After you got the anger (and maybe a few tears) out of your system, did you think about why you failed so miserably?

Maybe you reflected on the situation and learned a valuable lesson about the importance of time management. As a result, you’re now a more conscientious student.

If you spent any amount of time pondering your failed assignment, then you already know something about writing a reflective essay. It’s this type of thinking about what you’ve learned or how the experience changed you that is the essence of a reflective essay.

In this post, I’ll give you a short tutorial on what makes a reflective essay, well, reflective. I’ll also point out the strengths of two reflective essay examples to help you get started.

The Reflective Essay

If you look at your own reflection in a mirror, you’ll see yourself as you are today, not as you were yesterday.

Wow—that sounds pretty deep, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Each day you change in some way.

If you’re writing a reflective essay, you’ll think about (or reflect on) how you’ve changed or perhaps how an event changed you.

A reflective essay means you’ll reflect on how you’ve changed or how an event changed you.
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For example, if you were walking to class yesterday and were almost hit by a car as you crossed the street, you might reflect on how the near-death experience changed you forever.

If you’re still not quite sure what it means to reflect, read How to Write a Reflective Essay That Is Interesting or check out this informative SlideShare.

But even if you know what a reflective essay is, that doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to write a good reflective essay.

Here are two reflective essay examples to help illustrate what makes a reflective essay good.

Reflective Essay Example #1: A Personal Account of Anorexia

Even though this essay isn’t very long, it’s a good example of the core component of the reflective essay: an explanation of how an event or experience affects the writer.

The writer of this essay discusses a personal struggle with anorexia. She explains how the experiences shaped her view of herself and how they helped determine her career goal.

A Personal Account of Anorexia

Reflective Essay Example #2: The Pressures of College

Reflective essay example #2 offers a different take on this type of essay as it includes a response to an article.

The writer of this essay reflects on personal pressures he faces in college and discusses strategies to overcome these pressures.

The Pressures of College

  Final Thoughts on Our Reflective Essay Examples

As you can see, like most essays, the reflective essay follows a basic essay format. It has a solid introduction, a clear thesis statement, examples and evidence to support body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion.

Now you know what makes a reflective essay good (thanks to my helpful article and our reflective essay examples).

If you still don’t know what to write about, here are 15 topics to inspire you. You can also check out more reflective essay examples. Here’s a few worth looking at:

• Live Each Moment for What It’s Worth
• How Did We Get Consumed by Consumer Culture?
• My Journey to Find out More about General Anxiety
• Proving Anything Is Possible By Losing Weight

If you’re already inspired and have a topic in mind but don’t quite know how to organize your ideas, try outlining. Use this reflective essay outline to get started.

Now that you’re a more conscientious student, after reflecting on your academic career, be proactive. Let a Kibin editor help revise and perfect your paper.

Happy reflecting!

The movie begins with Forrest sitting at a bus stop. As various people come and go, Forrest recalls the story of his life. It’s like the movie version of a narrative essay.

Forrest does a good job of describing what has happened at various points throughout his life, but the viewer is left with the job of taking it a step beyond the narration.

This next step is reflection. The audience listens to the things Forrest has accomplished in his life and attaches deeper meaning to them in regard to what they teach us about success, social perceptions, and life in general.

If you were to combine Forrest’s narration with the audience’s contemplation, you’d get the movie version of a reflective essay.

A reflective essay is about you.

This means there won’t be any lengthy research attached to a reflective writing assignment (yay!). Instead, you will be asked to describe a part of your life and reflect on what you learned from it.

This “part of your life” could take many forms. You could focus on an experience, a personality trait, or an important person you’ve met who has influenced you in some way. There’s a lot of wiggle room, if you will, in a reflective essay to make it your own.

There’s a lot of wiggle room, if you will, in a reflective essay to make it your own.
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I can hear you now: “No research? I just have to write about myself. Piece of cake.”

However, it’s precisely this sense of freedom that can get you in trouble. There are enough pitfalls with reflective writing to fill an entire blog post. But I’m a positive guy, so let’s instead focus on five tips for a super successful reflective writing assignment.

