• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • This Or That Game New
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • College University and Postgraduate
  • Academic Writing

How to Write a Reflection Paper

Last Updated: July 8, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,785,854 times.

Reflection papers allow you to communicate with your instructor about how a specific article, lesson, lecture, or experience shapes your understanding of class-related material. Reflection papers are personal and subjective [1] X Research source , but they must still maintain a somewhat academic tone and must still be thoroughly and cohesively organized. Here's what you need to know about writing an effective reflection.

Things You Should Know

  • Write an introduction that outlines the expectations you had and provide a thesis statement in the last sentence.
  • State your conclusions in the body paragraphs of the paper. Explain how you arrived at your conclusions using logic and concrete details.
  • Conclude the paper with a concise summary of your overall experience.

Sample Outline and Paper

book reflection essay

Brainstorming

Step 1 Identify the main themes.

  • These sentences should be both descriptive yet straight to the point.

Step 2 Jot down material that stands out in your mind.

  • For lectures or readings, you can write down specific quotations or summarize passages.
  • For experiences, make a note of specific portions of your experience. You could even write a small summary or story of an event that happened during the experience that stands out. Images, sounds, or other sensory portions of your experience work, as well.

Alicia Cook

  • In the first column, list the main points or key experiences. These points can include anything that the author or speaker treated with importance as well as any specific details you found to be important. Divide each point into its own separate row.
  • In the second column, list your personal response to the points you brought up in the first column. Mention how your subjective values, experiences, and beliefs influence your response.
  • In the third and last column, describe how much of your personal response to share in your reflection paper.

Step 4 Ask yourself questions to guide your response.

  • Does the reading, lecture, or experience challenge you socially, culturally, emotionally, or theologically? If so, where and how? Why does it bother you or catch your attention?
  • Has the reading, lecture, or experience changed your way of thinking? Did it conflict with beliefs you held previously, and what evidence did it provide you with in order to change your thought process on the topic?
  • Does the reading, lecture, or experience leave you with any questions? Were these questions ones you had previously or ones you developed only after finishing?
  • Did the author, speaker, or those involved in the experience fail to address any important issues? Could a certain fact or idea have dramatically changed the impact or conclusion of the reading, lecture, or experience?
  • How do the issues or ideas brought up in this reading, lecture, or experience mesh with past experiences or readings? Do the ideas contradict or support each other?

Organizing a Reflection Paper

Step 1 Keep it short and sweet.

  • Verify whether or not your instructor specified a word count for the paper instead of merely following this average.
  • If your instructor demands a word count outside of this range, meet your instructor's requirements.

Step 2 Introduce your expectations.

  • For a reading or lecture, indicate what you expected based on the title, abstract, or introduction.
  • For an experience, indicate what you expected based on prior knowledge provided by similar experiences or information from others.

Step 3 Develop a thesis statement.

  • This is essentially a brief explanation of whether or not your expectations were met.
  • A thesis provides focus and cohesion for your reflection paper.
  • You could structure a reflection thesis along the following lines: “From this reading/experience, I learned...”

Step 4 Explain your conclusions in the body.

  • Your conclusions must be explained. You should provide details on how you arrived at those conclusions using logic and concrete details.
  • The focus of the paper is not a summary of the text, but you still need to draw concrete, specific details from the text or experience in order to provide context for your conclusions.
  • Write a separate paragraph for each conclusion or idea you developed.
  • Each paragraph should have its own topic sentence. This topic sentence should clearly identify your major points, conclusions, or understandings.

Step 5 Conclude with a summary.

  • The conclusions or understandings explained in your body paragraphs should support your overall conclusion. One or two may conflict, but the majority should support your final conclusion.

As You Write

Step 1 Reveal information wisely.

  • If you feel uncomfortable about a personal issue that affects the conclusions you reached, it is wisest not to include personal details about it.
  • If a certain issue is unavoidable but you feel uncomfortable revealing your personal experiences or feelings regarding it, write about the issue in more general terms. Identify the issue itself and indicate concerns you have professionally or academically.

Step 2 Maintain a professional or academic tone.

  • Avoid dragging someone else down in your writing. If a particular person made the experience you are reflecting on difficult, unpleasant, or uncomfortable, you must still maintain a level of detachment as you describe that person's influence. Instead of stating something like, “Bob was such a rude jerk,” say something more along the lines of, “One man was abrupt and spoke harshly, making me feel as though I was not welcome there.” Describe the actions, not the person, and frame those actions within the context of how they influenced your conclusions.
  • A reflection paper is one of the few pieces of academic writing in which you can get away with using the first person pronoun “I.” That said, you should still relate your subjective feelings and opinions using specific evidence to explain them. [8] X Research source
  • Avoid slang and always use correct spelling and grammar. Internet abbreviations like “LOL” or “OMG” are fine to use personally among friends and family, but this is still an academic paper, so you need to treat it with the grammatical respect it deserves. Do not treat it as a personal journal entry.
  • Check and double-check your spelling and grammar after you finish your paper.

Step 3 Review your reflection paper at the sentence level.

  • Keep your sentences focused. Avoid squeezing multiple ideas into one sentence.
  • Avoid sentence fragments. Make sure that each sentence has a subject and a verb.
  • Vary your sentence length. Include both simple sentences with a single subject and verb and complex sentences with multiple clauses. Doing so makes your paper sound more conversational and natural, and prevents the writing from becoming too wooden. [9] X Research source

Step 4 Use transitions.

  • Common transitional phrases include "for example," "for instance," "as a result," "an opposite view is," and "a different perspective is."

Step 5 Relate relevant classroom information to the experience or reading.

  • For instance, if reflecting on a piece of literary criticism, you could mention how your beliefs and ideas about the literary theory addressed in the article relate to what your instructor taught you about it or how it applies to prose and poetry read in class.
  • As another example, if reflecting on a new social experience for a sociology class, you could relate that experience to specific ideas or social patterns discussed in class.

Expert Q&A

Alicia Cook

You Might Also Like

Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://www.csuohio.edu/writing-center/reflection-papers
  • ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments/reflectionpaper
  • ↑ Alicia Cook. Professional Writer. Expert Interview. 11 December 2020.
  • ↑ https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assignment/how-write-reflection-paper
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
  • ↑ https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/writing-assessment/reflective-writing/reflective-essays
  • ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/sentencestructure

About This Article

Alicia Cook

To write a reflection paper, start with an introduction where you state any expectations you had for the reading, lesson, or experience you're reflecting on. At the end of your intro, include a thesis statement that explains how your views have changed. In the body of your essay, explain the conclusions you reached after the reading, lesson, or experience and discuss how you arrived at them. Finally, finish your paper with a succinct conclusion that explains what you've learned. To learn how to brainstorm for your paper, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Stella Cheboi

Stella Cheboi

Jul 22, 2016

Did this article help you?

book reflection essay

Luz Gisela Perez

Nov 19, 2017

Aubrey H.

Apr 27, 2016

Debra Cust Bramble

Debra Cust Bramble

Mar 20, 2016

Courtney Fulmer

Courtney Fulmer

May 22, 2020

Am I a Narcissist or an Empath Quiz

Featured Articles

Make Your School More Period Friendly

Trending Articles

What is Golden Child Syndrome? 7 Signs You Were the Golden Child

Watch Articles

Wrap a Round Gift

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

book reflection essay

How to Write a Reflective Essay: Easy Guide with Pro Tips

book reflection essay

Defining What is a Reflective Essay: Purpose + Importance

Being present is a cornerstone of mindfulness and meditation. You must have often heard that staying in the moment helps you appreciate your surroundings, connects you with people and nature, and allows you to feel whatever emotions you must feel without anxiety. While this is helpful advice as you become more focused and avoid getting lost in thought, how can you truly appreciate the present without reflecting on your past experiences that have led you to the current moment?

