Reflecting on a topic and putting it on paper allows us to exercise our analytical and verbal faculties. This can arise motivated by an academic or personal matter and, although many know what a reflection is, it is possible that when approaching it and writing it, they do not know well how to start.
If this is your case, don’t worry, in oneHOWTO, we tell you how to reflect with the best advice and examples to guide you. It will take some work, but the experience will be rewarding, and it may motivate you to write a longer essay on the topic.
What is a reflection – characteristics
A reflection consists of expressing our thoughts on a subject using arguments, our point of view, and knowledge. A reflection can be made of everything, and these can be used to start a larger reflective text such as an essay. Movies, books, historical facts, concepts, social phenomena: everything can inspire reflection.
Reflections occur when we analyze a topic beyond what it superficially shows us. In the reflections, loose ends are tied up and concepts are related, as well as trying to understand their meanings.
Critical reflections are usually concise and do not exceed 700 words, although this depends on what is required by the professor of the subject. These are some of the characteristics of a critical reflection that you should take into account before doing your own:
- Its structure is divided into three parts. Like the essays, it consists of an introduction, development, and conclusion.
- Maintains an academic or professional tone. Even in the case of reflections on literary or artistic works, the text must retain certain objectivity and formality in language. Reflections are intellectual, not emotional.
- It can be written in the first person. Although usually, the essays are written in the third person to show more objectivity; The reflection can be written in the first person, to bring the writer’s thought closer to the reader.
- The content is consistent. In a reflective essay, paragraphs are arranged logically to shape the flow of reflection. The next paragraph should be related to what was previously discussed.
- Use transitions. The connectors facilitate the follow-up of the arguments or experiences exposed in the reflection.
- It contains a universal truth. Although the reflections start, initially, from the point of view of the writer, their purpose is to connect that personal perspective with a topic that interests everyone.
The reflections can give way to more extensive and critical texts on the subject you have dealt with, as they represent the moment in which we stop to think more deeply about something and analyze its existence and relationship with the world around us. If you want to know more, find out in our article How to write a critical essay.
How to critically reflect on a topic
As with most writing assignments, if you want to learn how to critically reflect, you need to follow certain guidelines that will help you shape your text. At OneHOWTO we give you some tips so you can organize the information effectively and put it clearly on paper.
- Organize your schedule. Assign a time for choosing the topic, one for research and one for writing. In this way, you will ensure that you do not exceed the delivery deadline.
- Pick a topic. If you write a reflection for university or school, choose a topic that is interesting, both for you and for other people (of universal value). Also, evaluate if you can find enough research sources for it.
- Define it well. Since the reflections are short, the more concise the topic you choose, the better. This will save you research time and effort. For example, if you want to talk about ecology, talk about a very specific topic, such as how plastic affects marine life on the coasts of a certain area. You can also choose a scene from a movie or a chapter from a particular book. In the latter case, reflections closely resemble critical reviews.
- Research well on the subject. If you want to write about something, you have to know it well. Even if you are not good with words, having knowledge about the subject will go a long way in thinking about why it happens, what its value is, or how to explain it.
- Write a thesis. The reflection should revolve around your impressions and considerations on the topic you chose: what do you think of it? Propose a thesis on the topic to be discussed and concentrate your energies on looking for information that will help you verify if your thesis is correct or not. Use the information to argue your ideas.
- Brainstorm and reflect on the topic. Gather all the information you got and put it in order. Take out the data that you find most interesting and write them down on a piece of paper. Ask yourself questions about what you wrote down, what your impressions were, and how the topic and your thesis relate to what you researched.
- Prepare an outline or chart. The best way not to get lost in a sea of information is to create an outline. Write there the main ideas that you plan to develop during the writing, and relate those ideas to the information you found. Here we teach you how to make an outline in Word easily.
- Freely write your ideas. It’s time to write! Put the words on paper as they come to mind. Worry about spelling and wording later (they do matter, but not now). If you can write everything in a single session, it will be better, the important thing is to concretize your ideas.
- Avoid paraphrasing or giving unoriginal ideas. When making a reflection, it is easy to repeat what the author has said or what you have read elsewhere, take some time to think about what your ideas are on the topic, and be careful not to summarize the topic. Your personal point of view needs to be understood.
- Write the introduction and title last. Although this decision also depends on your own inspiration and taste, there is a reason. If you develop the content first, clarify your ideas, and have a panoramic view of the topic, then the introduction will be better written because you will know exactly what you talked about.
- Review, correct, and edit. Read the work several times: once to check the spelling and grammar, once to check the consistency of the text, once to eliminate unnecessary paragraphs, and once to make sure everything is correct. Finally, two essential recommendations: avoid repetition and eliminate any paragraph or sentence that does not contribute relevant ideas to the essay.
Reflection examples
The best way to understand how to reflect is to read one or more examples of reflective essays that help you understand how authors connect their ideas, knowledge, and experiences with the universal themes they address in their writing.
Following this practice will help you to form your own voice through the example of other authors. Thinking about this, here we recommend several very interesting reflective essays:
- The double flame, author Octavio Paz. In this book, several philosophical essays that reflect on love in the Western world are brought together; arguing that sexuality and eroticism are its main pillars.
- The labyrinth of solitude, author Octavio Paz. This work is made up of 9 reflective argumentative essays focused on the identity of Mexicans. In them, he exposes, from his vision, how Mexican society and its individuals confront the world.
- The One-Eyed Monster, author Barbara Kingsolver. In this opportunity, the writer reflects on her memories, based on positive family experiences caused by the absence of a television.
- Notes from a Native Son, author James Baldwin. In this work, Baldwin analyzes his relationship with his parent, comparing it to the turbulent society of his time (the civil rights era).
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