Reflective Writing Tip #1: Choose the Right Topic

The first and, perhaps, most important step in a reflective writing assignment is choosing the right topic. Choosing the wrong topic can lead to that nightmarish moment when, after trudging through a difficult first draft, you realize that you may have to start over.

Avoid this scenario by giving yourself lots of time to choose a topic. I know you want to procrastinate. I know. But just don’t. Start thinking about topics immediately.

This doesn’t have to be intensive work. Just give it some thought throughout the day. When you get an idea, jot it down. Eventually, you’ll have a list of topics to choose from when you sit down to put fingers to keyboard.

I can hear you saying to yourself, “I don’t even know where to start thinking.” Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.

When brainstorming reflective essay topics, keep the following questions in mind.

Am I excited to write about this topic?

If not, you’re going to be miserable throughout this entire process. Think of an experience that you’re actually interested in reflecting upon.

Has this experience influenced me in some way?

More on this in a bit, but just keep in mind that an experience lacking in any type of lesson learned is not going to work for a reflective essay.

Is this topic unique? Will it be interesting for my reader?

The tendency is to play it safe when writing an essay that involves a personal topic. You may be inclined to avoid writing about anything that may be considered abnormal by your reader. But as Forrest says, “What’s normal anyways?”

I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone when choosing a reflective essay topic. You may be surprised at what you can gain from it.

And if you need a little help getting started on topic ideas, check out these example reflective writing essays:

• Live Each Moment for What It’s Worth
• Character Traits of a Good Leader
• The Psychology of Wanting
• My Journey to Find out More about General Anxiety
• Learning to Appreciate Everything That Happens in Life

Reflective Writing Tip #2: Go Deeper

One of the biggest traps a writer can fall into when tackling a reflective essay is to get it confused with a narrative essay. As mentioned above, the two have similarities, but they also have one big difference.

Imagine, for instance, that one day you were running from bullies and, unknowingly, ran past a football scout who, noticing your amazing speed, gave you a scholarship to play college football.

This, in and of itself, is a great story, but in a reflective essay, you must go deeper.

Add in the fact that as a child you were told you’d never be able to run because of a crooked spine, and you’ve got the makings of a strong reflective essay about breaking expectations.

The goal is to analyze how this event shaped the person you are today. It’s easy to get lost in the story and assume that the reader understands the significance behind it, but you have to include that analysis in your writing.

Like Mama, you have to explain it so the reader can understand it.

I imagine, after the above experience, you might think twice when someone says you aren’t good enough to do something. An experience like that might influence success in other areas of life—which is what you would focus on in your essay.

Reflective Writing Tip #3: Think About the Future

So you’ve thought of a great story from the past that you want to tell in your essay. You have a great angle from which to analyze this story in relation to how it has affected you up until this point.

Now, I suggest you take it even one step beyond this.

How has the past experience in your life changed your goals for the future? Has it shaped your destiny?

Forrest Gump had a wonderful relationship with his mother. There are several moments between them that would make for a great reflective essay—from her willingness to do anything to get him into the public school system to her battle with cancer.

All of these moments shaped the way Forrest looked at the world and made decisions in his life, but I imagine they also will affect the way he raises his own son in the future.

After telling of past experiences and analyzing their effects on the present, why not take the time to reflect on how those experiences may have affected your future goals? It’s one more layer of reflection that will help make your reflective writing assignment super successful.

Reflective Writing Tip #4: Plan Before You Write

Although you may have thought of a great story to tell and think you can jump right in and write it, I encourage you to take the time to plan your reflective essay.

Much like life itself, reflecting on the past can lead in many surprising directions. This is one of the coolest parts of a reflective essay. It isn’t cut and dry like some other essays in which you research and write about a topic.

You get a chance to learn something about yourself when tackling a reflective essay.

First, take the time to develop a reflective essay outline. It might seem like a waste of time to create an outline for an essay about a personal subject. But a reflective essay outline will help you to focus on the most important details, create a roadmap of your essay journey, and ultimately, save you time.

Much like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get when you start a reflective essay. Take the time to plan before you write, and you’ll get something clear, concise, and personally rewarding.

Reflective Writing Tip #5: Finished? Keep Working

Any and every good piece of writing consists of several drafts. Reflective writing is no different. After outlining and then writing your essay, I suggest using the reflective learning cycle to, uh, reflect on your draft.

