There are many reasons for the reflective essays to become so popular nowadays. One of the biggest reasons for that is the fact that they require a lot of knowledge in order to be on the highest level, while some of the other types of texts just need you to know a little about the structure. Therefore, the professors and teachers tend to assign this type of writing for the students to do. They do not expect a fully expert text, but you will still need a lot of work to be put in just to get a good grade. However, as the students move on to the writing part, they get shocked by the number of things they have to accomplish. Therefore, students go to the Internet and look for some advice on how to write such kind of essays. However, all they find is the information on the topic of their text, while there is almost no info on the definition for the reflective essays or their structure. This article is going to provide you with some facts that you will need to know about the reflective essays before trying to create one yourself. Here are some of them.
- Definition
A reflective essay is a text that is written based on your own view of a literature piece that is assigned by another person or chosen by you. It requires you to read the literature piece or a book before writing. Afterward, you will have to express your feelings about all of the things that you meet in the text. For example, try to give the reasons for the protagonists to do the actions they do or try to find out why the things twisted the way they did in the main part of the text. Also, you will be required to analyze some of the other things, which are more serious than the ones above. They are usually assigned by the professor. Try to pay the most attention to that part of writing, as it is something that will show your preparation level.
- Thesis statement
As soon as you move on to the writing part, you will face the problem of the thesis statement. In most of the texts, you will face the fact that the thesis statement is pretty important, but the other big parts are still weighing a lot in terms of your grade. However, in the reflective essays, you will have to pay the most attention to the first paragraphs, as it is something that will dictate the whole following text. Therefore, if you have failed the thesis and keep going on, you are most likely going to fail somewhere around the middle of your text body. The reason is simple – you have to answer to the questions given in the thesis statement all the way throughout the text, meaning that if the questions are bad, you will not be able to answer them in the best way. That will most likely spoil the whole following text, as the conclusion also depends on the body, which, as said before, is not going to have the highest quality.
- A body of the text
The body is something that people try to do in the fastest way, as it is usually the biggest part of the text. Therefore, young writers do not pay enough attention to this part. However, as you look at the reflective essays, you will see that the middle part is something that is the most interesting to read for an ordinary reader. Therefore, try to remember this fact and move on to the writing only after you have a plan. It is going to help you to structure such a big piece of text in your essay. Also, try to add as much analysis to this part as you can. It is going to help the reader feel like they are reading a professional review of a text, which, if you are lucky, is going to give you one regular reader that might try to follow your next texts. Yet, remember that apart from the analysis you will want to give the reader some simple information. If you are not able to cope with this type of writing, you can always get some reflective essay help online.
- Conclusion
This part might not be the most important or interesting one in your reflective essay, but as soon as the reader starts to read your conclusion they will begin reflecting on the level of the author. Therefore, try to give the best impression of yourself at the end of the text. Do not give the reader any new information, as it is not something that is useful for the last paragraphs. If you can, add some analysis of the text in general and your personal view, if it is allowed by the teacher. Yet, remember that you still have to realize that one good part is not going to save the whole text. Therefore, try to go over the text that you have and check it for all types of mistakes. One of the things that you have to look for is the problem of the conclusion not following the topic of the thesis statement.