How to Write a Reflection Paper: Example & Format

Want to know how to write a reflection paper for college or school? To do that, you need to connect your personal experiences with theoretical knowledge. Usually, students are asked to reflect on a documentary, a text, or their experience. Sometimes one needs to write a paper about a lesson or a movie.

This assignment tests your critical thinking rather than your summarizing skills.

Struggling with a reflection paper? This article by our custom-writing experts will help you ace this task. Here you’ll find:

• A guide on how to write a reflection paper;
• Outlining and formatting tips;
• Reflection paper example & a template.

🤔 What Is a Reflection Paper?

As the name suggests, a reflection paper invites students to explore a personal experience, an event, or assigned academic material through the lens of their personal feelings and subjective reactions.

Unlike other academic assignments that favor objectivity and impersonality, this task invites personal analysis and subjectivity into analysis. This way, you can express your own thoughts on the value and relevance of the assigned topic.

Some examples of such assignments include:

• Reflecting on the book All the King’s Men and commenting on how it has changed your perceptions of politics.
• Analyzing the impact of a marketing workshop on your understanding of tactics in a variety of markets.
• Presenting your opinion on the impact of your latest travel abroad on your cross-cultural competencies.

To help you better understand what a reflection paper is and what it isn’t, check out this comparison:

✔️ A reflection paper is:	❌ A reflection paper is not:
A chance to show your critical thinking skills	A description of standalone facts
An analysis of your feelings & thoughts	A list of unspecified judgments and arguments
A chance to explore the subject deeply	A plain summary of your knowledge

Overall, a good reflection paper should link your opinions to broader themes, theories, and concepts you’ve studied. This way, it can serve as a bridge between theoretical knowledge and practice.

✍️ Reflection Paper Outline: How to Write

Let’s start with some pre-writing strategies. Here’s how to make a clear outline for your essay.

🧩 Parts of a Reflection Paper: Introduction, Body, Conclusion

Want to know what exactly you should do to get an excellent reflexive essay? Read the following tips. They will help you write any type of reflection essay.

Reflection Paper Template: What to Include

Let’s have a look at your essay’s structure. Your paper should consist of an introduction, main body, and conclusion:

Want to know how to write each part? Keep reading!

Reflection Paper Introduction

The introductory part of your essay should be catchy, informative, and well-organized. To do it, follow these strategies:

• Begin with a hook. It can be a sentence in which you introduce the topic of your paper.
• Write some background information. For example, you can discuss major facts related to the issue.
• Add a thesis statement. It should reveal a clear position on an issue and outline the main points of your paper.

Don’t forget to reread your introduction each time before writing a new body paragraph. Make sure that all of them match the ideas covered in your introductory part and thesis statement.

Reflection Paper Body Paragraphs

After you’ve presented your ideas in the introduction, you expand on them in the body paragraphs. The most important thing here is to cover one point per paragraph and provide the necessary supporting evidence.

Here’s what to include in this essay part:

• Evaluation of your experiences. Point out what you liked and disliked about the experience.
• Analysis of acquired knowledge. Reflect on what you have learned by connecting your previous and newly acquired knowledge.
• Critique of the sources. If you disagree with someone’s theory or opinion, you need to defend your perspective using relevant evidence.
• The explanation of causes and effects. Explain what led you to your conclusions. It’s also worth mentioning some possible effects of these opinions on your future.

Reflection Paper Conclusion

Finally, write a conclusion using the following tips:

• Summarize the major points. You need to restate your thesis and mention essential aspects of each body paragraph.
• Identify your knowledge gaps. It’s important to reflect on what you don’t know about the topic. Additionally, explain how you are going to fill these gaps.
• Devise an action plan. Present the practical steps you’re going to take in the future.

🖊️ Reflection Paper Example in PDF

To help you write a flawless paper, we want to present you with free reflection essay sample you can use for inspiration. Below, you can download a PDF file with a fully formatted paper on personal experience with online classes:

📑 Example of Reflection Paper with Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

Working on this assignment can be problematic, so we’ve made this section for struggling collegegoers. Our short reflection paper example will cover the three essential components of these essays: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

A Critical Reflection on Crime and Punishment

️✅ How to Write a Reflection Paper: Different Types

Before you start working on your essay, let’s determine what you should deal with. There are several different types of reflexive essays. Make sure to choose the one that suits you best.

Personal Reflection Paper Writing Tips

In a personal reflection paper, you must present your attitudes, emotions, feelings, and experiences. Here’s how to do it:

1. Describe the experience, including your emotions and feelings. It’s important to show them rather than just tell. The trick is to make the reader feel the same.
2. Analyze your experiences and make connections with your present-day life. You can relate them to your study material or relevant theories and concepts.
3. Conclude with your plans. Tell the readers how you’re going to implement this new knowledge. 

And here’s what a personal reflection essay can be about:

Critical Reflection Paper Writing

In a critical reflection essay, you assess how theories can be applied in practice, examine causes and consequences, and find solutions to problems. It’s all about evaluating and changing your attitude towards an issue rather than summarizing events and details.

To write such a paper, follow this three-stage model:

1. Describe the details of the issue.
2. Relate your theoretical knowledge to the situation you discuss. How you do it depends on the questions you will ask yourself while writing. Consuder academic, personal, and systematic perspective on the issue.
3. Think about the future outcomes. Ponder on how this situation will shape your further experiences.