The four steps to the reflective learning cycle are plan, act, observe, and reflect.

We’ve already gone over the planning part of the process above. When you’re finished outlining your essay, you will move on to the action, which, you guessed it, involves writing your essay.

Once you’ve written the first draft, you will tackle the observation portion of the process. This involves going back and reading your draft. I suggest that you give yourself some time between writing and observing.

Go to the beach or watch a movie after finishing the first draft. Put all thoughts of that past draft behind you before thinking about the next one. By getting the essay out of your head, you will be able to return to it with a clearer perspective.

Once you have reread your essay, you should then reflect on it. What worked? What didn’t? Were there holes in your story? Your analysis? Have your insights changed? Are there new perspectives that should be included?

At this point, the cycle begins again. You plan your next draft, rewrite the essay, observe, and reflect on it. You should continue circling this process until you no longer feel the need to make more changes.

Even at this point, you’re not done. Remember when I suggested that you step away from your essay after writing it and before reading it in order to clear your mind? Well, the fact is, you’ll never be able to look at your own essay from a completely clear and unbiased perspective.

I suggest that you shoot your essay over to one of the professional editors at Kibin. He or she will apply a new set of eyes and an editor’s mind to your reflective essay, giving it the much needed final touches before declaring it a final draft.

I love reflective writing. I’m always surprised at what I can learn about myself when I take the time to reflect and write. I encourage you to follow the above tips to achieve a super successful reflective essay, and I wish you luck in learning something about yourself in the process.

As for me, I think I’ll have some shrimp tonight. Maybe some shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp …

By now, you’ve probably made plans in one form or another. You’ve marked quizzes and paper due dates on a calendar. Maybe you’ve put together a surprise birthday party for your friend. Thinking about setting a wedding date with your significant other? Now you’re really talking about planning.

But why do we plan? What makes us set a schedule for a series of events ahead of time? In this post, I’ll answer these questions and focus on why outlining your papers is a vital part of the writing process.

Then you’ll get the chance to access some awesome essay outline templates to help you start writing a well-planned and strongly organized paper that wows your professor.

Planning Saves Lives … or Grades

Okay, so your freshman analysis paper on gender roles in 50 Shades of Grey may not win a Pulitzer or change anybody’s life. But if you don’t outline your paper, you’re probably heading for a crash.

If you don’t outline your paper, you’re probably heading for a crash.
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Speaking of crashes, think about something you probably do on a daily basis, driving—or riding in—a car. A lot of planning went into that machine to make it work and get you safely from point A to point B.

If the engineers hadn’t carefully blueprinted all the working parts and how they fit together, then that car wouldn’t run at all. Essays are similar. An unplanned essay that isn’t outlined usually won’t pass your professor’s inspection and just gets you nowhere.

An essay outline denotes how you’ll structure your paper. You can (and should!) make changes along the way. But you want to get everything written down so that you can refer to the outline while you’re writing your rough draft.

If you start out with a good idea of how your paper will function and transition between ideas and paragraphs, then you’ll stay on track and avoid writing yourself into a corner.

Beware the corners—this is what happens when you get to a point in your paper and feel like you have run out of ideas or have no place else to go. Don’t let this happen to you—plan ahead!

Got It–But How Do I Start?

Good time management skills definitely don’t hurt. But just like your paper won’t write itself, your essay is going nowhere if you don’t sit down and start working on that outline.

But maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve composed an outline, and some forms are better than others. No worries—instead of starting from scratch, we’ve got you covered with these templates. You just have to fill in the blanks and keep moving forward!

That said, it’s a good idea to think about the process behind writing a paper before moving forward with your outline. Most papers—like most cars—have the same basic working parts.

Most papers—like most cars—have the same basic working parts.
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You usually need a thesis statement in your introductory paragraph, body paragraphs that follow a logical order and support that thesis, and a conclusion that wraps it all up.

And though most essay have those same working parts, there are different types of essays. Each one requires a different approach to outlining. So without further ado …

7 Super-Awesome Essay Outline Templates

1. Analytical essay outline

Download the template!

