Tips on Writing a Winning Reflection Paper in College

Published on: 24 April 2018 Last Updated on: 07 October 2020

When it comes to college writing, most students quickly adapt to the rhythms of producing a fact-based paper. You visit your school’s online library, research some material, and slot it into a five-paragraph essay template, or a similar standard format. Bang! You’re done. But what happens when you are assigned a completely different type of paper that doesn’t fit neatly into the standard essay formats you learned in high school or in freshman composition class? When it comes to the personal reflection paper, many students struggle precisely because this type of essay is so different from most that they’ve written in their other classes. Fortunately, there are a few tips that will help you with this type of paper.

Before we get to the tips, it’s important to make sure we are all on the same page when it comes to what exactly a personal reflection paper is. As the name implies, a reflective essay looks back on something, and a personal reflection offers your own feelings and reactions. Typically, a personal reflection paper is intended to allow a student to share with the instructor his or her feelings about a course and how the course has impacted them. Some personal reflections, however, may examine other topics with which you have had personal experiences, such as a job or a volunteer opportunity. In most cases, the instructor is looking for you to draw connections between course material and your own experiences in order to discover how course content can be or has been relevant to your lived experience.

In order to write a terrific personal reflection essay, follow a few simple tips:

Start with simple pre-writing activities :

Before you even begin writing, make sure you have read the essay question and understand it completely. For a personal reflection, you won’t likely be doing heavy research, the next step isn’t usually a visit to the library. Instead, you should make notes about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences so you can better understand your reaction to the essay topic. By writing down your thoughts, you can begin to organize them into categories so you can structure your paper around a few key themes. Try asking yourself key questions to guide your note-taking such as:

How has the essay topic affected me personally?
How has the essay topic changed the way I think about an issue or experience?
Has the essay topic sparked any questions I want answers to?
How does the essay topic relate to other course content or content in other courses?

Begin organizing your reflections :

The exact format you use for your paper will vary depending on your instructor’s requirements and the essay question, but in general, you will adapt a standard essay format for a reflective essay. You will still have an introduction with a thesis statement and a conclusion, but the body paragraphs might be organized somewhat differently. Depending on the essay question, you may follow the standard format and offer three reflective points (one per paragraph) which you support with evidence. Or, you might have a different format, such as telling a story about your reflective journey in chronological order or exploring one particular reaction across multiple paragraphs. Whichever style you choose, try to match it to the essay question so you are sure to answer the instructor’s question.

Remember that the personal essay is, well, personal :

The biggest difference between a personal essay and an expository essay like a term paper is that it involves your own views and opinions. In this genre of writing, it’s OK to refer to yourself and to talk about your thoughts and feelings without having to phrase them in an awkward third-person format (“One often feels…”). Don’t be afraid to share your honest views, but keep your instructor in mind. Even if you had a negative reaction, avoid insulting the instructor or viciously attacking course material. Instructors are open to reasoned disagreement, but they don’t want to find out that you want to set your textbook on fire.

With these tips, writing a professional reflection paper from scratch should be an easy and refreshing change of pace from the standard academic term paper. The hardest part is getting your thoughts and feelings down on paper. Once you’ve mastered the art of sharing your feelings in written form, you’ll quickly find that these essays are quick to produce, and you’ll look forward to having time off from the more detailed research papers that take up a lot more time.

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8 Important Benefits of Tutoring for Your Child