We don't say that you should dwell on the past and get carried away with a constant thought process, but hey, hear us out - practice reflective thinking! Think back on your previous life events, paint a true picture of history, and make connections to your present self. This requires you to get a bit analytical and creative. So you might as well document your critical reflection on a piece of paper and give direction to your personal observations. That's when the need for reflective essays steps in!

In a reflective essay, you open up about your thoughts and emotions to uncover your mindset, personality, traits of character, and background. Your reflective essay should include a description of the experience/literature piece as well as explanations of your thoughts, feelings, and reactions. In this article, our essay writer service will share our ultimate guide on how to write a reflective essay with a clear format and reflective essay examples that will inspire you.

How to Write a Reflective Essay with a Proper Reflective Essay Outline

To give you a clear idea of structuring a reflective essay template, we broke down the essential steps below. Primarily, the organization of a reflective essay is very similar to other types of papers. However, our custom writers got more specific with the reflective essay outline to ease your writing process.

Reflective Essay Introduction

When wondering how to start a reflective essay, it is no surprise that you should begin writing your paper with an introductory paragraph. So, what's new and different with the reflection essay introduction? Let's dissect:

  • Open your intro with an attention-seizing hook that engages your audience into reflective thinking with you. It can be something like: 'As I was sitting on my bed with my notebook placed on my shaky lap waiting for the letter of acceptance, I could not help but reflect, was enrolling in college the path I wanted to take in the future?'
  • Provide context with a quick overview of the reflective essay topic. Don't reveal too much information at the start to prevent your audience from becoming discouraged to continue reading.
  • Make a claim with a strong reflective essay thesis statement. It should be a simple explanation of the essay's main point, in this example, a specific event that had a big impact on you.

Reflective Essay Body Paragraphs

The next step is to develop the body of your essay. This section of the paper may be the most challenging because it's simple to ramble and replicate yourself both in the outline and the actual writing. Planning the body properly requires a lot of time and work, and the following advice can assist you in doing this effectively:

  • Consider using a sequential strategy. This entails reviewing everything you wish to discuss in the order it occurred. This method ensures that your work is structured and cohesive.
  • Make sure the body paragraph is well-rounded and employs the right amount of analysis. The body should go into the effects of the event on your life and the insights you've gained as a consequence.
  • Prioritize reflecting rather than summarizing your points. In addition to giving readers insight into your personal experience, a reflective stance will also show off your personality and demonstrate your ability to handle certain challenges.

Reflective Essay Conclusion

The goal of your reflective essay conclusion should be to tie everything together by summarizing the key ideas raised throughout, as well as the lessons you were able to take away from experience.

  • Don't forget to include the reasons for and the methods used to improve your beliefs and actions. Think about how your personality and skills have changed as well.
  • What conclusions can you draw about your behavior in particular circumstances? What could you do differently if the conditions were the same in the future?

Remember that your instructor will be searching for clear signs of reflection.

Understanding a Reflection Paper Format

The format of reflective essay greatly differs from an argumentative or research paper. A reflective essay is more of a well-structured story or a diary entry rife with insight and reflection. You might be required to arrange your essay using the APA style or the MLA format.

And the typical reflection paper length varies between 300 and 700 words, but ask your instructor about the word length if it was assigned to you. Even though this essay is about you, try to avoid too much informal language.

If your instructor asks you to use an APA or MLA style format for reflective essay, here are a few shortcuts:

Reflective Essay in MLA Format

  • Times New Roman 12pt font double spaced;
  • 1" margins;
  • The top right includes the last name and page number on every page;
  • Titles are centered;
  • The header should include your name, your professor's name, course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy);
  • The last page includes a Works Cited.

Reflective Essay in APA Style

  • Include a page header on the top of every page;
  • Insert page number on the right;
  • Your reflective essay should be divided into four parts: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Reflective Essay Writing Tips

You may think we've armed you with enough tips and pointers for reflective writing, but it doesn't stop here. Below we gathered some expert-approved tips for constructing uncontested reflection papers.

tips reflective essay

  • Be as detailed as possible while writing. To make your reflective essay writing come to life, you should employ several tactics such as symbolism, sentence patterns, etc.
  • Keep your audience in mind. The reader will become frustrated if you continue writing in the first person without taking a moment to convey something more important, even though you will likely speak about something from your own perspective.
  • Put forth the effort to allow the reader to feel the situation or emotion you are attempting to explain.
  • Don't preach; demonstrate. Instead of just reporting what happened, use description appropriately to paint a clear picture of the event or sensation.
  • Plan the wording and structure of your reflective essay around a central emotion or subject, such as joy, pleasure, fear, or grief.
  • Avoid adding dull elements that can lessen the effect of your work. Why include it if it won't enhance the emotion or understanding you wish to convey?
  • There must be a constant sense of progression. Consider whether the event has transformed you or others around you.
  • Remember to double-check your grammar, syntax, and spelling.

Ready to Shine a Light on Your Innermost Thoughts?

Order your reflection essays now and let a wider audience hear your unique story

Reflective Essay Topic Ideas

As a reflective essay should be about your own views and experiences, you generally can't use someone else's ideas. But to help you get started, here are some suggestions for writing topics:

  • An experience you will never forget.
  • The moment you overcame a fear.
  • The most difficult choice you had to make.
  • A time your beliefs were challenged.
  • A time something changed your life.
  • The happiest or most frightening moment of your life so far.
  • Ways you think you or people can make the world a better place.
  • A time you felt lost.
  • An introspective look at your choices or a time you made the wrong choice.
  • A moment in your life you would like to relive.

You may find it convenient to create a chart or table to keep track of your ideas. Split your chart into three parts:

Reflective Essay Topic Ideas

  • In the first column, write key experiences or your main points. You can arrange them from most important to least important.
  • In the second column, list your response to the points you stated in the first column.
  • In the third column, write what, from your response, you would like to share in the essay.

Meanwhile, if you're about to enroll in your dream university and your mind is constantly occupied with - 'how to write my college admissions essay?', order an academic essay on our platform to free you of unnecessary anxiety.

Reflective Essay Sample

Referring to reflective essay examples can help you a lot. A reflective essay sample can provide you with useful insight into how your essay should look like. You can also buy an essay online if you need one customized to your specific requirements.

How to Conclude a Reflective Essay

As we come to an end, it's only logical to reflect on the main points discussed above in the article. By now, you should clearly understand what is a reflective essay and that the key to writing a reflective essay is demonstrating what lessons you have taken away from your experiences and why and how these lessons have shaped you. It should also have a clear reflective essay format, with an opening, development of ideas, and resolution.

Now that you have the tools to create a thorough and accurate reflective paper, you might want to hand over other tasks like writing definition essay examples to our experienced writers. In this case, feel free to buy an essay online on our platform and reflect on your past events without worrying about future assignments!

Want to Easily Impress Your Professors?