This outline template can help you pick apart a topic and support your thesis so well that your professor’s jaw will drop. An analytical essay isn’t a summary—it requires you to concentrate on how a book or poem was written, why a song was composed, what themes are prevalent in a movie, and why that matters.

You come up with an answer and then explain why you’re right. This template covers the basics and narrows the focus, so you can write a killer thesis statement and use strong evidence to support your claim.

2. Argumentative essay outline

Download the template!

Nearly all college students will write an argumentative essay, so steel yourself and get ready to create a powerful outline. In this type of essay, you’ll try to persuade your readers that your thoughts on a given topic are the right ones.

But unlike a persuasive essay, you’ll have to do some solid research and back up your ideas with hard facts. This is a great template to guide you through writing your intro, developing your argument, refuting your opponent’s arguments, and bringing your essay over the finish line with the conclusion.

In an argument essay, you must consider the opposing side(s). This handy template will also show you how to tackle the best of them.

3. Compare and contrast essay outline

Download the template!

A compare and contrast essay takes two subjects and focuses on their similarities and differences. Sounds easy, right? Wait—there’s more!

Like all good essays, this one also serves a larger purpose—maybe you’re trying to state something unknown, clear up a misunderstanding, or show that one topic is better than another.

This template can help you reach these goals using the point-by-point comparison method. Check it out.

4. Expository essay outline

Download the template!

Do you like helpful advice? Me too. That’s what you get with this awesome expository essay template. An expository essay is kind of like a book report. Your teacher makes you write one of these to show that you’ve aptly researched a topic.

Though there are many ways to organize this type of essay, start with this outline, and you’ll be in good shape. It will help you explain your topic using facts, evidence, and analysis—all of which will help you showcase the larger significance at hand.

5. Persuasive essay outline

Download the template!

Prove it to me. A persuasive essay’s goal is to convince your readers that your viewpoint is the right one. It’s kind of like an argument essay, except that you don’t have to use well-researched facts in order to support your thesis. You can focus on emotional anecdotes and stories to convince your reader that you’re 100% correct.

This is a great outline template that really delivers from intro to conclusion. Need to define your audience and lay down your best hook? Look no further than this stellar template.

6. Reflective essay outline

Download the template!

In a reflective essay, you get to recall an event, object, or person that helped you become who you are today. This is a fun essay to write because all the material for it exists in your own head. You don’t have to research or argue. You simply offer the reader a meaningful glimpse into your life.

These essays don’t have to be serious—just ask David Sedaris—but there are good and bad ways to write them. Never fear—this template is here to guide you in setting up your hook, descriptive body paragraphs, and an impactful conclusion.

7. Research essay outline

Download the template!

Research essays are beastly—they’re longer than most papers to start. They also typically require more effort because you’re gathering sources and revealing what experts are saying about your topic. But this type of essay is cool because it helps you sharpen both your writing skills and knowledge about a topic.

So learn something, and slay that research essay beast by starting with the best weapon. This template will help you put a framework to your ideas—covering the thesis, context, and history behind your topic, the existing arguments, and why the topic/research matters.

From Outline to Essay

Outlining your essay before you begin writing it has so many advantages. It’s easier to change and reorganize a few points on a page than doing the same for large paragraphs in a rough draft.

Outlines save you time and provide peace of mind when it comes to writing papers. Even when you’re putting words to the page, you can always refer back to an outline to keep you on the right track and avoid getting stuck in one of those scary corners we talked about.

Want to win the essay-writing race? Then make a habit of outlining your essays from now on.

Some Inspiration

Sometimes it just helps to see how others have tackled essays in the past. Check out some of these great example essays from the Kibin database to inspire your next trip down essay-writing lane.

• Analytical essay examples
• Argumentative essay examples
• Compare and contrast essay examples
• Expository essay examples
• Persuasive essay examples
• Research essay examples
• Reflective essay examples

Now you’re ready to rev your outline-writing engine. Kick your typing into gear, and drive that paper from point A to point B with a well-organized structure that’ll show your professor you know what’s what.

And don’t forget—your Kibin pit crew is standing by to proofread that next paper to make sure it runs like a dream when you’re ready to turn it in.