Here’s what an essay of this type can be about:

Reflection Paper on a Book

When writing a reflective essay on a book, remember that this assignment is not about summarizing the plot. It’s about analyzing and connecting the ideas presented in the text with your knowledge. 

To write a perfect reflective paper on a book, take the following steps:

1. Analyze the text’s ideas, purpose, and theoretical framework.
2. Discuss the information that interested you the most. Mention what emotions it evoked, and say whether the ideas in the book are new to you. 
3. Describe how this information shaped your understanding of the subject. Also, state whether you agree with the author’s arguments. 
4. Show how the book helped to broaden your knowledge and challenge your assumptions.

Here’s a sample essay topic for a paper of this type:

Reflection Paper on an Article

Usually, a reflection paper on an article usually concerns critiquing a written text or a speech. These strategies will help you write it:

1. Start by describing your attitudes and expectations regarding the article.
2. Refer to the passages that interested you the most: quote directly, paraphrase, or summarize them.
3. Include your subjective opinion: it’s important not to overdo it.
4. Combine formal and informal vocabulary to make your writing more expressive.

Here’s what such a paper can be about:

Reflection Paper on a Class

To write an effective reflexive essay about a lesson, you need to:

1. Describe the lesson’s contents.
2. Express your ideas and feelings related to the class.
3. Mention what you’ve learned and how it affected you.

Here’s what an essay of this type can be about:

Reflection Paper on a Movie

To write a reflection paper on a movie, follow the template below:

1. Reflect on your emotions before, during, and after watching the film.
2. Analyze your observations.
3. Draw connections with the information learned in class.

Check out this example of a writing prompt on a movie:

📚 Reflection Paper Topics

1. Personal response to Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
2. Reflection on the importance of leadership in healthcare.
3. Globalization of Missions by Kgatle: personal reflections.
4. Personal reflection on social work policy and its values.
5. Racism as an example of social injustice: reflection paper.
6. Analyze your personal response to the sports industry’s cowboysization.
7. Reflection on the immigration policy based on Paul Vitello’s article Kiss me, I’m Illegal.
8. Personal response to William Shakespeare’s quotation, “For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so.”
9. Reflection and evaluation of Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
10. Importance of realization the policy of diversity: reflection paper.
11. Reflect on the significance of the International Women’s Day celebration.
12. Analyze the survey on nursing ethics and give your evaluation of its results.
13. A personal reflection on the French Revolution and the value of liberty.
14. Values and beliefs of nursing as a multifaceted healthcare area: personal evaluation.
15. Brief analysis and personal evaluation of Christianity framework.
16. Reflections on the portrayal of family in Homer’s Odyssey.
17. Personal evaluation of Gary Smalley’s Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships.
18. Reflect on the historical and literary significance of Chronicles of the Indies.
19. What do leadership skills mean: reflection paper.
20. Reflection on John Hume’s Nobel Prize speech and lecture about reaching agreement.
21. Reflection on your personal nursing philosophy and beliefs.
22. Personal response to Soderbergh’s film Contagion.
23. Describe your impressions of The Love Suicides at Amijima by Chikamatsu Monzameon.
24. Reflect on the meaning of art using the installation My Bed by Emin as an example.
25. Analyze your thoughts and feelings evoked by the Epic of Gilgamesh.
26. Does the idea presented in a series of stories The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien correlate with your personal beliefs?
27. Bachelor of Science in Social Work: reflection paper.
28. Discuss the problems reflected in the documentary Autism: Insight From Inside.
29. Present your reflections on single-parent families.
30. Consider the crucial points of Cheleyem: An Experimental of Mapuche Film Program.
31. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: personal reflections.
32. Present personal evaluation of the film Mi Familia directed by Gregory Nava.
33. Bill of Rights: reflective essay.
34. Describe the impression of the film Rampant: How a City Stopped a Plague by Victoria Midwinter-Pitt.

We hope that this article on a reflection paper has made things clear for you. In a nutshell, here are the main steps:

• analyze the situation;
• reflect on your feelings and experiences;
• connect them to your theoretical knowledge.

We wish you the best of luck with your assignments. Don’t hesitate to share this article with your friends!

Further reading:

• How to Write a Lab Report: Format, Tips, & Example
• What Is a Master’s Thesis & How to Write It: Best Tips
• Literature Review Outline: Examples, Approaches, & Templates
• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography: Tips, Format, & Samples
• 10 Research Paper Hacks: Tips for Writing a Research Paper

🔍 References

1. Reflective Writing: UNSW Sydney
2. Models of Reflection: LibGuides at La Trobe University
3. Reflective Writing: Deakin University
4. The Reflection Paper: University of Toronto
5. Reflection Papers: Cleveland State University
6. The 4Rs Model of Reflective Thinking: Queensland University of Technology
7. Keys to Writing a Reflection Paper: Seattle PI
8. How to Write a Reflection Paper: Trent University
9. Reflection Template: University of South Florida
10. Critical Reflection: University of Waterloo
11. Critical Reflection: Texas A&M University
12. A Short Guide to Reflective Writing: University of Birmingham
13. The Structure of Reflective Writing: Monash University
14. General Format: APA Style: Purdue University
15. Using MLA Format: MLA Style Format