Count on the support of our professional writers for a top-notch academic paper

Related Articles

rhetorical analysis

  • Translators
  • Graphic Designers
  • Editing Services
  • Academic Editing Services
  • Admissions Editing Services
  • Admissions Essay Editing Services
  • AI Content Editing Services
  • APA Style Editing Services
  • Application Essay Editing Services
  • Book Editing Services
  • Business Editing Services
  • Capstone Paper Editing Services
  • Children's Book Editing Services
  • College Application Editing Services
  • College Essay Editing Services
  • Copy Editing Services
  • Developmental Editing Services
  • Dissertation Editing Services
  • eBook Editing Services
  • English Editing Services
  • Horror Story Editing Services
  • Legal Editing Services
  • Line Editing Services
  • Manuscript Editing Services
  • MLA Style Editing Services
  • Novel Editing Services
  • Paper Editing Services
  • Personal Statement Editing Services
  • Research Paper Editing Services
  • Résumé Editing Services
  • Scientific Editing Services
  • Short Story Editing Services
  • Statement of Purpose Editing Services
  • Substantive Editing Services
  • Thesis Editing Services

Proofreading

  • Proofreading Services
  • Admissions Essay Proofreading Services
  • Children's Book Proofreading Services
  • Legal Proofreading Services
  • Novel Proofreading Services
  • Personal Statement Proofreading Services
  • Research Proposal Proofreading Services
  • Statement of Purpose Proofreading Services

Translation

  • Translation Services

Graphic Design

  • Graphic Design Services
  • Dungeons & Dragons Design Services
  • Sticker Design Services
  • Writing Services

Solve

Please enter the email address you used for your account. Your sign in information will be sent to your email address after it has been verified.

6 Tips to Writing a Solid Reflection Paper (With a Sample Essay)

Tonya Thompson

A reflection paper is an essay that focuses on your personal thoughts related to an experience, topic, or behavior. It can veer toward educational as a reflection of a book you've read or something you've been studying in class. It can also take a more professional slant as you reflect on a certain profession or your experiences within that profession.

A lot of students enjoy writing this type of essay, especially if they find it easy to discuss their feelings and experiences related to a topic or profession. However, some students find this type of subjective writing to be difficult and would rather a more objective writing assignment.

Whether you're the former or the latter, for this article, we're going to look at 6 tips for writing a solid reflection paper that will help you get through the outlining and writing processes. We've also provided a sample reflection paper so you can see these tips in action.

A reflection paper is an essay that focuses on your personal thoughts related to an experience, topic, or behavior.

Tip #1—Choose a topic you're passionate about

However you choose to focus your reflection paper, if you're able to choose your own topic, choose one that is highly interesting to you or that you find important. You'll find that your paper will be much easier to outline and draft if you do. There are a range of potential topics that have been used or have the potential of turning into a great reflection paper. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Describe your internship experience.
  • Discuss a recent book you read that changed you.
  • What is "family" to you and why?
  • What are some of the qualities demonstrated by your favorite employers and/or managers? What makes them your favorite?
  • Discuss music that has altered your way of thinking or made you see the world from a different perspective.
  • Reflect on your favorite memory of a pet or loved one.

Tip #2—Outline your reflection paper before you write

Be sure to outline your reflection paper first before you start to write. Even though this sort of essay is written as a personal reflection, you'll still need to make sure you stay on topic and organize your writing in a clear, logical way. As with other traditional essays, there should be an introduction with a thesis statement, a body, and a conclusion. Each paragraph within your body should focus on a different sub-topic within the scope of your overall topic.

Tip #3—Write in first-person singular

Write in first-person singular. Format the essay according to your teacher's instructions, using whatever citation style required. Your teacher will likely request that it is double-spaced, with 1" indentation in each margin, in 12 pt. font. Also keep in mind that most reflection papers will be around 750 words or less.

Tip #4—Avoid too much description

Avoiding adding too much description of events. This is not the kind of essay where you need to discuss a play-by-play of everything that happens. Rather, it is the kind of essay that focuses on your reflection of the topic and how you felt during these experiences.

Tip #5—Avoid colloquial expressions or slang

Avoid colloquial expressions or slang—this is still an academic assignment. Also, be sure to edit your essay thoroughly for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Since a reflection paper is written in first-person point of view, it's easy to mistake it for an informal essay and skip the editing. Regardless of the type of essay you submit to your professor, it should always be edited and error-free.

Tip #6—Critical reflection goes deeper

If your assignment asks you to write a critical reflection paper, it is asking for your observations and evaluations regarding an experience. You'll need to provide an in-depth analysis of the subject and your experience with it in an academic context. You might also provide a summary, if the critical reflection paper is about a book or article you've read.

Sample reflection paper

My student teaching experience with the Master's in Education program has been a great learning opportunity. Although I was nervous at first, it didn't take long to apply lessons I have been learning in my academic program to real-world skills such as classroom management, lesson planning, and instruction.

During my first week of student teaching, I was assigned a mentor who had been teaching middle school grades for over 12 years. She assured me that middle school is one of the most difficult grades to teach and that there is a high turnover rate of teachers, which worried me. However, once the week got started and I began to meet the students, my fears abated. These young people were funny, inquisitive, and eager to begin reading the assigned book, Lord of the Flies —especially after we started with a group project scenario that included kids being stranded on an island without adults.

The first few weeks of applying classroom management skills I had read about in my Master's program were a definite learning experience. I had read enough about adolescent development to know that they were not yet at the age where they were able to control all of their impulses, so there were moments when some would yell out an answer or speak without raising their hand first. So, at my mentor's suggestion, I worked with the students to create their own classroom rules that everyone would agree to abide by. Since they played a role in coming up with these rules, I believe it helped them take more personal responsibility in following them.

When we finished that initial group project, I began to see how tasks such as lesson planning—and plans that have to be turned in to the administration weekly—can easily become overwhelming if not worked out on the front-end of the semester. My mentor explained that most seasoned teachers will work on their lesson plans over the summer, using the proper state curriculum, to have them ready with the school year begins. Having scrambled to get my lesson planning done in time during the first few weeks, I saw the value in this and agreed with her that summertime preparation makes the most logical sense. When the school year gets started, it's really a whirlwind of activities, professional development and other events that make it really difficult to find the time to plan lessons.

Once the semester got well underway and I had lesson planning worked out with as little stress as possible, I was able to focus more on instructional time, which I found to be incredibly exciting. I began to see how incorporating multiple learning styles into my lesson, including visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles, helped the students stay more actively engaged in the discussion. They also enjoyed it when I showed them short video clips of the movie versions of the books we were reading, as well as the free-write sessions where they were able to write a scene and perform it with their classmates.

Finally, my student teaching experience taught me that above all else, I have truly found my "calling" in teaching. Every day was something new and there was never a dull moment—not when you're teaching a group of 30 teenagers! This lack of boredom and the things I learned from the students are two of the most positive things for me that resulted from the experience, and I can't wait to have my own classroom in the fall when the school year begins again.

Related Posts

Elements of Research Design

Elements of Research Design

Five Essential Tips for Writing an Impact Statement

Five Essential Tips for Writing an Impact Statement

  • Academic Writing Advice
  • All Blog Posts
  • Writing Advice
  • Admissions Writing Advice
  • Book Writing Advice
  • Short Story Advice
  • Employment Writing Advice
  • Business Writing Advice
  • Web Content Advice
  • Article Writing Advice
  • Magazine Writing Advice
  • Grammar Advice
  • Dialect Advice
  • Editing Advice
  • Freelance Advice
  • Legal Writing Advice
  • Poetry Advice
  • Graphic Design Advice
  • Logo Design Advice
  • Translation Advice
  • Blog Reviews
  • Short Story Award Winners
  • Scholarship Winners

Need an academic editor before submitting your work?

Need an academic editor before submitting your work?

Illustration

  • Essay Guides
  • Main Academic Essays

How to Write a Reflective Essay: A Quick Guide + Examples

  • Speech Topics
  • Basics of Essay Writing
  • Essay Topics
  • Other Essays
  • Research Paper Topics
  • Basics of Research Paper Writing
  • Miscellaneous
  • Chicago/ Turabian
  • Data & Statistics
  • Methodology
  • Admission Writing Tips
  • Admission Advice
  • Other Guides
  • Student Life
  • Studying Tips
  • Understanding Plagiarism
  • Academic Writing Tips
  • Basics of Dissertation & Thesis Writing

Illustration

  • Research Paper Guides
  • Formatting Guides
  • Basics of Research Process
  • Admission Guides
  • Dissertation & Thesis Guides

thumbnail@2x.png

Table of contents

Illustration

Use our free Readability checker

A reflective essay is a type of writing where you explore how an event, experience, or concept has influenced your development or perspective. It involves deep thinking, self-analysis, and personal reflection. In a reflective essay, you explai what you learned and how you changed as a result of that experience.