No? That’s okay if you haven’t. A lot of students are way too busy to spend their days reflecting. But if you’ve been assigned to write a reflective essay, here’s your chance to do so.

Are you reflecting on the writing assignment right now?  Perhaps you’re thinking, “I don’t even know what a reflective essay is and have no idea how to write one.”

If that’s the case, then you should stop reflecting and start reading, as this blog post will teach you how to write a reflective essay that’s interesting.

What Is a Reflective Essay?

The goal of the reflective essay is to describe how a person, event, or experience affected you. Your objective is to reflect upon your personal growth.

To do this, you’ll need to share your thoughts and emotions. Don’t worry; you don’t have to share your deepest, darkest secrets (unless, of course, you want to).

While this definition might sound a lot like a narrative essay, be careful not to confuse the two.  A reflective essay doesn’t simply tell a story or explain an event like a narrative essay does.

Here’s an example from a narrative essay written by the classic cartoon mischief-maker Bart Simpson.

Last week at church I switched the organist’s music. I would’ve gotten away with it, but Milhouse snitched on me, and the reverend ordered us to clean the organ as punishment. Milhouse cleaned the organ because he feared for his soul. I didn’t believe in souls, so I sold mine to Milhouse for $5. When bad things started happening to me, I quickly realized I needed to get my soul back.

 

Bart tells the story of selling his soul and finding a way to get it back. He’s not reflecting about how the experience affected him.

Narrative essays don’t usually reflect upon events or explain how they changed you. (If they do, the reflection is kept brief, as the narrative’s purpose is to tell the story.)

Okay, so now you know how a narrative essay is different from a reflective essay. But, what the heck is a reflective essay anyway? Let’s use another example.

Here’s an example from a reflective essay written by Bart Simpson.

When I sold my soul to Milhouse for $5, I thought it was a great deal, but soon after the sale my life took a turn for the worse. My pets hated me, and I couldn’t even laugh at Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. I knew I had made a terrible mistake. Thanks to Lisa, I was able to get my soul back, and I’m a new man; I definitely learned an important lesson.

See the difference?  The narrative essay describes events. A reflective essay explains how the events shaped you.

The narrative essay describes events. A reflective essay explains how the events shaped you.
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Bart briefly retells the story of selling his soul, but the focus of the essay will be the lesson he learned and how the event changed him.

Though you’ll still need to tell your story in a reflective essay, it will only be a small part of your paper. In other words, don’t spend too much time explaining the details of the events. If you do, you won’t have enough space to reflect.

Still wondering how to actually write a reflective essay that’s interesting? Read the following for some helpful advice.

How to Write a Reflective Essay: Q & A

Q: How do I know what to write about?

A: Sometimes your professor will decide this for you. You might have to reflect on your learning in a course or, perhaps, during field experience or internship.

If you’re writing about your learning in a course, think about the course content. (Pull out the syllabus if you need to remember the key topics of the course.)

Or, you might write about how a specific teacher changed your life.

Lisa Simpson might write about how a substitute teacher inspired her and taught her that life was worth living.

If you are allowed to choose your own topic, pick something that has affected you on meaningful level.

Don’t write about how your new XBox changed your life because you can now play your favorite games at any time.

Do write about something that will allow you to reflect on the subject in a meaningful way.

Lisa Simpson might write about how entering a beauty contest as a feminist really did make her a stronger person and helped her self esteem.

Q: What does it really mean to reflect?

A: Reflecting means you’ll have to think more deeply about your subject. Don’t just write about anything that comes to mind.

Reflection takes time.

Think about cause and effect, how ideas compare, how you feel about the topic, and how you have been affected.

Lisa Simpson might write about the time she fell in love with a lamb at the petting zoo. When her mom served lamb chops for dinner, she struggled with the idea of lambs as living creatures and animals as food. Her inner struggles led her to become a vegetarian.

Like Lisa, you may have a lot to consider, and it may take a while to actually decide how you feel about an experience.

Keep reflecting, and, before you write, jot down as many feelings and reflections as you can on your topic. You won’t end up writing about everything you put in your notes, but this process will help you decide what’s most important and will allow you to narrow your focus.

Q: How do I make my reflective essay interesting?

