Reflective Essay Ideas

Reflective essays can be a useful tool to help an individual process something that has happened, deal with difficult emotions, or organize goals. People who write reflective essays should feel that they have room to explore without too many guidelines hindering their stream of consciousness, but there are some principles that can guide and organize the process.

Format

• A reflective essay should follow the same format as most academic essays: introduction, thesis, examples and conclusion. Using this format as a guideline will ensure a better chance of understanding the issue being explored. However, since a reflective essay is more for personal purposes than for academic candor, tributaries from the main flow of ideas should not be discouraged as long as they are tied in to the overall thought process in a way that contributes to improvement of understanding.

Process

• Encourage the writer to brainstorm in any way desired. Any thought associated with the content being explored should be allowed in the brainstorming process. Give the writer space to write all these things down without fear of someone watching. The more honest a writer is in the process and the essay, the more likely the essay will be beneficial. It should also be clear that the first draft will be for the author's eyes only. This reinforces a feeling of security and the sense that the author can write anything down. The revision process will be integral to the reflection process as the writer picks the essay apart and decides what adds to the essay's main purpose (thesis) and what is extraneous material. When the fat is trimmed and the writer has composed a cohesive and sequential piece of writing, all of the text should lead to the conclusion and an insight or summary of what the author learned.

Content

• Whatever events, ideas or dreams that create a desire for exploration in writing will likely have emotional connotations for the writer. It is important in order for the essay to be beneficial that the emotion eventually is filtered during the editing process. Though emotions are important to the writer, they'll weaken the core of the message. It is important to evaluate any potential readers of the essay; this will be a helpful guide when determining how graphic or personal the writer wants to get. No matter what the subject of the essay, writing is a great way to organize ones' thoughts. In the end, the writer will have a tangible object to use as a tool when reflecting on life.