In this article, you will learn how to write a reflective essay, and how to highlight impactful experiences. A reflection essay seems easy as you don’t have to defend one’s point of view or convince the reader of something. But it has its challenges, so we recommend to keep on reading and find out everything you need to know about this type of essay. More complex examples are available down below.

What Is a Reflective Essay: Definition

A good question to start with is, “What is a reflective essay?” A reflective essay is a type of academic writing, in which the student has to test personal life experience/position towards a particular topic. Unlike in argumentative writing, the student does not have to defend the personal position. It does not require a complicated, professional language with some terminology. Do not define something - focus on sharing personal life experience, skills, development, and the most vivid examples to illustrate the topic.

Reflective Essay Format

A reflection essay student writes to meet the college writing standards has a different format from the one a magazine writer should present to reach the issue’s audience. However, each reflective paper has a similar outline. Reflective essay format depends on the general requirements your teacher provides. Some of them can ask for a specific format for your essay. APA writing style , MLA, and Chicago are the basic formats you can use. But if you don’t know exactly which formatting to use, you can use reflective essay apa format. This is the most common college essay format, so knowing its requirements is critical: Font:  Times New Roman, 12 points Interval:  Double interval Margins:  1 inch all round Page Numbers:  Insert a title in the upper left corner of each page.  

Reflective Essay Outline and Structure

Knowing how to write a reflective essay is essential. Even if you feel confident about your thoughts and knowledge, don’t start your writing without a clear and well-designed plan. Without logical essay structure , your essay will likely achieve lower marks. To avoid this situation, follow 10 easy steps we provided below. The first thing every student needs to understand how to write a good reflective essay is an effective, detailed outline. It has 3 typical sections: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Writing a reflective essay does not require any references – the only person to refer is the student who decides to share his thoughts & ideas. Let’s look at 4 main reasons to include an outline of reflective essays.  

  • An outline assists in laying out the details the student wants to leave after narrowing down the draft before working on the final paper. It prevents them from concluding the essay by realizing something is missing.
  • An outline provides a clear, concise roadmap, which prevents the writer from taking curvy paths and facing dead ends. It shows the way like a compass in the woods.
  • An outline helps to save a lot of time.
  • An outline helps the potential readers, including teachers & classmates, to avoid falling off the main point when reading the essay partially.

Reflective essay outline is not much different from other types of essays. Use this reflective essay template in creating your perfect reflective essay:

Reflective essay outline

How to Start a Reflective Essay: Creating an Introduction

Let’s figure out how to write a reflective essay introduction. Start with stating the primary focus of the personal reflection. Avoid being indirect and covering a range of topics; stay direct and concise by underlining the basic purpose of sharing a life experience. Professional Opinion:

“Giving a preview of the most exciting part of the story is a clue. The target reader may lack time to read the full piece from cover to cover. “There are many things I have learned from Marketing class. The most valuable lesson I have obtained is checking the effectiveness of 2 different approaches or services through utilizing so-called A/B testing.” It will make the reader think about what is special about this specific method. The reader will go on reading the body paragraphs to find out!” Professor Hemsworth, History & Anthropology teacher and academic writer at StudyCrumb

Another way to attract attention in the introductory paragraph is to come up with the intriguing hook for essay sentences like statistics, fact, quote, metaphor, rhetorical question, or joke. It depends on the mood of your reflective narrative.

Working on Reflective Essay Thesis

Some people may say that a reflective essay does not need a thesis. However, the example shared in the previous section talking about introduction is an example of the inspiring thesis statement. Include at least a reflective summary of the primary idea. The best idea would be to focus on previewing the peak of the plot development or highlighting the most valuable lesson learned. Let’s take a look at this little reflective essay thesis sample.

“Now I realize the value of sports in the life of every student. The swimming courses I have attended since I was 13 are a great example of the way to support positive thinking and a healthy body.”

If you find it challenging, rely on our  professional essay writing service  and have your reflective essay done with academic standards in mind. 

Writing a Reflection Essay Body Paragraph

What is the purpose of a body paragraph ? The body paragraphs of the reflective analysis interpret the way the author evolved or what he/she has absorbed from a particular life lesson (mention 3 different lessons). When writing your reflective essay you should mention the circumstances that forced you to pass a certain way. If you study a subject like English Literature or Arts, the paper’s prompt may ask you to describe how you changed as a field professional during the course of study. It is important to choose a specific interval of time to list the improvements. Compare & contrast the initial skills to the knowledge you have today. It is a great idea to tell the audience the ways various tasks, challenges, and lessons made the author grow since the beginning of his education. There is no need to conduct research to collect the supporting evidence. The author alone is responsible for defending every stated claim with the help of vivid samples that describe the topic the best. Example: In case the student has become more professional in the field of writing, he should list the causes of those changes (new English teacher, more practice at home, part-time job related to the field of writing). Who knows – some of the ideas may be used by other students to succeed!  

How to Write a Reflective Essay Conclusion

The question of how to end a reflection paper is not less important. The last challenge is to prepare an impressive, inspiring, and powerful conclusion, which will make the target readers want to develop the same positive way. Write a reflective summary regarding the way you have changed over a given period of time. Share some forecast by looking ahead: how the experiences listed in the essay would influence further personal development. By looking at the past events, decide which of them was the most important. The good idea is to compare & contrast past and future events to stress the gaps between the obtained skills and experience, possibly gained in the future. Don't want to bother with writing any conclusions? Use a summary maker to generate e reflective essay conlusion in seconds.

How to Write a Reflective Essay: 10 Easy Steps

Writing personal reflection helps students to stress their individuality by highlighting various skills, knowledge, behavior, feelings, and even mood. The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to show how the person changed over time and what factors played an important role in those metamorphoses. Keep on reading this section to learn steps that will make your reflective writing perfect. Step 1:  Think of the questions that interest you the most. It may be your experience, feelings, or an event in life. Make sure you analyzed the question well. Check credible sources and collect relevant information. Step 2:  Decide what you want to write about. Make sure you know how to title an essay . Identify the topic. Step 3:  After you decided on a topic, create an appealing title that will entice readers. Make sure your title is clear and to the point. Step 4:  Create an outline of your essay. Step 5:  Create an attention-grabbing hook for reflective essay. It should be some intriguing sentence or phrase that will arouse the interest of your readers. Step 6:  Create an introduction of your reflection paper. Step 7:  Think what you will include in the main body of your text. Start writing your body paragraphs. Step 8:  Diversify your text with all the necessary details to make your readers see a clear picture of the environment in your story. It can be some place, people, atmosphere, etc. Step 9:  After the reader is already familiar with the setting and characters, you should tell about yourself. What were your feelings? How has the situation affected you? What did you learn from this situation? Step 10:  Conclude your reflective essay. Briefly summarize all the points that were mentioned in your text and provide a short moral with recommendations. You can use these steps as a checklist for your writing process. In case you need another step-by-step guide on response essays  or any other type of writing, we've got you covered.

>> Read more: How to Write Essays

Reflective Essays Sample From Successful College Students

No recommendations, tips & tricks help the students to understand the way a particular assignment should look like in the end as effectively as the examples. The article contains one of the up-to-date reflective essay examples from a college student.