A: Choose relevant content. If you’re writing about how volunteering at a homeless shelter affected you, choose key points that really changed your life in a significant way.

You may have realized the importance of wearing comfortable shoes while standing and serving meals for hours, but did the revelation about proper footwear really change your life? Is this really what your audience wants to read about? I doubt it.

Choose more complex insights. Consider how and why the events, the interactions, and your experiences changed your outlook or your goals for your own life.

Homer Simpson might write about the time doctors found a crayon lodged in his brain, and how when they removed it, he instantly became smarter. His story would focus on how the events changed him and how he felt when he was finally able to relate to his daughter, Lisa.

In Homer’s reflective essay, stories of driving to work or sitting at Moe’s drinking a beer wouldn’t be relevant, as they don’t offer any insight to his reflections about his relationship with Lisa.

Q: Can I write in first person?

A: Yes (unless your professor says otherwise). Most academic writing is formal and requires you to write in third person, but because reflective essays are more personal, and you’re reflecting about your thoughts and experiences, in most cases you may use first person.

Q: If I can use first person, does that mean I can write like I talk?

A: No. Remember, you’re still writing an academic essay. Your tone should be formal, and you should avoid slang and jargon.

Q: How do I structure a reflective essay?

A: The structure of a reflective essay is like most other essays. You need to include an introduction, body, and conclusion. You’ll also need a strong thesis that informs readers of the focus of your paper. (Read Use This Reflective Essay Outline to Get Your Paper Started)

Reflective Essay Checklist

Now that you know how to write a reflective essay, don’t forget to proofread and revise your paper once it’s done.

Here’s a quick proofreading and revision checklist to help polish your essay.

Check the opening. Have you used a good hook sentence? Does your opening grab readers’ attention? Does anyone actually want to read your reflection?

Check transitions. Have you used appropriate transition words to link ideas? Have you used transitional sentences to move readers from one point to the next?

Check essay format. Are your margins correct? Have you used an acceptable font? Is your spacing correct?

Ask for help. Don’t forget to have a friend, family member, or expert Kibin editor help polish your reflective essay.

Good luck!

Reflective essays are about you, so you go home and take a good long look in the mirror.

Before you start writing about what you see on the surface, keep in mind that a reflective essay involves more than just a cursory glance. It requires taking a deeper look at yourself, stepping through the looking glass, so to speak, to discover and show important parts of yourself to your readers.

Below, I’ll show you how to create a killer reflective essay outline, and I’ll even give you a downloadable template you can use to make your own outline.

What Is a Reflective Essay and How Is It Different from Other Essays?

So you may be asking yourself what a reflective essay is exactly. You’ve written many other types of essays for many different classes, so how is this any different?

First things first… a reflective essay is one in which you reflect on your personality, places you’ve been, people you’ve met, or experiences that have influenced you. This type of essay lets you tell the reader who you are and what/who has made you that way.

Unlike most other types of essays you may have written, reflective essays typically don’t deal with researching facts and figures. They are much more personal in nature and can be more fluid in structure and style.

It can be tempting to just jump right into writing, but hold on! A good reflective essay can be a great reflective essay with the proper planning.

Using a Reflective Essay Outline to Organize Your Thoughts

The goal of any essay is to write clearly and concisely about whatever topic you choose or are assigned. Unfortunately, with reflective essays, some people tend to get a little disorganized and start sounding like the Walrus, talking about anything and everything in no particular order.

Don’t be like the Walrus!

Using a reflective essay outline can help your writing in a few ways

• An outline can help lay out exactly what details you want to use before you start writing. This is tremendously helpful because you won’t end up on your last paragraph and suddenly realize that you forgot to include a crucial element or two.
• An outline gives you a clear roadmap instead of curvy paths and dead ends. You don’t have to wonder what’s supposed to come next because it’ll all be in the outline. In other words, you won’t have to spend time “in Wonderland.”
• Because you can look at your reflective essay outline and follow it as you’re writing, ultimately you’ll save some time in your writing. Second-guessing what comes next, in what order the supporting details should go, or going back for big revisions because you forgot something important are all wastes of time.

Are you convinced yet that creating a reflective essay outline is the best option?

