How to write reflection

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.

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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:

🤔 What Is a Reflection Paper?

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.

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:

Consequently, your reflection essay should include the following components:

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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:

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.

Depending on time, reflection papers can be:

Depending on the manner, reflexive essays can be:

Depending on the content, reflective writing can be:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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.

✍️ 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

Summary:

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:

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:

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:

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.

Reflection Paper: Academic Writing Manual

You’re reading this because your educator has probably asked you to write a reflection paper. This assignment is common among learners in college. And almost any subject requires learners to write it. Therefore, be prepared to write this paper, regardless of the college or university you opt to join.

When writing this paper, the educator expects you to express your thoughts on an issue. This is a great opportunity to do something uncommon in college due to the strict laws that govern academic writing. Thus, writing an end-of-course reflection paper assignment provides a chance to speak your mind. You get an opportunity to perceive things from your perspective and then share your views with the readers.

With no exaggerations, a critical reflection paper is crucial for self-understanding and studying progress. Nevertheless, students should start by learning how to write a course reflection paper to benefit from this assignment.

What is a Reflection Paper?

Before learning how to write a reflection paper, it’s crucial to understand what it is.

A reflection paper definition describes it as a write-up that requires the author to share their view or opinion on a specific topic. The opinion can support the topic or oppose it with personal examples and observations.

Unlike term papers and other academic writing tasks that require learners to present other writers’ and academics’ opinions, a personal reflection paper allows the student to write from their viewpoint. The best thing about this assignment is that it doesn’t have a wrong answer. That’s because a reflection paper meaning states that you only express your opinion. And it doesn’t have to necessarily coincide with the thoughts of your readers.

Why Write a Reflection Paper?

Writing this academic paper provides a chance to consider how personal observations and experiences shape your acceptance of and thinking about new ideas. Your educator will ask you to compose a reflective paper as a way to encourage your exploration of your ideas about a topic or text.

When writing a reflective paper, you express personal opinions instead of summarizing other people’s opinions. And this can help you acquire or enhance your analytical skills. That’s because you have to express your thoughts when writing this paper. What’s more, you have to tell your readers why and how you think in a certain way.

A reflective paper also requires you to acknowledge the role of preconceived ideas and assumptions in shaping your thoughts. By doing this, you learn to appreciate other people’s ideas. You also notice how preconceived ideas and assumptions can influence your thinking and decisions. And this shapes how your thoughts and ideas can oppose or support what you study.

How to Write a Reflection Paper

The reflection paper format is different from that of a descriptive essay. That’s because you’re supposed to examine your experiences and observations. Therefore, this write-up can take any format depending on the target audience. However, the most common format is that of an academic essay. That’s where a write-up has an introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

Here’s how to do a reflection paper step-by-step:

This assignment will be easy to complete if you follow these steps. But if you encounter difficulties or still don’t know how to start a reflection paper, use an example. The internet is a good resource for modern students because it provides guides and samples for almost any assignment. Therefore, look for a good reflection paper example and use it as a guide for writing yours. If you can’t find a good sample online, ask your educator to provide it.

Reflection Paper In Details

You know that this paper should have an introduction, the body, and the conclusion. But, what do you include in these sections? Well, you’re supposed to express your opinion or ideas. However, you should do that reasonably and not emotionally. Also, follow an academic style when doing that. For instance, you could be writing a psychology reflection paper. In that case, make sure that you have written an APA reflection paper. That means you should adhere to the guidelines of the APA academic writing style. Here is what you should include in every section of your paper.

Useful Tips to Follow

Just like with most academic assignments, you will come up with a better paper if you have tips to follow when writing an ethics, internship, or leadership reflection paper. For instance, you can experience a boost in performance if you take a short walk or drink some coffee when writing this paper. Ideally, take a break and do something relaxing, even dancing, when writing your paper.

Here are more tips to help you when writing this paper.