Illustration

Writing a Reflective Essay: Bottom Line

Congratulations, we have learned how to write a reflective essay. We really do hope that our guidelines, tips, and examples were useful to you. Now, you can definitely work on your reflection assignment with a clear understanding of its structure and main points. So start your writing, and the sky's the limit! 

In case you need more writing tips, feel free to browse our Blog. Be it a diagnostic essay , a synthesis essay  or a response paper , we have tutorials for any type of writing. 

Illustration

Consider  buying essay papers  in case you've got other plans for the evening. Submit your details to StudyCrumb and get an astounding paper written in line with your requirements. Your assigned writer will handle any assignment with a blink of an eye!

Frequently Asked Questions about Writing a Reflective Essay

1. what is a common mistake when writing a reflective essay.

A common mistake when writing a reflective essay is to drift away from the subject you're writing about. It usually happens when you don’t stick to your initial plan. So plan your writing well and if you feel that you go a bit off topic, be sure that you return to the same topic you originally discussed.

2. What is the purpose of writing a reflective essay?

The purpose of writing a reflective essay is to make a student write about their personal experience, explore it, reflect on it and find positive and negative aspects. The goal is to analyze how a student changed due to this experience and what made them change. What lesson a student learned is an essential point in persuasive writing.

3. How to write a reflective essay on a book?

If you are writing a reflective essay on a book, the main task is to show your teacher how you reflect on a chosen book, how you understand the problem presented by an author. To create a good essay, start with brief information about the author. Then, without spoilers, briefly summarize the main points of a book. After that explain the main conflicts, share your impressions. Ask questions like: “What are the peculiarities of the main characters?”, “What did an author want to say by indicating the main issues?”

Daniel_Howard_1_1_2da08f03b5.jpg

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

Illustration

You may also like

thumbnail@2x.png

How to Write a Reflection Paper: Example & Tips

Want to know how to write a reflection paper for college or school? To do that, you need to connect your personal experiences with theoretical knowledge. Usually, students are asked to reflect on a documentary, a text, or their experience. Sometimes one needs to write a paper about a lesson or a movie.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

This assignment tests your critical thinking rather than your summarizing skills.

Struggling with a reflection paper? This article by our custom-writing experts will help you ace this task. Here you’ll find:

  • A guide on how to write a reflection paper;
  • Outlining and formatting tips;
  • Reflection paper example & a template.

🤔 What Is a Reflection Paper?

  • ✅ Reflection Paper Types
  • ✍️ Step-by-Step Guide
  • 📃 Examples & Formatting Tips

A reflection essay is a type of academic assignment in which you connect theories learned in class with your personal experience and knowledge. Additionally, you analyze your feelings and attitudes towards the subject. It helps you understand how to put theory into practice. 

The picture shows the definition of a reflection paper: a description, analysis, and evaluation of an experience.

For this assignment, the ability to use reflective thinking is vital. What does it mean? It means that you should be able to look back at and analyze:

  • what you did;
  • how and why you did it;
  • how it made you feel ;
  • what you could have done differently .

Consequently, your reflection essay should include the following components: 

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

So, let’s make clear what a reflection paper is and what it’s not. Have a look at this comparison:

When it comes to topics, a reflexive paper may be about many things, such as:

  • an analysis of your work;
  • your impressions from attending a class or a speech;
  • an experience that has influenced your worldview;
  • a solution to a problem;
  • the steps to improve your academic progress.

Once you have a topic idea, the next step is to prepare for writing.

✅ How to Write a Reflection Paper: Tips for Various Types

Before your start working on your essay, let’s find out what exactly you should deal with. There are several different types of reflexive essays. Make sure to choose the one that suits you best.

We have prepared three classifications, depending on when, how, and what you will reflect.

Receive a plagiarism-free paper tailored to your instructions. Cut 20% off your first order!

Depending on time, reflection papers can be:

  • Reflection-in-action. You study your actions under certain circumstances. Usually, it’s a patient-therapist interaction. In this case, you observe, feel, and analyze the situation you are engaged in.
  • Reflection-on-action. You study your actions after the situation has already occurred. It’s crucial to use your critical thinking here as well. 

Depending on the manner, reflexive essays can be:

  • Experimental. You make connections between theory and practice by conducting an experiment. It’s suitable for sociology, education, business, psychology, forensics, and nursing.
  • Reading. You connect the ideas from the texts and your interpretations to show your comprehension. 

Depending on the content, reflective writing can be:

  • a journal (to reflect on your learning in the course)
  • a learning diary (to evaluate group work)
  • a logbook (to reflect on your experiments, analyze past actions, and plan future ones)
  • a reflective note (to express your attitudes towards an issue)
  • an essay diary (to write an annotated bibliography, to analyze and critique the sources)
  • a peer review (to present your feedback on other students’ work or teamwork)
  • a self-reflection essay (to examine and comment on your working process).

Personal Reflection Paper: Writing Tips

In a personal reflection paper, you need to present your attitudes, emotions, feelings, and experiences. How do you do it? 

Here is the answer:

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

  • Think about an experience that evokes particular emotions.
  • Describe what happened: mention the participants and their actions.
  • Demonstrate your emotions and feelings. It’s important to show them rather than just tell. The trick is to make the reader feel the same. You can do it by using imagery and various descriptive techniques.
  • Analyze your experiences and make connections with your present-day life. You can relate them to your study material or relevant theories and concepts.
  • Conclude with your plans. Tell the readers how you’re going to implement this knowledge. 

These reflective writing examples should give you an idea of what your writing should be like and what to avoid. First, let’s have a look at a poor example :

I wanted to become a painter. I liked to paint very much. Once I saw a painting of Claude Monet and decided to become like him. I bought paints and a canvas. My first work was not very good, but I didn’t give up. My future pictures were much better.

As you can see, it’s not very informative. There’s no analysis of an experience, and connections are not made. It also lacks interesting descriptions.

Now, check out this good example :

Critical Reflection Paper: Writing Tips

In a critical reflection essay, you assess how theories can be applied in practice, examine causes and consequences, and find solutions to problems. It’s all about evaluating and changing your attitude towards an issue rather than summarizing events and details.

The critical reflection process consists of two stages:

  • Analysis . Ask critical questions to find the core of the issue and your role in it. 
  • Articulation . Organize your ideas into a structured essay.

How exactly can you make an analysis?

Have a look at the following three-stage model. All you should do is answer the following questions:

  • What? During the first stage, you describe the details of the issue.
  • So what? The second stage requires you to relate your theoretical knowledge to the situation you discuss. The way you do it depends on the questions you are going to ask yourself while writing. There are three major perspectives to choose from:
  • Now what? At this stage, you think about the future outcomes. Ponder on how this situation will shape your further experiences. 

As soon as the analysis stage is over, you’re ready to relate your thoughts and ideas in written form.

How to Write a Reflection Paper on a Book

Now, let’s see what strategies can help you write an excellent reflective essay on a book. First of all, remember that this assignment is not about summarizing the plot. It’s about analyzing and connecting the ideas presented in the text with your knowledge. 

To write a perfect reflective paper on a book, take the following steps:

  • Analyze the text. Explore the ideas, purpose, and theoretical framework of the book. State its main point clearly and concisely. Then, discuss the information that interested you the most. Mention what emotions it evoked, and say whether the ideas in the book are new to you. 
  • Expand on your ideas. Describe how this information shapes your understanding of the subject. Also, state whether you agree with the author’s arguments. 
  • Establish connections. Show how the book helped to broaden your knowledge. Mention whether it had challenged your assumptions.

The following sample will help you see how you can structure your ideas:

How to Write a Reflection Paper on an Article

Usually, a reflection paper on an article is concerned with critiquing a written text or a speech. These strategies will help you write it:

  • Focus on your attitudes and feelings towards the article. You may mention your expectations and whether they were met.

