HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL

REFLECTIVE ESSAY!

Mrs. Nieto, writing genius

• A reflective essay is an exploration of a topic using personal thought and experience.

• By using the topic at hand as a springboard, a writer can reflect on world events, personal history, emotional experience or objective fact.

• The goal of the reflective essay is ultimately to weave together reflections in a way that conveys a new thought to the reader.

• Ironically, this seemingly flowing essay requires a large amount of planning and structure during preparation.

Make a "mind map" on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Draw a circle with your topic written in the center and draw lines around it, extending out.

2. At each point, create categories such as "experiences," "facts" and "world events."

3. Draw circles around those categories, each with lines extending to further, more specific ideas.

4. Brainstorm which personal experiences you can disclose in your essay, as well as facts or events you might include. From each specific idea, map out your thoughts and reactions.

Create an outline from your mind map. 1. Select your strongest experiences

and points and group them into paragraphs.

2. Order the paragraphs in a logical way, focusing on the reflections the reader should absorb to follow the evolution of your thought.

3. For instance, if you are writing about grief, you would want a paragraph dealing with reactions to death to precede one that centers on coping mechanisms.

Create your opening paragraph.

• Just like other forms of essays, your opening paragraph must be strong.

• Paint a picture to create a "hook" so that the reader becomes engaged.

• You can tell a brief story or weave together various facts with the same theme.

• End with your thesis sentence, a cohesive springboard for the reflections to come, rather than a single point that you will prove throughout the essay.

Prepare and double-check any non-personal facts you will be using.

The credibility of your essay will depend not only on the voice you develop as an author but also on the veracity of your facts or the historic events you recount.

Include specific personal experiences.

• Any experiences you recount should be brief, but make sure they are unique and concrete.

• Focus your memories to a short incident or experience, rather than leaning on vagary.

• For instance, in an essay about personal conflict, talk about a specific heated exchange with your father, rather than the fact you simply "fight a lot."

Write your essay using your outline as a guide.

• As you write, focus on vivid, honest language.

• Weave your points and experiences together in cohesive paragraphs.

• Keep one point or experience and its reflections to a single paragraph.

Set aside your work and review it after a break..

• One of the hardest parts of a reflective essay is to keep the reader tracking with your mental or emotional journey.

• Ask yourself how the reader would feel with all of this new information, and try to accommodate the uninitiated.

• Add explanation where necessary. Eliminate redundant sentences or paragraphs.

Broaden your point into a universal truth. • After you have written your essay,

write your conclusion. • In the first sentence of your last

paragraph, sum up what you have written so far.

• Your final goal in the rest of your closing paragraph is to push your essay one step further, toward a universal truth that applies to the topic at hand.

Ask yourself some of these questions as you conclude your essay: • What did you learn through these

realizations and experiences? • What action should an individual

facing these issues take next? • How can you reconcile your

experience with the rest of the world?

Edit your work.

• When you think your essay is short enough, edit some more.

• First drafts of reflective essays are prone to rambling.

• Ensure your transitions are easy to follow and smooth, and that your points are salient.

• Seek to eliminate any excess phrasing.

• Ask friends to review your essay and to point out any awkward or confusing passages so you can fix them.

YOUR TOPICS ARE…

Tell about a time when you had to make an important

choice.

Why is tolerance a necessary virtue in today’s society?

Why is it important to know who you are?

Your mind map/outline are due tomorrow in class.

We will be peer editing your work on Tuesday, so please come

with a completed rough draft on Tuesday, October 11th.

Your final paper will be due on Thursday, October 13th.

The paper will be no less than two pages in length.