As of the 2015-16 school year, the graduation rate in the U.S. was 84%. If that sounds pretty good, it's because it is. But, there's one area of education where kids still struggle -- STEM. Science, technology, engineering, and math industries are growing. In fact, it's expected STEM jobs will increase significantly by the year 2020. The Dept. of Education is going all-in on these crucial fields. In 2018, the DOE invested $279 million in STEM grants. Parents can help, too. How? With professional tutoring. The obvious benefit of tutoring is your child is more likely to get good grades. But what if your child already gets good grades? Are they being challenged? Are they developing critical thinking skills? Believe it or not, there are benefits of tutoring that go beyond grades. Take a look at eight of them below. 1. Child Gets Individual Attention: The average class size in the U.S. is 21.6 students. Doesn't sound too bad, but again, that's the average. States like Oregon come in with 26.7 students per classroom while Vermont averages 16.7. Even at 17 students per class, that's for one teacher. Doesn't a ratio of 1:1 sound much better? The advantage of tutoring is that your child gets individual attention. You can opt for a group-type tutoring program but most professionals offer one-to-one learning. 2. Distraction-Free Learning: It's easy for kids to get distracted. It happens quite often. With 20 others students in the class, it just takes one to throw off your child's focus. In a tutoring program, your child is able to focus on their work. They're able to invest 100% of their attention into each lesson plan. There are no bells ringing, kids laughing, extracurricular announcements -- it's only your child and their tutor. 3. Child Grasps Concepts at Their Own Pace: School districts and schools devise year-long lesson plans. There are certain criteria teachers need to cram in every week. There have state testing and subject exams to prepare their students for. But not everyone is ready to move on with their class. Some kids struggle during one area of a subject. In school, it's a bit of sink or swim. Tutoring allows them to take the time they need to understand the content. They do it at their own pace. For example, programs like Mathnasium draw up individualized plans that ensure your child understands what's taught in class. 4. Encourages Good Studying Habits: You encourage your child to pick up a book and study. Sometimes, they throw a fit. Other times, they may flat out refuse. Many kids don't like studying because they don't know how to study. Tutors give your child the tools they need to study more effectively. They'll learn study strategies for making the most of their time. You'll start to see your child is more organized. They'll have a study plan. They'll start learning and using active listening skills. You'll start noticing they find quiet places to study and do their homework. These are all behaviors they'll learn through tutoring. The chose online tutor or teacher should be flexible to work with your schedule and learning style. 5. Challenges Advanced Students: Tutoring has a bit of a negative connotation in the sense that people think it's only for struggling students. The truth is, tutoring is for everyone. The same way some kids fall behind, others jump ahead. Just like teachers can't abandon entire class plans to devote all their time to a struggling student, the same goes for those who are ahead. When a child gets ahead of the class, they can get bored. Parents enlist tutors to keep gifted children motivated. Because of the individual learning plans, the tutor will design lessons that challenge them. This keeps them interested in school and out of trouble. 6. Helps Children with Learning Delays: Not all students struggle because they don't understand what is being taught. Some children can't understand lessons due to learning delays. Yes, there are special education programs in the U.S. But, not every child has a medical or psychological diagnosis. In some cases, even when they do, the school district may not have a program designed to help their specific delay. Tutoring is a way to combat this issue. Some tutors are teachers who retired. Others have special qualifications to help kids with delays. This means they're able to assist your child to understand the concepts getting taught at school. With the individual plan and the ability to learn at their own pace, children with learning delays benefit greatly from tutoring. 7. Beats the Summer Blues: Every spring, your child starts to get a little antsy. They see the school year is winding down and may even mark the last day on their calendar. Their brains start focusing on summer fun. You may have done the very same thing when you were their age! Over the summer, we tell ourselves our kids need a break. They've worked hard all year and deserve a few months off. Except, the next grade rolls around and they're a little rusty. Without the constant pressure to read books and work on math, they regress a bit. It's called "summer learning loss." One way to ensure your child isn't affected is through summer tutoring. It's a refresher and primer course all in one. They'll go over what they learned in the previous year and get ready for what's next. 8. Improves Self-Esteem: One of the biggest benefits of tutoring -- if not the biggest -- is it improves self-esteem. Kids are sensitive. When they're struggling in a subject everyone else grasps, it makes them feel bad about themselves. They shouldn't -- everyone struggles at some point -- but it's hard to explain that to kids. Tutoring helps remove these feelings. Your child will start to see that no one's perfect. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. They'll also start to believe in themselves when they conquer challenging lessons. Over time, their confidence will grow. You'll see their grades start to improve. This boost in confidence may carry over to extra-curricular activities or social situations. Consider the Benefits of Tutoring: The benefits of tutoring go beyond grades. Tutoring improves how your child learns. This gives them the confidence to overcome obstacles -- both in school and out. It's important you know the proper steps to take to ensure your child has the best chance to succeed. Tutoring is one of them. Another one is knowing different learning methods. Check out four emerging trends in education. Read Also: 10 Effective Homework Tips For Your Kids 5 Strategies For Parents To Help Kids With ADHD Perform Better At School