Whether you opt to write an internship, leadership, critical, or ethics reflection paper, you need to pay keen attention to details and a certain skill level to come up with a brilliant write-up. Following these tips and guidelines will help you come up with a paper that will prompt the educator to reward you with the top grade. And if you still can’t write a good paper after reading these tips and guidelines, get and read a sample paper first to understand what your assignment is all about.

How to Write a Reflection Paper

Why Reflective Writing?

Reflection offers you the opportunity to consider how your personal experiences and observations shape your thinking and your acceptance of new ideas. Professors often ask students to write reading reflections. They do this to encourage you to explore your own ideas about a text, to express your opinion rather than summarize the opinions of others. Reflective writing can help you to improve your analytical skills because it requires you to express what you think, and more significantly, how and why you think that way. In addition, reflective analysis asks you to acknowledge that your thoughts are shaped by your assumptions and preconceived ideas; in doing so, you can appreciate the ideas of others, notice how their assumptions and preconceived ideas may have shaped their thoughts, and perhaps recognize how your ideas support or oppose what you read.

Types of Reflective Writing

Experiential Reflection

Popular in professional programs, like business, nursing, social work, forensics and education, reflection is an important part of making connections between theory and practice. When you are asked to reflect upon experience in a placement, you do not only describe your experience, but you evaluate it based on ideas from class. You can assess a theory or approach based on your observations and practice and evaluate your own knowledge and skills within your professional field. This opportunity to take the time to think about your choices, your actions, your successes and your failures is best done within a specific framework, like course themes or work placement objectives. Abstract concepts can become concrete and real to you when considered within your own experiences, and reflection on your experiences allows you to make plans for improvement.

Reading Reflection

To encourage thoughtful and balanced assessment of readings, many interdisciplinary courses may ask you to submit a reading reflection. Often instructors will indicate to students what they expect of a reflection, but the general purpose is to elicit your informed opinions about ideas presented in the text and to consider how they affect your interpretation. Reading reflections offer an opportunity to recognize – and perhaps break down – your assumptions which may be challenged by the text(s).

Approaches to Reflective Inquiry

You may wonder how your professors assess your reflective writing. What are they looking for? How can my experiences or ideas be right or wrong? Your instructors expect you to critically engage with concepts from your course by making connections between your observations, experiences, and opinions. They expect you to explain and analyse these concepts from your own point of view, eliciting original ideas and encouraging active interest in the course material.

It can be difficult to know where to begin when writing a critical reflection. First, know that – like any other academic piece of writing – a reflection requires a narrow focus and strong analysis. The best approach for identifying a focus and for reflective analysis is interrogation. The following offers suggestions for your line of inquiry when developing a reflective response.

Experiential Reflection

It is best to discuss your experiences in a work placement or practicum within the context of personal or organizational goals; doing so provides important insights and perspective for your own growth in the profession. For reflective writing, it is important to balance reporting or descriptive writing with critical reflection and analysis.

Consider these questions:

Consider the purpose of reflection: to demonstrate your learning in the course. It is important to actively and directly connect concepts from class to your personal or experiential reflection. The following example shows how a student’s observations from a classroom can be analysed using a theoretical concept and how the experience can help a student to evaluate this concept.

For Example
My observations from the classroom demonstrate that the hierarchical structure of Bloom’s Taxonomy is problematic, a concept also explored by Paul (1993). The students often combined activities like application and synthesis or analysis and evaluation to build their knowledge and comprehension of unfamiliar concepts. This challenges my understanding of traditional teaching methods where knowledge is the basis for inquiry. Perhaps higher-order learning strategies like inquiry and evaluation can also be the basis for knowledge and comprehension, which are classified as lower-order skills in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Reading Reflection

Critical reflection requires thoughtful and persistent inquiry. Although basic questions like “what is the thesis?” and “what is the evidence?” are important to demonstrate your understanding, you need to interrogate your own assumptions and knowledge to deepen your analysis and focus your assessment of the text.