Good! Now let’s get to actually making that outline!

How to Craft a Good Reflective Essay Outline

Because the subject of reflective essays is different from that of, say, an argumentative essay, the structure and organization can also be quite different. However, some rules still apply. To start organizing, your reflective essay outline should include sections for the introduction, body and conclusion.

For the purposes of giving examples, let’s say Alice just got back from her adventures in Wonderland and is working on a reflective essay outline to tell about her experience there.

Introduction

As with any essay, your reflective essay should begin with an introduction. The parts of your introduction to include in your outline are:

• The hook: you want to grab your reader’s attention from the very start. If you’re telling about an experience, give a quick preview of the most exciting part of that story.
• The thesis statement: In a reflective essay, the thesis statement will usually include a brief statement of what your essay is about as well as how the specific person, place, or experience has influenced you. You will expand on this later, so don’t give away too much in the beginning.

Alice’s introduction might go something like this:

I don’t know how I had gotten myself into such a mess, but I found myself running down a seemingly endless path with the Red Queen’s entire court shouting, “Off with her head!” I had long yearned for adventure and excitement, but my time in Wonderland made me realize that adventure comes with some serious risks.

Body

The next part of your outline is perhaps the most important. Without your reflective essay outline, the body can get muddled and confusing. I can’t tell you exactly how to organize the body of your essay because every essay is going to be different. However, I do have a couple of tips.

• If you are writing about an experience or an event, use a chronology that makes sense. It doesn’t have to be completely linear, but if you jump around in the timeline too much, it can confuse both you and the reader. Laying out the important parts in the outline will help you figure out in what order to put everything.
• No matter what you’re writing your reflective essay about–an experience, person or place–you should include the impact it has made and what, if anything, you learned. This should be at least as long of a section as the description of the event, person or place. It’s what shows off who you are and it’s what the reader will be most interested in.

The body paragraphs of Alice’s reflective outline may look something like this:

1. Following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole
   1. Description of what happened
   2. Learning to look before I leap
2. Meeting the Caterpillar
   1. Description of what happened
   2. I learned how to control my size
   3. I started to realize just how strange the people were in Wonderland
3. Mad Tea Party
   1. Description of what happened
   2. Although a lot of fun, the tea party was very stressful
   3. The people I met were progressively crazier
4. Croquet with the Red Queen
   1. Description of what happened
   2. It’s very hard to play croquet when the other person is cheating and threatening to behead you
   3. It was at this point when I realized that Wonderland had no rules, and that a world without rules is insane

As you can see, Alice’s timeline includes different events within the entire experience and with a moment of reflection on each. The final lesson learned is the epiphany–the aha! moment.

Your outline does not have to look just like this. It could be a summary of the entire experience, followed by what you learned from it. Like I said, every essay is different.

Conclusion

The conclusion of your reflective essay should be the finishing touch that brings the whole piece of writing together nicely. Include a brief summary of your main points (as stated in the body paragraphs), as well as the overall takeaway from your reflection.

For example, Alice’s conclusion would be similar to this:

The White Rabbit, Caterpillar, Mad Hatter, and the Red Queen are certainly faces that I’ll never forget. They each contributed to the sheer madness of Wonderland. But those people–that madness–made me thankful for the peace and security of my own home and family and its rules.

More Resources to Help with Your Reflective Essay Outline

I hope you have a better understanding of why and how to draft a good outline. To give you a bit of extra help, here’s a downloadable reflective essay outline template.

Reflective Essay Outline Template.

This outline template follows a 5-paragraph format, but you can add paragraphs and rearrange the body paragraphs to fit your needs. Just fill in the blanks with your own information, and you’ll be one step closer to a stellar essay.

Need more inspiration? Check out these reflective essay examples.

If you’re looking for topic ideas, check out 15 Reflective Essay Topics to Inspire Your Next Paper.

Good luck!

If you wrote an essay in response to that question, it would be considered–much like a mirror–to be a reflective essay. The choices of reflective essay topics are limitless. They can relate to yourself, your surroundings, events that have happened in your life, and hypothetical questions.

To get you started thinking about what makes for good reflective essay topics, I’ll give you some tips and 15 real examples you can use for your own essay.

