How To Write Reflective Essays

We know and understand the different types of academic essays. Some are written to describe and present factual information, some to narrate a story or event, and some can be written to compare and contrast. Only on rare occasions do we share our own personal experiences in life and present them thoughtfully in our essays. Everyone’s perspective, thoughts and opinions are unique, and writing them can offer deeper insights into how we think, learn, and grow. This type of essay shifts the focus inward, encouraging students to analyze their own experiences and draw meaningful conclusions that go beyond facts and events.

This style is known as reflective writing and such essays are called reflective essays. But this new concept poses several questions. What are reflective essays? How to write reflective essays? What topics to choose for them, how to begin writing them and how to structure them. Worry not, since all queries will be answered as we dive into learning them in detail, and understanding how online assignment help can guide you in mastering them.

What is a Reflective Essay?

Reflective essays are a type of personal essay in which the writer examines a topic through their own unique viewpoint. Reflective essays are more subjective about their subjects than an academic essay, use figurative language, and don ’t require academic sources. The purpose of a reflective essay is to explore and share the author’s thoughts, perspectives, and experiences.

These may be written for both academic or personal purposes. Academic reflective essays may include college applications, or writing your thoughts on a literature book. At the same time, personal reflective essays can include  pieces of personal writing, such as blog posts or journal entries. All these need you to think well, organise your thoughts, map out your perspectives and beliefs and present your feelings with words.

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Reflective Essay Topics You Can Write On

You can write reflective essays on virtually any topic, but it should include you, your passion and your personal story. It could be about any challenges you overcame, your interests, your relationships with other people or your personal growth and major life changes, or your thoughts on a movie, book or story. In simple words- writing a reflective essay is penning down something you can reflect deeply upon.

Here are few topics that you can write a reflective essay on-

Personal theme

A conversation that changed your perspective 

Reflections on a significant day in your life

First experience of feeling truly independent

Mastering a difficult skill: Your journey and outcome

Handling a major personal conflict

How you coped with a personal loss

How a good deed by a stranger affected you

A Dream you couldn't fulfil

When you had to choose between what was easy v/s what was right

The instance in life you felt most alive

An important figure in your life and their impact on you

Your favourite book and how it affected you

When a quote inspired you

Overcoming a health challenge

The experience of traveling to a new unknown place

Academic theme

How Shakespeare’s Hamlet shaped your understanding of human indecision and morality

What you learned about social class and ambition through reading Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations

Symbolism in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

Your views on gender roles and relationships on reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

How Shakespeare’s Macbeth shaped your understanding of ambition and moral corruption

How Homer’s The Odyssey changed your thoughts on perseverance and heroism

Moral dilemmas in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies

How Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë deepened your view of love and revenge

With the help of assignment helper UK, you can get expert guidance on topic selection, structuring, writing and polishing your essay. 

Reflective Essay Structure

Lets learn how to begin a reflective essay, how to structure it and craft it to perfection with this step by step guide on writing a reflective essay-

1. Create an outline

Begin by organising your thoughts and establishing the basic details that you plan to incorporate into your paper. Reflect and gather thoughts. Asking yourself the following questions will help- 

What did you learn about yourself as a result of the event?

Did you experience personal growth because of it? How?

What were the positives and negatives?

In hindsight, what would you have done differently or did correctly?

Why do you think you made the particular choices that you did? Were they right or could have been better?

What are your overall thoughts on the situation? Was it a useful learning experience?

Were there any specific skills or perspectives you acquired as a result?

2. Introduction

Now that you have gathered your thoughts, you can start with a hook line. This will help in catching the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. You can write an unexpected fact, an intriguing statistic, an observation, or a question that gets the reader’s mind thinking about the essay’s topic. Follow this with a concise statement that introduces the reader to the essay’s topic and what they are going to know more about.

3. Body

Write about the event that you experienced in detail. You can also recount everything leading up to the experience and its aftermath. Describe how you felt and how it changed you. Reflect on  how you were before and after the situation and pen down everything in-depth.

4. Conclusion

Summarise your content, tie any loose ends of your essay and write your final thoughts on the experience. You can also reiterate on learnings for the future.  But these thoughts should reflect statements you made in the body paragraphs rather than introducing anything new. 

There, you have your essay ready! 

Sometimes, writing a reflective essay may seem like a mountain to climb. But with the right essay writing services, you can get expert guidance and ace your essay with the right tone, structure and content.

Conclusion

With careful planning, reflective essays are a chance to reflect both academic and self-awareness. By projecting your experience in terms of clarity, structure, and analysis, you enhance your writing as well as critical thinking. Professional assignment help with Locus Assignments can assist you in refining your essays to achieve academic standards with confidence.