Tips for Earning High Science Grades in Assignment Writing

Students regularly show much commitment recorded as a hard copy of their science homework independent of it being an intense subject. Be that as it may, on occasion, regardless they couldn't get the ideal evaluations in it. As an assignment help online provider, we comprehend the importance of the coursework in your academics. In this way, we will give you a thought of writing your science assignment in such a manner that you can bring high evaluations in it. Start the homework early Writing science coursework could be a tedious and long errand. You will most likely be unable to comprehend the questions in a flash and it could end your progress. Research, writing, formatting, and referencing are different tasks that you need to do. To endeavor every one of these errands easily it is smarter to begin the schoolwork writing early. It will enable you to give a considerable measure of time to every one of the errands and it will positively affect your writing. Research before writing the coursework Research plays a crucial job while writing a science assignment. In this procedure, you can get clear about the different subjects as you locate the significant reading material. There are different sources, for example, library books, logical diaries, and the web you can use to direct the research. Your companions taking a shot at a similar undertaking and educator could likewise help you much in understanding the subject. Describe the answers well You are doled out to compose the coursework in many words. Your educator does not approach you to compose these words for reasons unknown. Getting the possibility of your subject learning is the goal of the educator. Along these lines, your emphasis ought to be on composing such substance that is subjective. You ought to depict every one of the appropriate responses completely, should add guides to it to make it all the more clear and ought to likewise draw the charts well. The language should be plain In the writing process, you have to keep a check on innovativeness as academic writing requires basic methodology from you. You ought to likewise make a point not to abuse the scientific words. This methodology will make it simple for the perusers to peruse the science assignment. They will most likely get the correct thought of what you have talked about in the coursework. You can opt for our science assignment help if you find it tough to write the homework on the same subject and can get complete coursework written from us.

5 Counseling Specializations Undergraduate Students Should Understand

Many counseling degree programs give their enrolled students a broad educational background, offering courses that teach them a variety of ways to administer therapy to people who need help. If you want to become a counselor, it is important to acquire this wide scope of training for maximum career versatility. However, when you make the decision that counseling is the right career path for you, it is also wise to choose your counselings specialization as soon as you can. This will allow you to tailor your education to your career goals as closely as possible given the requirements of your degree program. The following counselling specialisations are possible in Australia: 1. School Counsellor : School counsellors can help students deal with problem behaviors such as bullying. Helpful electives for this specialisation could include courses like Educational Sociology; Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Multi-Problem Adolescents; Child Parent Relationship Training; Impacts of Autism Spectrum Disorder; and Supporting Students With Disabilities. Such specialised courses might not already be a part of the required foundation courses for the counselling degree program you're enrolled in. 2. Career Counsellor : Career counsellors often administer group session to job seekers. They also frequently give tailor-made advice helping individual job seekers understand the various options that are open to them. They also recommend specific actions their clients can take to achieve their career development goals. If you're considering a specialisation in career counselling, you may wish to select electives such as Employment Law Fundamentals and Managing Technology in Career Services. 3. Substance Abuse Counsellor : Substance abuse counsellors find ways of helping their clients detoxify from alcohol or drugs; then they attempt to help them permanently beat their unwanted addictions. If you want to pursue a career as a substance abuse counsellor, a few electives that could prove helpful include Psychopharmacology Fundamentals, Relapse Prevention Strategies, Art Therapy in Addiction Treatment, Twelve Step Fundamentals and Engaging Families of Youth in Substance Use Disorder Treatment. 4. Family and Marriage Counsellor : When couples experience marital difficulties, they often choose to work with a family and marriage counsellor instead of seeking the divorce. In many cases, an experienced counsellor can help them find reconciliation. Working With Neurodiverse Couples is an example of an elective course that could be helpful to an aspiring family and marriage counsellor. 5. Grief Counsellor : Grief is an emotion that often follows the significant loss. The death of a loved one or loss of a job can trigger intense grief. A grief counsellor's job is to comfort clients and then help them find productive ways of coping with the grief. A successful grief counsellor is able to help clients find solace in acceptance of the loss, although it may take quite some time for each client to reach this stage. An example of a useful elective for aspiring grief counsellors is Bereavement and Art Therapy. In Australia, you have several options if you want to prepare for a career in any of these counselling specialisations. You can complete either a bachelor's degree or a diploma of counselling. Some counsellors also earn a master's degree. Demand for counsellors is growing in Australia, the USA and many other countries around the world. Since this is a career path that requires empathy and human-to-human connections, it is not likely that robots will be able to complete the most important tasks counsellors perform in the foreseeable future. Therefore the employment outlook for counsellors in all of these specialisations is outstanding. It is an excellent time to seek training to become a counsellor. Read Also : 4 Emerging Trends In The Education Sector How Studying Abroad Can Benefit Your Career Benefits Of Using Divorce Lawyers

Tips on Writing a Winning Reflection Paper in College

Start with simple pre-writing activities :

Begin organizing your reflections :

Remember that the personal essay is, well, personal :

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8 Important Benefits of Tutoring for Your Child

Tips for Earning High Science Grades in Assignment Writing

5 Counseling Specializations Undergraduate Students Should Understand

Tips on Writing a Winning Reflection Paper in College

Start with simple pre-writing activities :

Begin organizing your reflections :

Remember that the personal essay is, well, personal :

Share this Article

Transform Portals Of Learning

How To Choose The Right Rock Climbing School

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

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Follow Us

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