I believed this book would help me understand the difference between traditional and radical forgiveness. I thought these two types had a lot in common. However, it turned out they are entirely different.

  • Refer to the passages that interested you the most: quote directly, paraphrase , or summarize them.
  • Include your subjective opinion: it’s important not to overdo it.
  • Combine formal and informal vocabulary to make your writing more expressive.

✍️ How to Write a Reflection Paper: Step-by-Step Guide

Want to know what exactly you should do to get an excellent reflexive essay? Read the following tips. They will help you write any type of reflection essay .

Reflection Paper Writing: Before You Start

Let’s start with some pre-writing strategies. Here are the main steps:

Step 1: Brainstorm ideas . Identify your central theme and write a summary of essential points.

Main theme:  Psychological reasons for eating a lot of sweets

  • Usually, I eat sweets when I’m sad or upset.
  • I have read that people who lack love and positive emotions and feelings try to substitute it with food.
  • Watching a documentary has evoked my interest in this topic.
  • My attitude towards sweets has changed after research.

Step 2: Analyze your ideas. Then, connect your experiences with theoretical knowledge.

The following list of questions will help you navigate your response.

Step 3: Organize your reflection essay . This list will make it clear what the writer does and doesn’t do in a reflective essay. Keep it in mind while planning what to include in your paper.

Here’s a bonus tip: to structure your reflection process, use the 4Rs model :

  • Report on the topic and its relation to the course.
  • Relate it with your personal experiences.
  • Reason out connections between your practical and theoretical knowledge.
  • Reconstruct the initial idea to make a conclusion.

Reflection Paper Template: What to Include

Now, let’s have a look at your essay’s structure. Your paper should consist of an introduction, main body, and conclusion:

The picture shows a template for a reflection paper with the main elements included in introduction, main body, and conclusion.

Want to know how to write each part? Keep reading!

Reflection Paper Outline: How to Start

The introductory part of your essay should be catchy, informative, and well-organized. How can you do it? Follow these strategies:

  • It should be specific: try not to include general and well-known information.
  • Make this sentence catchy. This will get your readers interested in the rest of your paper.
  • major facts or details related to the situation or issue;
  • general themes covered in the text, interview, or video under analysis;
  • aspects of teamwork or an individual assignment;
  • your biases, expectations, and possible challenges.
  • cover observations or conclusions made by you;
  • reveal a clear position on an issue;
  • include a plan on how to defend your opinions throughout the paper.

Don’t forget to reread your introduction each time before writing a new body paragraph. Make sure that all of them match the ideas covered in your introductory part and thesis statement.

Reflection Paper Outline: Body Paragraphs

So, what’s the next part? After you’ve presented your ideas in the introduction, you expand on them in the body paragraphs. The main point here is to cover one idea per paragraph and provide necessary supporting evidence. That’s why it is better to have no more than 3 body paragraphs.

Here’s what to include in this essay part:

Reflection Paper Outline: Conclusion

Finally, any academic paper needs a conclusion. Don’t know how to write it? Check out the following helpful tips:

📃 Reflection Paper Examples & Formatting Tips

The moment when you stop writing your essay is really amazing. But then comes the final part: you need to format your paper appropriately. Don’t know how to do it? Look no further: we have prepared some formatting tips for you.

You only need to know which citation style to use. APA and MLA are the most popular citation styles. That’s why we have gathered the most helpful information on them. Check it out!

APA Reflection Paper Formatting

American Psychological Association (APA) format is mostly used in sciences, psychology, and education. Consider the following tips if you need to write an APA reflection essay.

Below you’ll find a downloadable reflection paper example in APA format.

Reflection Papers Format: MLA

Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting is widespread in the humanities. Do you need to write an MLA reflexive essay? Have a look at some essential formatting tips about this citation style below.

If you want to know more about MLA formatting, check out this free reflection essay sample. You can download the full version below.

Reflection Paper Example

The COVID-19 pandemic raised the need for educational means that will not potentially endanger the students’ health. As a result, the need for online classes sharply rose worldwide. However, it is difficult to conclude whether such practices have been successful so far, especially in regions that are considered least developed. According to my personal observations, online classes may represent a negative educational experience that will hinder its primary role as the means of passing on the knowledge.

Make sure to check out these reflection paper samples to get more ideas for your essay.

  • Personal Philosophy of Nursing Reflection Paper
  • Application of Research in Social Sciences Reflection Paper
  • Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: Reflection Paper
  • Reflections on Aging
  • Reflection on the Book of Psalms
  • Epidemiology Course Topics Reflection
  • Personal Nursing Practice Reflection
  • Relational Practice: Reflections on Family Nursing
  • Reflection on “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein
  • Martin Luther King Speech Reflection

Reflection Paper Topics

  • Personal response to Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. 
  • Reflection on importance of leadership in healthcare .  
  • Globalization of Missions by Kgatle: personal reflections.  
  • Personal reflection on social work policy and its values.  
  • Racism as an example of social injustice : reflection paper.  
  • Reflection on the immigration policy based on Paul Vitello’s article Kiss me, I’m Illegal . 
  • Personal response to William Shakespeare ’s quotation, “For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so.” 
  • Reflection and evaluation of Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper . 
  • Importance of realization the policy of diversity: reflection paper. 
  • Analyze your personal response to the sports industry cowboysization. 
  • What, in your opinion, is leadership and professionalism?  
  • Reflect on the significance of the International Women’s Day celebration.  
  • Analyze the survey on nursing ethics and give your evaluation of its results.  
  • Personal reflection on French Revolution and value of liberty. 
  • Values and beliefs of nursing as a multifaceted healthcare area: personal evaluation. 
  • Brief analysis and personal evaluation of Christianity framework .  
  • Reflection on your personal nursing philosophy and beliefs. 
  • How does media affect friendship ?  
  • Reflections on the portrayal of family in Homer’s Odyssey . 
  • Personal evaluation of Gary Smalley’s Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships .  
  • Reflect on the historical and literary significance of Chronicles of the Indies . 
  • What does the leadership skills mean: reflection paper. 
  • Reflection on John Hume’s Nobel Prize speech and lecture about reaching agreement. 
  • Personal response to Soderbergh’s film Contagion .   
  • Reflect on visiting the website Virtual American Revolution, Boston and its role in teaching history. 
  • Describe your impressions of The Love Suicides at Amijima by Chikamatsu Monzameon. 
  • Reflect on the meaning of art using the installation My Bed by Emin as an example.  
  • Analyze your thoughts and feelings evoked by Epic of Gilgamesh .  
  • Is photography a true art?  
  • Does the idea presented in a series of stories The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien correlate with your personal beliefs?   
  • Bachelor of Science in social work : reflection paper. 
  • Discuss the problems reflected in the documentary Autism: Insight From Inside . 
  • Present your reflections on the single-parent families .  
  • How do you understand ethics ?  
  • Consider the crucial points of Cheleyem : An Experimental of Mapuche Film Program.   
  • The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic : personal reflections.    
  • Present personal evaluation of the film Mi Familia directed by Gregory Nava. 
  • Bill of Rights : reflective essay. 
  • Describe the impression of the film Rampant: How a City Stopped a Plague by Victoria Midwinter-Pitt.  
  • Evaluate staging of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.    

We hope that this article on a reflection paper has made things clear for you. In a nutshell, here are the main steps:

  • analyze the situation;
  • reflect on your feelings and experiences;
  • connect them to your theoretical knowledge.

We wish you the best of luck with your assignments. Don’t hesitate to share this article with your friends!

