. The reflective essay also helps you to determine your thought process and how you perceive particular situations in your day-to-day life. In other words, reflective writing makes you conscious about your thought process and how you can improve it.
Born with a relentless thirst for knowledge, I ventured into academia, mastering the art of PHD thesis and dissertation writing. Fuelled by curiosity, I embraced digital marketing, deciphering its nuances to become an expert in SEO, content strategies, and social media management. Alongside, I delved into the intricacies of nursing assignments, leveraging my multidisciplinary insights to assist students. Each endeavor shaped my journey, blending scholarly pursuits with practical applications.