Assess the text(s):

Develop your ideas:

Make connections:

A Note on Mechanics

As with all written assignments or reports, it is important to have a clear focus for your writing. You do not need to discuss every experience or element of your placement. Pick a few that you can explore within the context of your learning. For reflective responses, identify the main arguments or important elements of the text to develop a stronger analysis which integrates relevant ideas from course materials.

Furthermore, your writing must be organized. Introduce your topic and the point you plan to make about your experience and learning. Develop your point through body paragraph(s), and conclude your paper by exploring the meaning you derive from your reflection. You may find the questions listed above can help you to develop an outline before you write your paper.

You should maintain a formal tone, but it is acceptable to write in the first person and to use personal pronouns. Note, however, that it is important that you maintain confidentiality and anonymity of clients, patients or students from work or volunteer placements by using pseudonyms and masking identifying factors.

The value of reflection: Critical reflection is a meaningful exercise which can require as much time and work as traditional essays and reports because it asks students to be purposeful and engaged participants, readers, and thinkers.

How to Write a Reflection Paper

Introduction

A reflective paper is a specific kind of academic writing which requires you to express your thoughts, opinions, and impressions about a certain piece of text or content. It requires you to critically «reflect» upon certain events or experience of reading a particular text or subject matter to analyze it and to formulate an understanding or opinion on it. This is an exhaustive guide for you on how to write a reflection paper.

Kinds of reflective writings

Before you learn how to write a reflection paper, you must know the various kinds of reflective writings that are practiced. It will allow you to grasp what is being expected from you so that you can proceed accordingly.

Primarily, there are two kinds of reflective writings:

This kind of writing is usually demanded by teachers and professors from their students, to ascertain the thought-process of their students. Teachers often ask reflection papers on a particular book or movie discussed in the class.

They themselves might also provide a topic and ask students to go through some material and come up with unique insights. Educational reflection is aimed towards encouraging and developing individual point-of-view among the students on the fictional or non-fictional subject matter.

These are common in professional learning programs and courses, such as- management schools, nursing training, forensics, etc. Here the expectation from trainees is to reflect upon their experience in that particular field of profession and determine how it compares to what they have learned in the class.

The point of professional reflective writing is to equip students with critical thinking so that they can comprehend the connection between theoretical knowledge and its practical implications. Professional reflection papers help in assessing the merits of theories and principles by relating them with personal experience of their utility in real-world scenarios.

What is expected from a good reflection paper?

Remember that whether you are writing an educational reflection or a professional one, your approach towards writing must prioritize your observations and inferences. A reflective paper enhances your skills in critical analysis and assessment. These skills rely upon awareness and empathy on issues that affect not just your immediate surroundings but the culture at large.

Reflection papers provide an exceptional opportunity for you to delve into your thoughts, preferences, and decisions, and reflect upon the resulting victories and failures that you experienced. You must aim for growth in your perception throughout this process. Now that you are aware of what is expected of you, the following steps will teach you how to write a reflection paper.

Choose a topic

Reflection papers are academic and the topic is usually assigned in the form of a book, or a movie, or a piece of text from the curriculum or outside. Sometimes, a range of topics is provided to choose from. However, if the choice is yours to make, then you must remember to focus on your insights and observations to overcome this conundrum.

Narrow down the particular themes that you can cover or explain through your own unique prism. Brainstorming through mind-mapping will help you find new ideas for your topic and develop a structure for you to follow.

Use mind-mapping to create an outline

Mind-map is used to visually articulate one’s inner thought process. You can draw a mind-map to create a rough outline of your primary thoughts and ideas around the topic. This will invigorate your creativity and you will be able to weave many more ideas and opinions around the initial thread.

You can use a pen and paper or you can utilize software to design a mind-map. It will help you accumulate your thoughts and will provide direction and symmetry. The usual structure followed is Introduction(including thesis statement)-Body-Conclusion. Proceed to construct your outline accordingly.

Mind-maps works as a great format for outlines. Not only they provide a colorful visual outlet to enhance your ideas, but it also streamlines your vein of thought to ensure your writing remains focused and specific and does not derail from the topic.