Further reading:

  • How to Write a Lab Report: Format, Tips, & Example
  • What Is a Master’s Thesis & How to Write It: Best Tips
  • Literature Review Outline: Examples, Approaches, & Templates
  • How to Write an Annotated Bibliography: Tips, Format, & Samples
  • 10 Research Paper Hacks: Tips for Writing a Research Paper

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

A reflection is a combination of critical thinking and learning. It’s a way of responding to one’s experiences, issues, and acquired knowledge. There’s no right or wrong in reflection writing, as every person reacts uniquely.

It’s better to discuss the essay’s length with your instructor. However, if there are no specific instructions regarding word count, your reflective essay should contain between 300- 500 words (approximately 1-2 pages.)

To write an effective reflexive essay about a lesson, you need to:

1. describe the lesson’s contents; 2. express your ideas and feelings related to the class; 3. mention what you’ve learned and how it affected you.

To write a reflection paper on a movie, follow the template below:

1. reflect on your emotions before, during, and after watching the film; 2. analyze your observations; 3. draw connections with the information learned in class.

🔍 References

  • Reflective Writing: UNSW Sydney
  • Models of Reflection: LibGuides at La Trobe University
  • Reflective Writing: Deakin University
  • The Reflection Paper: University of Toronto
  • Reflection Papers: Cleveland State University
  • The 4Rs Model of Reflective Thinking: Queensland University of Technology
  • Keys to Writing a Reflection Paper: Seattle PI
  • How to Write a Reflection Paper: Trent University
  • Reflection Template: University of South Florida
  • Critical Reflection: University of Waterloo
  • Critical Reflection: Texas A&M University
  • A Short Guide to Reflective Writing: University of Birmingham
  • The Structure of Reflective Writing: Monash University
  • General Format: APA Style: Purdue University
  • Using MLA Format: MLA Style Format
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to LinkedIn
  • Share to email

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline

A character analysis is an examination of the personalities and actions of protagonists and antagonists that make up a story. It discusses their role in the story, evaluates their traits, and looks at their conflicts and experiences. You might need to write this assignment in school or college. Like any...

Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essays: What’s the Difference?

The difference between an argumentative and persuasive essay isn’t always clear. If you’re struggling with either style for your next assignment, don’t worry. The following will clarify everything you need to know so you can write with confidence. First, we define the primary objectives of argumentative vs. persuasive writing. We...

How to Write a Cause & Effect Essay: Examples, Outline, & Tips

You don’t need to be a nerd to understand the general idea behind cause and effect essays. Let’s see! If you skip a meal, you get hungry. And if you write an essay about it, your goal is achieved! However, following multiple rules of academic writing can be a tough...

How to Write an Argumentative Essay: 101 Guide [+ Examples]

An argumentative essay is a genre of academic writing that investigates different sides of a particular issue. Its central purpose is to inform the readers rather than expressively persuade them. Thus, it is crucial to differentiate between argumentative and persuasive essays. While composing an argumentative essay, the students have to...

How to Write an Exemplification Essay: Topics, Examples, & Outline

Exemplification essays, also called illustration essays, are one of the easiest papers to write. However, even the simplest tasks require experience and practice. It is a good idea to find and analyze free exemplification essay examples. You can also ask your teacher to give you some sample exemplification essays from...

How to Write about a Topic You Lack Interest in [2024]

During their school years, students may not always have the opportunity to select a topic for their essay or research paper. Instructors tend to assign one or offer a list of ideas that might not seem engaging. Moreover, even the topic that you choose yourself can sometimes end up being...

1000-Word Essays: Writing Guide + FAQ

Do you have to write an essay for the first time? Or maybe you’ve only written essays with less than 1000 words? Someone might think that writing a 1000-word essay is a rather complicated and time-consuming assignment. Others have no idea how difficult thousand-word essays can be. Well, we have...

How to Critique a Movie: Tips + Film Critique Example

How to write a film critique essay? To answer this question, you should clearly understand what a movie critique is. It can be easily confused with a movie review. Both paper types can become your school or college assignments. However, they are different. A movie review reveals a personal impression...

How to Write a Personal Essay: Topics, Structure, & Examples

Even though a personal essay seems like something you might need to write only for your college application, people who graduated a while ago are asked to write it. Therefore, if you are a student, you might even want to save this article for later!

How to Write a 5-Paragraph Essay: Outline, Examples, & Writing Steps

If you wish a skill that would be helpful not just for middle school or high school, but also for college and university, it would be the skill of a five-paragraph essay. Despite its simple format, many students struggle with such assignments.

Best Descriptive Essays: Examples & How-to Guide [+ Tips]

A descriptive essay is an academic paper that challenges a school or college student to describe something. It can be a person, a place, an object, a situation—anything an individual can depict in writing. The task is to show your abilities to communicate an experience in an essay format using...

How to Write a Creative Essay: Tips, Topics, and Techniques

What is a creative essay, if not the way to express yourself? Crafting such a paper is a task that allows you to communicate your opinion and tell a story. However, even using your imagination to a great extent doesn’t free you from following academic writing rules. Don’t even get...

Hi custom-writing.org admin, You always provide practical solutions and recommendations.

Custom Writing

Thanks for the feedback, Julian! Much appreciated.

This information on reflective writing has been very helpful. Thank you so much. Linda Grayson Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN

Thanks for the feedback, Linda! Much appreciated.

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — The Hunger Games — Reflection on the Book “The Hunger Games”

test_template

Reflection on The Book "The Hunger Games"

  • Categories: Book Review Novel The Hunger Games

About this sample

close

Words: 904 |

Published: Sep 1, 2020

Words: 904 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Image of Dr. Charlotte Jacobson

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

  • 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
  • Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

author

Prof. Kifaru

Verified writer

  • Expert in: Literature Entertainment

writer

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

6.5 pages / 2866 words

4 pages / 1797 words

2 pages / 913 words

3.5 pages / 1665 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Reflection on The Book "The Hunger Games" Essay

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on The Hunger Games

The Construction of a Modern National Consciousness, as the title suggests is based on the issue of Palestinian identity, which has long been misunderstood and misrepresented. One of the first striking points that Khalidi makes [...]

In literature, different settings are often used to explain the production of different types of characters with varied opinions, personalities, and morals. On top of this, the setting is often used to carry a specific idea or [...]

Jamais Cascio once said, “Resilience is all about able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.” As an individual, you have the choice on how you react to unexpected [...]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins wasna fast paced, thrilling and adventurous novel exuding a storyline that captures the reader's attention. Peeta and Katniss are two teens living in District 12. They have many differences, [...]

"Insufficient facts always invite danger" declared Spock to Captain Kirk as the U.S.S. Enterprise was on deep alert after discovering a sleeper cell in space with seventy-two unconscious super-humans inside (Coon, 1967). His [...]

The play ‘Twelve Angry Men’ by Reginald Rose contains many elements that examine the implementation of the American justice system in 1957 and help shape the deliberations of the case. Perhaps the most important element is the [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

  • Instructions Followed To The Letter
  • Deadlines Met At Every Stage
  • Unique And Plagiarism Free

book reflection essay

Book Reflection Essays

Book reflection – habits of the mind, popular essay topics.

