Reflection Essays: Overview

By adopting a reflective position, we can look at ourselves to pinpoint areas of strength and identify areas that require further improvement.

Simply put, reflective writing helps us think. Or, more precisely, reflective writing helps us think back. Leveraging reflective writing also creates learning habits that extend to any discipline of learning. It’s a set of procedures that helps us step back from what we’ve done and ask a series of questions: Is this really what I wanted to do? Is this really what I wanted to say? What have I done well, and what could I have done better in the future?

To craft an effective Reflection Essay in a college course requires a writer to use several different skills. You must carefully consider part of your past, often narrowing your focus down to a few events within a set timeframe. Then, you need to do some deep thinking to better understand what those events signified at the time and what they signify to you now. And you must carefully consider how to organize your reflections into a coherent essay so that other readers would be able to understand the interconnected importance of your reflections.

Key Features

Narrow Timeframe

Remember that you are writing a reflection essay, not a book-length autobiography. It can be tempting for writers to go overboard in their reflections, trying to capture everything across a very large timespan. But this approach ultimately stymies any coherence because the focus is too broad, and therefore the writing becomes too generic.

In some classes, you will be given a narrow timeframe to work with for your reflection essay. If you aren’t, then make sure you take the time to narrow your focus down to a timeframe that’s manageable for the length of your reflection essay. In either case, it’s up to you to pinpoint a few key events or themes you plan to focus on and analyze in your essay.

Thoughtful and In-Depth Reflections

Reflective writing primarily involves critically analyzing experiences, documenting their impact on you, and outlining your plans for utilizing new information and knowledge. This process necessitates in-depth thinking on your part; your job as a writer is to capture the results of that thinking in your essay.

Coherent Structure

Every essay we write is meant for someone else to read. A Reflection Essay, while deeply personal, is no different. Because we are writing about our own experiences, what happened and why it matters already makes some sense to us—but what about our readers? They haven’t lived our lives and may not know us well, so it’s vital that we organize our reflections so that they make coherent sense for others.

One common approach is a linear structure. Start at the beginning of the timeframe, and then work chronologically forward through events that are relevant to the narrowed focus of your Reflection Essay.

Another approach is a topical structure. After identifying a few themes or key threads within your narrowed timeframe, you would build different parts of your essay around those themes or threads. For example, a student reflecting on their experiences in a college class might focus on taking tests, engaging in classroom lectures, and finding time to study at the local Starbucks.

Whichever approach you choose, the end of a Reflection Essay often looks forward by answering the kinds of questions presented at the top of the taxonomy above.

Present Your Voice and Be Honest

Reflective writing is: written in first person and subjective. Reflective writing is not: written in the third person or objective.

After all, it wouldn’t make much sense to reflect on your own experiences while writing in third-person. Reflective writing should not only be about you but also sound like you. That doesn’t mean you should be writing the way that you text or post on social media. But even with proper spelling and grammar, you should try to capture elements of your own voice as you think back on your past.

On a similar note, true reflection requires honesty, even when confronting negative emotions or experiences. No one is perfect, and we learn the most about ourselves when we are honest about our efforts to overcome challenges and break through setbacks. If you only present yourself in a positive light, then you are missing chances to more fully understand yourself and to more fully connect with readers. Readers respond to truthful vulnerability, but also can sense when a writer is holding back or sugarcoating. So, don’t short-change yourself or your readers.

Drafting Checklists

These questions should help guide you through the stages of drafting your reflection essay.