Use mind-maps to develop material

Mind-map will help you to keep track of your ideas. First, write the name of your topic in the middle of the map. Then, note down your premier ideas or key experiences related to the subject matter on one side.

For instance, if you are reflecting on a book, remember to include anything that the author emphasized upon. Any specific theme that the author seemed to have underlined again and again throughout the book, must be taken into consideration. Make it a point to include all specific details.

Second, proceed by writing down the lesson or takeaway you gathered from those themes that you have initially listed, on the other side of the map. Lastly, start connecting those two set of ideas, and formulate new insights as you go on.

Express how your subjective point-of-view and personal value system got influenced in response to the book. Remember each has his own method to brainstorm for an essay. Mind-maps make it easy for you to move forward.

Start drafting

Once you have gathered enough material and figured out your structure, you can go ahead and start writing. There are some crucial aspects to keep in mind while writing your first draft:-

Your writing must not meander from the core themes and concepts of the subject matter. Whether you are writing an educational reflection paper or a professional one, it is key to keep the reflection focused upon the contents of the subject matter. Even your insights and observations must reflect on how you have contextualized the topic to develop an understanding and gain perspective.

You must convey all the relevant information about the topic in a coherent and congruent manner. Reflection paper does include personal insights but it is at the end of the day an academic paper. This means they should explain things gradually starting from the basics, considering the reader to not be well-informed about the topic.

You must pay attention to the kind of language you use while writing the reflection paper. Due to its focus on personal observations and insights, your writing may slip into the terrain of informal language. However, you should make sure to not let that happen. There is no place for slang and abbreviations in a well-written reflection paper.

The primary goal of writing a reflection paper is to stimulate critical thinking to achieve growth in overall thought-process. That puts the spotlight on the conclusion of the paper. Your writing must be oriented towards achieving some kind of catharsis. The lesson you learned while undergoing this process of deep-thinking and deliberation is the crux of your paper. An eye-opening takeaway is what makes this endeavor worthwhile.

The word count of a conventional reflection paper ranges from 300 to 700 words. Usually, a reflection paper should be crisp and clear and must not under any circumstances, be more than 750 words. However, if you have received specific instructions from your teacher or professor regarding the length of the paper, then, of course, that would be your blueprint to follow.

Revise, Proofread and Edit

Once you are done writing, the last step is to thoroughly revise by proofreading the paper yourself. You must go through the paper at least 2 to 3 times carefully to gauge the quality of your writing. If possible, try to finish writing the paper a few days before the deadline. In this way, you will manage to create some distance when you revisit the paper before submission. This gap will allow you to have a fresh perspective. This will help you to critically review your writing with comparatively greater objectivity. You will be able to scrutinize and edit parts that are inconsistent or unnecessary.

Conclusion

All the steps mentioned above underlines a few characteristics that are imperative for quality reflective writing. First, is the principal focus on highlighting the themes of a given text by relating it to personal experience and observations. The second is to convey that gained perspective to the reader in an informative and formal manner. But you must know that the development of critical analysis and thinking is why you must learnhow to write a reflection paper.

How To Write Reflection Paper: Step-by-Step Guide

Quick Navigation

Now is the time to answer one major question. How to write a reflection paper? In order to write a reflection content, you will need to know a lot of things, and you will need to understand the format and types and also get additional help if you are a newbie. Below we have all of that in a simple and plain form so you can get all the help you will ever need in one place. You will also learn how to write a reflection paper, how to format it, and how you can make the whole process easier and more appealing. At the end of the day, you will have reflection papers that are stunning and will impress your professor. All of this may sound complicated or impossible, but it is definitely something you can do, and now you will see how.

What Is a Reflection Paper?