First of All, What Is a Reflective Essay?

I’m glad you asked!

A reflective essay prompts you  to analyze and write about your life, personality, and/or experiences. Reflective essays are much less academic than argumentative or analytical essays, and the structure of these essays can vary, but don’t let that fool you. They still take a lot of effort, concentration, planning, and good writing to make it worthwhile for yourself and the reader.

So now that we have the technical definition out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff!

What to Consider When Choosing a Reflective Essay Topic

Choosing just the right reflective essay topic can be a challenge, but here are a few guidelines to help you in that process.

1. Choose a topic on a subject you know.
   Because reflective essay topics usually focus on some aspect of your life, it will be easier to write an essay about a topic that you have a lot of experience with. If you’ve never owned a pet, for example, don’t choose a topic relating to your favorite childhood pet. This may sound like silly advice, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t follow it.
2. Pick a reflective essay topic that interests you.
   You probably know a lot of information based off of both studying and personal experiences, and you could use that knowledge to write about something that completely bores you. But if you’re bored when you’re writing the essay, think about how your readers will feel. So, if possible, choose a topic that you can get excited about or emotionally attached to.
3. Pick a topic that you can approach from a unique angle.
   This is especially important in college admissions essays (a large portion of which are reflective essays). Whether it be the admissions board or your instructor, your readers don’t want to see the same answer that anyone else could have written. Picking a topic that allows you to write something unique will show off your personality and will be more interesting both to write and to read.

Now that you know the basics behind choosing your reflective essay topics, I’ll give you some more concrete help. I divided the topics into three categories–self, events, and relationships.

5 Reflective Essay Topics about Yourself

You are the person who knows you best, and that can make it both simple and difficult to write about yourself. When presented with these types of reflective essay topics, it’s easy to think about a lot of different answers. Try to narrow your focus to just one response–the one that will really wow your readers.

1. How have you overcome adversity?
2. What has been your greatest accomplishment to date?
3. What is your biggest fear?
4. What would you consider to be your greatest weakness?
5. What do you like most about yourself?

5 Reflective Essay Topics about Events

Events present a treasure trove of reflective essay topics to choose from. After all, life is just a series of events, and the ones that you remember most vividly are the ones that will make the best essays. When writing about events, vivid details can make the reader feel that he or she is right there with you. Try to include why the event is significant or what you learned from it.

1. Tell about your most exciting vacation.
2. What is your favorite holiday memory?
3. Tell of a time when you got lost.
4. What was your first date like?
5. What was your first job experience?

5 Reflective Essay Topics about Relationships with Others

Life is not a journey you take alone. The bonds you build with other people affect the type of person you become. When writing an essay using these types of reflective essay topics, you’ll want to show the interaction between you and the other person, and how the person has altered your life.

1. Who do you admire most?
2. What is the most hurtful thing someone has said to you?
3. Tell of a time when you had to break off a friendship.
4. What is the top quality you look for in a friend?
5. Describe your relationship with a family member.

So What Are Reflective Essays Good for Anyway?

Writing a reflective essay is something you should work hard to perfect, not only to get a good grade in class, but for several other reasons:

• As stated above, most college admissions essays are reflective. They want to know about you as a person and not just you as a transcript.
• Reflective essay topics are similar to some of the questions you may be asked in a job interview, especially the topics about yourself. Writing about these topics gives you lot of practice, so when the time for interviewing comes, you’ll be prepared and confident in your answers.
• These essays let you learn more about yourself. Sometimes you may not know what your proudest moment was or what kind of influence someone has had on your life because you’ve never really thought about it before. Writing a reflective essay gives you a reason and a way to get to know yourself better.

So, you see, this is not just about academics, writing a reflective essay is one of those things you learn in school that actually has a larger purpose. And starting early will make your writing all the better.

Hopefully you are beginning to get a better grasp on how to choose from the endless types of reflective essay topics and maybe even a better idea of how to start writing your essay. If you’re stuck, unsure, or just need an extra pair of eyes to check out your writing, the Kibin editors are always here to help.

Now, take a look back in that Mirror of Erised. You see yourself totally killing it on your reflective essay, don’t you? Now it’s time to make that a reality!