Write an Outstanding Reflective Essay
Introduction
A reflective essay, also known as a personal statement is an essay that requires a student to give an account of his or her life events in light of the career path they wish to undertake. This is a personalized kind of writing whereby the student gives a personal account of events, links them up to his success to that point in life then narrates how these inspire him to achieve his future goals. This means giving the reader a detailed description of all the events that took place, bringing out the emotions that the student felt while those events were unfolding and the personalities and traits of the people involved in the narrative being given by the narrator.
Relevant Subheadings in a Reflective Essay
Your reflective essay needs to be well structured to catch the attention of the reader and also to make it easier to understand a flow of events. Breaking down the essay into small sub headings allows for you to maximize your potential in each section thus writing an outstanding reflective essay.
In case the introduction above has not yet given you the foundation for you to write a great reflective essay, the following pointers will definitely steer you in the right direction for this.
How to Get Inspiration for a Great Reflective Essay.
- Life-changing events
These refer to the moments that took your breath away in a positive way. Moments that left you with a different way of thinking and a new view of life. In some cases, these may be events that took place in an instance while some may have taken time. They may be planned events, a journey maybe, an accidental meeting with a person whose view of life changed yours or even a book that give you a new lease in life. Life has several moments that turn around our way of thinking. This moments are a great foundation for a reflective essay and even a turning point to a more enriched life.
I recently read the book ‘The Smart Money Woman’, needless to say, I have changed my whole attitude about finances and the position of women in the financial setting. To me, this was a turning point, and a setting for a while new and different financial life, how about you? What drives you? What made you into the person you are or what wants you to desire to become a new person? That is your life changing moment.
- Places You Have Visited
If you love travelling, then you know how rejuvenating it is to be in a new city, state or even continent. Travelling to a new a new location not only fills your soul but is also a great learning and discovering adventure. As a student, new cities can inspire you to career wise. You may travel to a city like Paris, fall in love with fashion and work towards becoming a fashion designer.
A journey to Africa can inspire you to be a tech innovator after the realization that the continent is on the rise and technology will spun this in the right direction. The country side can inspire you to an Agribusiness oriented career.
- Important People in Your Life
It is not uncommon for a child to admire someone when growing up. This person is more often than not an image of the person the child wishes to grow up into. As an adult or a student in his midlife years, this person can be a mentor. A mentor can be relative, a teacher, or any other person whom you see as a description of success in the society.
Whoever it may be that you draw inspiration from, be fully participatory in their lives and success path. This will help you get your ideas and be able to plan them for the future. An inspiration helps one to forge a career and to identify the steps to take towards achieving each stage of the journey.
As a rule of the thumb, always choose an inspiration from the things, places and people you feel strongly about. Nothing makes your reflective essay more easy to write and more outstanding than an outburst of emotions and descriptions from naturally occurring events.
Structure of a reflective essay
The structure of a reflective essay is basically the same as the structure of any other essay. The following is an outline for an outstanding reflective essay.
Introduction
In your introduction, give the reader a general review of the subject matter and a general explanation of the impact it had on you. It would serve you right to include a thesis statement in your introduction because this serves as the focal point for your entire essay. It tells the reader what to prepare for while reading your essay.
Body
In the initial stages of the body paragraph, give a reason your subject matter had the impact that it did on you. Then explain to the audience why that was so. You are allowed to speculate because this is a reflective essay so there is no grading what is right and what is wrong. At the middle of the essay, talk extensively about the subject matter and explain in it in detail to make the reader understand exactly what the subject matter is and why it could have had the impact id did on you. Conclude the body of the essay with a final reason why the events had the impact that they did on you.
Conclusion
The conclusion is the summation of your thoughts. In the conclusion, write your thesis statement and give some final thoughts on your article. Try to make these thoughts as reflective of the subject matter as possible.
Make the reflective essay outstanding
In conclusion, a reflective essay is all about personal reflection. An explanation of your thoughts and feelings. Take time to think over your selected subject matter. This will enable you to give the reader more details. Brainstorm thoroughly in order to narrate the events exactly as they are.
Then narrate something that you have actually felt or undergone through in a brilliant manner that will capture the reader’s emotion and make it real and legitimate.