  • American Dream
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Bullying Essay
  • Career Goals Essay
  • Causes of the Civil War
  • Child Abusing
  • Civil Rights Movement
  • Community Service
  • Cultural Identity
  • Cyber Bullying
  • Death Penalty
  • Depression Essay
  • Domestic Violence
  • Freedom of Speech
  • Global Warming
  • Gun Control
  • Human Trafficking
  • I Believe Essay
  • Immigration
  • Importance of Education
  • Israel and Palestine Conflict
  • Leadership Essay
  • Legalizing Marijuanas
  • Mental Health
  • National Honor Society
  • Police Brutality
  • Pollution Essay
  • Racism Essay
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Same Sex Marriages
  • Social Media
  • The Great Gatsby
  • The Yellow Wallpaper
  • Time Management
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Violent Video Games
  • What Makes You Unique
  • Why I Want to Be a Nurse
  • Send us an e-mail

IMAGES

  1. how to write reflective essay introduction

    book reflection essay

  2. 50 Best Reflective Essay Examples (+Topic Samples) ᐅ TemplateLab

    book reflection essay

  3. Book Reflection Paper Example

    book reflection essay

  4. Stunning How To Write A Reflection Report Thesis In Latex

    book reflection essay

  5. Course Example Of Reflection Essay / English Class Reflection Paper

    book reflection essay

  6. 🐈 How to start a reflective essay examples. How to Write a Reflective

    book reflection essay

VIDEO

  1. Reflection Papers Movie

  2. IH 51: On the Personal Reflection Essay

  3. ENGL 101: Final Reflection Essay

  4. Introduction to Reflection Essay 1

  5. ARU 236 Book Reflection

  6. Topic 7 Self Reflection Essay

COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Reflection Paper in 5 Steps (plus Template and Sample Essay)

    Use these 5 tips to write a thoughtful and insightful reflection paper. 1. Answer key questions. To write a reflection paper, you need to be able to observe your own thoughts and reactions to the material you've been given. A good way to start is by answering a series of key questions. For example:

  2. How to Write a Reflective Essay

    1 Choose a tone. Before you begin to write your reflective essay, choose a tone. Because a reflective essay is more personal than an academic essay, you don't need to use a strict, formal tone. You can also use personal pronouns like I and me in your essay because this essay is about your personal experiences.

  3. How to Write a Reflection Paper: Guide with Examples

    Never write the whole essay at once. Space out the time slots when you work on your reflection paper to at least a day apart. This will allow your brain to generate new thoughts and reflections. Short and Sweet - Most reflection papers are between 250 and 750 words. Don't go off on tangents.

  4. How to Write a Reflection Paper: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    1. Keep it short and sweet. A typical reflection paper is between 300 and 700 words long. Verify whether or not your instructor specified a word count for the paper instead of merely following this average. If your instructor demands a word count outside of this range, meet your instructor's requirements. 2.

  5. How to Write a Reading Reflection Paper [A Full Guide]

    Write your reflection paper outline beforehand to make the essay well-structured. This will make the actual writing very easy as you won't get carried away. Here is a useful template, which you may fill in with your notes: Let's go through some of the most important sections of your reading reflection format: Title.

  6. How to Write a Reflection Paper (With Steps and Examples)

    Here are steps you can follow: 1. Understand and summarize the material. It's important that you review the material before writing the reflection paper. You can review similar texts and authorities to help you understand the content of the text. Some reflection papers may require you to review a particular event.

  7. How to Write a Reflective Essay: Format, Tips and Examples

    Reflective Essay in MLA Format. Times New Roman 12pt font double spaced; 1" margins; The top right includes the last name and page number on every page; Titles are centered; The header should include your name, your professor's name, course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy); The last page includes a Works Cited.

  8. A complete guide to writing a reflective essay

    Here's a recap of the contents of this article, which also serves as a way to create a mind map: 1. Identify the topic you will be writing on. 2. Note down any ideas that are related to the topic and if you want to, try drawing a diagram to link together any topics, theories, and ideas. 3.

  9. 6 Tips to Writing a Solid Reflection Paper (With a Sample Essay)

    Tip #3—Write in first-person singular. Write in first-person singular. Format the essay according to your teacher's instructions, using whatever citation style required. Your teacher will likely request that it is double-spaced, with 1" indentation in each margin, in 12 pt. font. Also keep in mind that most reflection papers will be around ...

  10. How to Write a Reflective Essay: A Detailed Overview

    Step 6: Create an introduction of your reflection paper. Step 7: Think what you will include in the main body of your text. Start writing your body paragraphs. Step 8: Diversify your text with all the necessary details to make your readers see a clear picture of the environment in your story.

  11. Reflective Essay Examples

    Seeing reflective essay examples can help you understand how to accomplish a reflective essay writing assignment. View examples of reflective essays. ... This reflective essay example about a favorite book is something you might find at the middle or high school level. When it comes to books, I didn't understand the appeal. I'd read one ...

  12. How to Write Literary Analysis

    Literary analysis involves examining all the parts of a novel, play, short story, or poem—elements such as character, setting, tone, and imagery—and thinking about how the author uses those elements to create certain effects. A literary essay isn't a book review: you're not being asked whether or not you liked a book or whether you'd ...

  13. How to Write a Reflection Paper: Example & Tips

    Make the paper double-spaced with 1-inch margins; Create a page header with page numbers flush right; Use a 10-12-point font. In-text citations. Follow the author-date format. If you want to summarize or paraphrase the information, list the author's name and the date of publication in brackets.

  14. How to write a reflection paper

    A reflection paper is an essay that requires you to express your opinion on a topic. In the paper, you will analyse and reflect upon how a book, experience or academic lecture shaped your thoughts and opinions on a subject. It is one of the only academic essays where you get to discuss your own opinion and, the best part is, there is no wrong ...

  15. 50 Best Reflective Essay Examples (+Topic Samples)

    A reflective essay is a type of written work which reflects your own self. Since it's about yourself, you already have a topic to write about. For reflective essay examples, readers expect you to evaluate a specific part of your life. To do this, you may reflect on emotions, memories, and feelings you've experienced at that time.

  16. How to start a reflective essay + Introduction Examples

    5. Create an outline. Before you begin writing a reflective essay, it's important to create an outline. This will help you organize your thoughts and structure your essay in a way that is easy to follow. Here's a basic outline for a reflective essay: Introduction.

  17. PDF Reflective Essay in Education, APA Style (Gibson)

    Reflective Essay in Education, APA Style (Gibson) Marginal annotations indicate APA-style formatting and effective writing. Source: Hacker Handbooks (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011, 2007). ... Waverly's library has a rich collection of books, magazines and journals, computer stations, and spaces in which to use all of these materials ...

  18. Reflective Essay on a Book

    Reflective Essay on a Book. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. I read The Alchemist a couple of years ago and I was quite impressed. So much that I forgot almost everything about this book. Now, I decided to read it again in order to ...

  19. Book Reflection Assignment Free Essay Example

    Book Reflection Assignment. Categories: Free Essays. Download. Reflection, Pages 4 (975 words) Views. 18454. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards is a very fascinating and insightful book that everyone who is interested in special education should definitely read. After reading the book, I could not help myself but be compelled by the ...

  20. Reflection on The Book "The Hunger Games"

    The book The Hunger Games, is about a society similar to ours. The poor live in horrible conditions while the rich control everything. The people take pleasure in watching teens compete in a death match. The story focuses on the character of Katniss Everdeen, from district twelve who volunteers to compete in "the games" in order to protect ...

  21. Book reflection: "When Breath becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

    In fact, I wrote my college application trying to answer this question and the summary of the essay was- our lives have no inherent meaning; it is us who give our lives 'meaning' through what ...

  22. Reflective Essays (16 books)

    Reflective Essays Reflective writing is an analytical practice in which the writer describes a real or imaginary scene, event, interaction, passing thought, or memory and adds a personal reflection on its meaning.

  23. Book Reflection Essay Examples

    Book Reflection - Habits of the Mind. In his seminal work "Habits of the Mind," James W. Sire reveals the intricate relationship in the broad field of intellectual inquiry between worldview, critical thinking, and intellectual integrity. As we traverse Sire's text, we are propelled on a journey of self-discovery that compels us to ...