Every one of us have faced the assignment of writing a reflective essay at least once. And, even though it may seem way easier to write this type of paper, compared to an academic one, this impression disappears within the second after you settle to write. Where to start? What to write about? How to fashion it properly? These and many other questions confuse students from the very beginning.
Writing itself is not an easy thing, and not everyone is a good writer. It is quite a complicated task even for the cases, when you have some experience in writing similar texts, which is not the case. Reflective writing is faced by far more rarely, compared to other types of essays. However, you can always turn to the help of an online paper writing service. Professional writers, who work at these platforms, have years of experience in writing various types of papers, and, thus, guarantee high-quality results. Other than that, they will not only perform all the hard work for you, but also provide you with a reference you can use for your future works.
An essay on reflection requires you to express yourself and your thoughts on many themes. Compared to other essay types, reflective essays involve fewer research and citations, which can make them look easier to you at first glance. As though you were having a private conversation with your reader, expressing your opinions and experiences. There are still rules and regulations that must be adhered to. Many students find these assignments frustrating, which is why we’ve written this post to assist you with your difficult assignment.
Contents
WHAT IS A REFLECTIVE ESSAY?
Begin with this question, as some individuals who read this have no prior experience writing in this style. As the name suggests, a reflective essay is an informal piece of personal (not academic) writing that focuses on the writer’s mental state and reaction to a particular place, person, or event. As a writer, your goal is to make readers feel as though they’ve lived through a certain event that you’ve described. This means that authors are often expected to describe the subject of their paper in great depth in order to make the reader feel what they are supposed to feel in the end. This requires the writer to explain the occurrence and how it impacted their life experiences and views. There are a variety of sources for these articles, including empirical research, published studies and personal experience. Your own and others’ opinions must be analyzed thoroughly in order to produce a reflective essay.
STRUCTURE
Unlike academic writing, a reflective essay does not have such strict style limitations, as it is not a kind of academic writing, but a personal one, it still follows some basics, nevertheless adhering to some standards of academic writing. They include three main parts: the introductory paragraph (starting), main body (middle section), and conclusion (end section). Aside from that, you need to identify your sources of information.
Also read: How to write attractive content
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Introduction
Unskilled writers sometimes find it the most difficult part of the process of producing an essay. Its primary goal is to quickly convey the main idea and what will be discussed in the following paragraphs of text. For the reader’s attention to be maintained throughout the whole work, good beginnings need to be interesting and engaging. Instead of paraphrasing a subject, authors prefer rephrasing it to avoid losing their essential argument. Additionally, the thesis statement, which is the essay’s main argument, appears in the final line of the introduction. In that it is founded on the basic ideas of all the arguments, it links them all together. An overview of your essay’s topic is provided in this section. And, of course, you express your main emotion towards the mentioned topic.
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Body paragraphs
Usually, body paragraphs support the thesis statement by giving arguments and bright evidence. An important formatting rule to notice is that every idea has to be described in a separate paragraph. Consequently, one body paragraph consists of an introductory sentence, which gives a statement that supports the thesis, then it is explained with two or three sentences that give evidence, and lastly one or two sentences, that show examples.
An example must be provided for each of the given sub-points in order to prove their topicality and significance. The main goal for the author when writing body paragraphs is to predict all the possible questions that may appear in reader’s mind, and provide relevant answers in the essay.
In the context of reflective essay, each of your body paragraphs has to present a reason why the experience you are describing has made you feel a certain way.
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Conclusion
Here you literally sum up everything you have been talking about in your essay. Remember that you can not provide any new ideas in this part of your essay. So, you basically paraphrase your topic and briefly mention your thesis statement and the claims of your arguments.
HOW TO WRITE IT?
In order to simplify the process of creating a reflective essay you can simply follow the general check-list, which is suitable for basically any topic you choose.
First of all, you have to choose this very topic, if you were not assigned one.If you can, think of a recent incident or experience that made you feel something fresh or powerful, so that you may make your text engaging and emotive. A more creative approach might be to imagine yourself in an imaginative setting you’d really like to experience. Choosing a topic is the key, as the success of your essay depends on how catchy your theme is.
Next step is working on your subject. And no, it does not mean doing any large research. Try to feel your subject somewhere deep in your soul, even if it requires closing your eyes. Invest a few minutes in thinking about or reliving your topic. Try to visualize every detail that can be useful when writing.
Consider your ideas once you’ve completed the first stage. If so, which ones pique your interest? Which one of them is the one who does? Time to sift them out and prepare the ones you prefer for future growth. You must now devise a strategy for your paper’s development. Consider how you’d like to communicate your ideas to the audience before you begin writing. Conclusion: Your text is going to be well-organized.
Write just once the plan is finalized, and only then should you begin. Do not forget the words and phrases you wish to use in your essay. Assumptions aren’t what’s at stake here; rather your feelings are at stake.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re new to writing reflective essays, don’t be hesitant to get started. The recommendation that students write more personal essays might help them move away from producing generic and uninteresting works, and help them master and develop their writing talents as a result of this.