Before we share what you need to know about writing an effective reflection, we need to explain what this type of essay is. It is your personal opinion about something. It can be a book, a movie, or a trip. You will have to write about how that topic affected you instead of using facts and arguments only. As such, we can see that these papers are very appealing, and most students enjoy writing them. Of course, some don’t like these; hence they rely on research paper writing service, and they will always get a paper done in no time that is also professional and answers the main idea perfectly. There are a few variations here, and we will have to explain each one below. The main purpose here is to create a paper that will express your thoughts and your opinion about the main topic.

Reflection Paper Format

Here we can see one important fact. All papers of this kind must use proper formatting. It is more important than you may believe. A reflective paper format will make your essay looks as it should, and you won’t have any issues with your professor for making any mistake. In simple terms, this is the template you can use for all papers of this kind. In order to encourage you to explore your own ideas, we will have to explain the main facts below, and you will need to use them. Keep in mind that your school may have a different requirement, in which case you will have to talk to your professor and get the guidelines and then use them. This is something you need to do before any type of academic writing, and it is different all over the world.

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Types of Reflective Writing

In order to write a reflection paper, you need to pay close attention to the type you will use. Word count is not high here; hence you need to stay focused and use all the steps and all the proper elements. The essential element here is to know about three different types. These will determine how to start a reflection paper, how you need to optimize body paragraphs, and so much more. This is also one reason that makes writing reflection papers so hard.

Critical Reflection Paper

This is the most common and the hardest type here. It will be based on your studying, and it will have to include different points. For example, you need to explain what you have learned and how and what challenges did it take. You don’t have enough room only, so you will need to be professional in this kind of academic writing, and you still need to focus on the main themes. In addition, you will have to provide details about your experience and analyze it in detail. Due to all of this and more, a lot of students will want to pay for paper writing instead of having to write and invest a lot of time.

✏️Example:
Studying maths at college: My experience.

Personal Reflection Paper

Here you also need to provide an experience. But you will also have to explain how it affected you. There are countless examples, and there are a lot of things you will need to know. It is different than a critical reflection paper, and it has a greater focus on the personal element of the experience rather than on anything else. You can always write about all the personal experiences you like and want, but try to focus on the most important and essential experience. This is an essay that will have a huge effect on your life.

Reading Reflection Paper

A reflection paper is a type of essay that has a huge role in education. This means that you will need to explain how a book or the books have affected you and what experience you got from them. A reflection paper on a book is the most common type at some schools. All teachers will want you to write about this, and you will need to include all the main points and all the elements of this academic paper. How long should a reflection paper be? This type is usually 2-3 pages long.

✏️Example:

Why 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea made me want to read all the books of this genre.

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Writing a Reflection Paper Outline

As a result of the reading or experience and writing a lot, we can now provide you with details about how you can write an outline. This is the plan or path you will use and where you will present all main points and create a simple task in no time. There is no need to add that you need a strong thesis statement, and you need a detailed outline. When both of these are available, you can expect the best result. These days you can easily use «write my paper for me» and even get an outline that will be spotless. One way or another, we can see that the outline has huge importance, and we must reveal something about it. This is something you will need for any report, after reading any book and writing an essay on it and so much more. While at college, you will have to write countless outlines, and you will need to perfect your writing skills. Below is a simple outline example.

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

Here we will have a complete process of creating an astonishing reflective paper. All the experts use this simple guide, and it can have a huge effect on your writing. Each reflective paper must follow the points so you can imagine how important these are. It is important to add that you should use all of them and don’t skip one. If you do, you can end up with a poor result, and you can get a lower grade. While at college, you can use these all the time but only on papers of this kind.

✏️Example:

How I can deal with stress these days.

✏️Example:

After watching X Files, I started a thing that there are a lot of secrets in society.

Tips on Writing Your Paper

The ideas from your body paragraphs can vary, and there are countless examples. But, we have decided to provide you with some writing tips that can make all of this easier. These ones below are used by all the experts, and in fact, they were developed by professionals. As such, you will want to implement them into any piece of writing you can. We will try to keep all of this simple and easy. We believe that the best tip is the one that is simple but has huge importance.