How to write a reflective paper?

How to Write a Reflective Paper for English Class

• Answer:

  Quite often, when studying expository writing, a teacher will assign students to write a reflective essay. Reflective essays generally ask you, the student, to reflect on your learning or new understandings and draw connections between that new knowledge with something from the real word or your own life. Reflective essays help a teacher assess your critical thinking skills. Most often there is a main focus of the paper which you are to think about, share your thoughts and provide your real world experiences or ideas to help supplement the learning outcomes. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions Follow all directions of the assignment. Review the topic you are to cover and make sure you answer and address the questions asked. Teachers often give page or word counts; be aware of these. If you are asked to use a particular style for your paper, such as MLA or APA, know what the particular style calls for. Gather any resources you will need, such as notes you have taken or reference materials. Organize these using note cards with the citations written on the back. This will make providing citations and a reference page much easier. Write a rough draft, or if you prefer or are asked to, write an outline for you paper. Make sure to include an introductory paragraph, ending with a strong thesis statement. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence, making sure your paragraph contains at least three sentences and stays to a single topic. Take your reader step by step through your thinking. Compose your reflection. Succinctly pull the reader through your thought process by expanding upon what you learned or taken from the experience and how this has changed you. Discuss how you will move forward based upon this awareness. Use less formal language and first-person writing as you share your ideas about the topic at hand. End your essay with a strong concluding paragraph, tying all points of your paper together and ending with a concluding sentence which reflects the same idea as the thesis statement in your introductory paragraph. Read your draft and look for areas to revise. Check that you have a clear point of view and an introduction that sets the stage and tone of your paper. Make certain the body of your paper addresses the needs of the assignment. Ensure that your concluding paragraph summarizes your points and ideas and ends with a strong statement. Check any outside resources you have used. Make sure you have properly cited your sources within the text. Place a matching entry on your reference page. Print or rewrite a final version. Make sure you include a title and your name and any other information, such as date, instructor and course names, if required by the teacher. Tips & Warnings Tip: Use a thesaurus to add descriptive words to your paper. Microsoft Word has a built in thesaurus for convenience. Tip: Proofread and revise your paper a few times to ensure your writing is clear, concise and correct. Warning: Be sure to cite every source you use for ideas or to quote from. Learning to avoid plagiarism is an important aspect in learning to write essays of any kind.