So, what is a reflective essay? Well, it’s one of those essays that many students will encounter in their time at university. A sample reflective essay introduction would be that it is like a diary entry, albeit one that will be looked over and marked. As is the case with all essays, the structure should be followed, and that is a coherent, succinct, and free from waffle structure, rendering your essay readable and easy to follow for your tutor. Sometimes, one can see the reflective essay as something relatively simple to write but do not be fooled, the reflective essay can be one of the trickiest and without doubt nerve-wracking to write. Being lulled into a false sense of security is a killer when it comes to the personal reflective essay.

The one thing that is always good to remember is that at its base, this form of essay does rely heavily on personality, so when writing each sentence, each paragraph, your true self should be weaved throughout.

 

How to Start a Reflective Essay

Starting an essay is always a massive hurdle to overcome, but with a personal reflective essay, it can be all the more difficult. With the ultimate question being “but how do I sound personal?” believe us, we have heard this question from students before, many of our customers, whether undergrad or post-grad students ask this repeatedly to themselves and no, it does not mean you have hit a creative wall, it’s a very genuine thought that can stump even the sharpest of students. Don’t worry, we have heard it all, so if you are in need of some help, You may consider to contact Peachy Essay for Essay Writing Services Online.

Your reflective essay outline should be about storytelling, particularly those special qualities that embody a story, that is to say, those aspects which relate, engage and entice the reader. A reflective essay is far more than just relating an experience, indeed, you should look at it through the lens of a prose writer, where every sentence is about reveling in detail and propounding the uniqueness of your experience.

Starting off, you should give some serious thinking time about those specifically important experiences in your life that have had a major impact on your life, whether that be positive or a negative impact, and occasionally both, be it one or the other, the impact is something you need to really emphasize, to make it as clear as possible that you have had an experience that was truly life-changing, and here’s what it was. Basically, like with any story, it’s about grabbing the reader’s attention as soon as possible, take the bull by the horns as quickly as possible. A quality introduction is worth its weight in gold.

Generally, a typical self-reflective essay incorporates a range of topics. These include such things as a real-life experience, an imagined experience, a special object or place, a person who had an influence on you, or something you have watched or read.

In the academic world, a reflective essay is generally an exercise that focuses on one particular episode in your life, for example, an important decision, wherein you relate what it was and the outcomes that happened because of it. It’s this academic style where it is very important to remember that you need to elaborate on the aftermath of this event or experience, failing to do so will result in it is simply a piece of prose writing. You have to get that academic edge to it, but that comes later, your first aim is to grab the reader’s attention.

 

Understanding the Reflective Process

 The reflective process is, of course, the core of this type of essay. The reflective essay format is one that you need to really think about before you go ahead and put pen to paper, or finger to the mouse. Whereas much of academic writing is about the cold hard facts, with the reflective essay feelings and personal experience are what form the very epicenter. Think vividly and pay great attention to your experience so that you can determine the implications and what they really mean to you.

As for the topic, it is crucial you study it thoroughly, don’t just give a cursory glance over the subject nor do you go on feelings about it alone, as we said previously, although this type of essay relies a lot on the importance of memory, facts cannot take a back seat. Give yourself a fair amount of time to get to grips with the subject in its static form, as well as personal.

The word vividly cannot be overemphasized enough. With the subject now researched, you are armed with the facts, now with your five senses in mind, take time to note down what your true experience was, the detailed and nuanced emotions, thoughts and processes that are entailed within it. Finally, the all-important set of implications of the experience must be given a particular preference.

The recording of your perceptions, responses, and experiences of the event are three things that will help you form the bulk of your essay, noting these down in short bullet points or even paragraphs will aid you in writing something that is both rich and coherent. By using things like short phrases and memory triggers in your prep work, you will be able to ensure that nothing is left out when you finally write and nothing is truly important to you will be forgotten.

 

The Self Reflective Essay in Bitesize

Now that we have discussed some in-depth points about a reflective essay, let us look at the reflective essay form in a bitesize format. Remember, with its heavy relationship to prose story writing, this essay features a beginning, a middle and an end. Subsequently, it’s a relationship with the academic world that means that a case of intertwining formats has occurred, that is why it is so important to take a closer look at the format and understand what it entails. So here is a bullet point list of your essay, and what is expected from you.

1. In the first paragraph, you need to write about that, all-important, one specific reason your subject made a great impression that it did. Once you’ve articulated the details about the subject, it’s time to write about why this particular subject did what it did to you. As a reflective essay, you are given the opportunity to speculate and think outside the realms of the usual academic bastions of thought. Essentially, there are no right or wrong answers.

2. In the second paragraph, it is time to write about the second reason your subject made such an immense impression that it did. Then you relate the why and the how.

3. In the third and final paragraph, write about the third reason why the subject made such a great impression on you and then write about why. As you come to the end of your final body paragraph, start to elaborate on your conclusion thoughts.

The reflective essay is one of the most intriguing styles of essay format you will come across, and although fairly simple on the surface, the actual task of writing one takes a lot of research and preparedness.