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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Workload Survival Guide for Academics

Going to university is exciting and fun; however, it means you have to balance your studies and social life. It can be stressful if you don’t know how to manage your workload. Responsibilities sound fantastic, but they can overwhelm you if you don’t plan effectively. The UAE hosts top-notch universities with world-class facilities that offer high-quality education. The country has partnered with international education providers to bring the most prestigious higher education institutions globally. These resources provide students with the best education; it also means that they have to balance their lives and studies. Studying in the UAE The United Arab Emirates is known for its hospitality, diversity, economic vitality, political stability, religious tolerance, and safety. The education sector is also competitive and provides world-class institutions. Pursuing higher education in the UAE enables you to study in some of the most reputable universities in the world. This is a guarantee that you will receive an internationally-recognized certificate at the end of your studies. Studying in this country also means that you have extensive resources and facilities to help you pursue your degree. Higher education facilities in the UAE are keen to provide their students with the best education. It also enables you to build a strong network that can help you in your career. Also, you can confidently look for jobs anywhere in the world. How to Manage Your Workload How do you manage your social life, education, and extracurricular activities at the university? Here is the survival guide to workload management. Planning: Planning is crucial for balancing your life at university. It is necessary to have a planner; write down your lectures and other significant events throughout the semester. Look through the modules and note down assignments due dates. Decide how many hours you will spend studying every week and stick to this plan. Set realistic and achievable goals. This way, you can do your assignments on time, study for exams, and have a social life. Balance: Studying at a university in Dubai allows you to study and socialize; however, you must prioritize your studies and find a balance in your life. Allow enough time for studies and rest. It is tempting to want to party and have fun with friends, but you have to remind yourself why you decided to study. If you always feel overwhelmed, try to do the most vital or challenging tasks first. Avoid Multitasking: You will never get anything done if you focus on many things at once. The best way to excel at your university in Dubai is to follow your planner; study when you need to and do your assignments as you have planned. Multitasking like watching TV or using your phone while studying distracts you and causes poor absorption of information; this might cause failure or requiring more time to study. Focusing on many tasks also causes brain-drain. Don’t Overwork: Working hard will help you excel in your studies; however, overworking will strain you, and you might not achieve your goals. Study breaks are crucial to achieving success; it motivates and helps you to stay focused. A productive study break leaves you energized and ready to study again. Effective breaks should refresh and give your mind a break. Doing different things activate different parts of your brain. If you were revising, do something completely different, like taking a short walk. Allowing your mind to rest allows it to absorb and retain more information. Start Early: The best way to excel and have balance your studies and social life in the university is to start early. Start with your assignments and essays early; it reduces stress, and you can submit an extensively-researched paper. Waiting to write several essays and meet deadlines at the last minute increases pressure and stress. It also leads to low-quality output which means failure. Stress is harmful to your physical and mental wellbeing. Routine: Having a routine and sticking to it crucial for your wellbeing. You get enough rest and still accomplish your goals. It’s easy to go with the flow in the university because life is not structured and you have a few rules on what to do at a particular time. Routines can be exciting, reduce stress, and improve health; these are essential for goal achievement. Ask for Support: Do not shy away from asking for help if you find anything too hard to grasp. Knowing when to ask for support helps you to avoid mistakes and save time. Some topics can be hard to understand, and no matter how hard you try, you just don’t get it. It’s necessary to ask your peers or the professor for help instead of failing. Going to university is fun and exciting because you have more freedom. However, there are more responsibilities. You want to study, socialize and have time for yourself and all these can be overwhelming. You have to prioritize and plan how to deal with every aspect of your life. Read Also: Effective Contribution of Educational Apps How To Live Stress-Free

The Positive Sides Of Online Learning

Since the start of the pandemic, a lot of changes have been made to the lives of people all around the world in general, but one specific change that has been made that has greatly impacted the lives of the young people in the world today is the changes made to education. When the first wave of the pandemic hit and lockdown policies were placed on the cities of the world, schools were forced to close their doors and move to an online space. There is a lot to say about virtual learning in general, as this isn’t a new idea that was created during the pandemic, however, we will be sticking to the basic pros and cons of online learning during the pandemic mainly from the students’ perspective. 1. Safety The main reason why schools moved online during the height of the pandemic is that COVID-19 was spreading at a dangerously rapid pace. Lockdown policies, curfews, and travel bans were all put in place for this very reason. The dangers of this coronavirus were so serious that truly, the safest place to be was locked down in your home. Schools had to make this change to move online for the safety of the students, the teachers, and their families. The move to an online platform helped slow the spread of the virus and ultimately, while there were plenty of pitfalls and a learning curve, was the safest thing to do for the wellbeing of everyone within the education system. 2. Comfort It is no secret that when the change was made to move online, many students were initially happy as they were able to go to school directly from their bedrooms. It is a lot easier to get to class on time when all you have to do is log in. During this time, students didn’t have to wake up hours before their first class to get ready and commute to school, they could wake up three minutes before class and log in if they wanted to. In addition, you could go to school in your pajamas or anything really if you chose to. There was no need to spend loads of time choosing an outfit, doing your hair, putting on makeup, and so on every single morning. You could very literally roll out of bed (or stay in bed) and turn on your laptop to go to school. Adding to the comforts of online school, you could grab a snack, drink, or go to the bathroom whenever you wanted without having to ask for your teacher’s permission. Ironically, there were a lot of freedoms that students experienced when it came to school during the lockdown. 3. Affordability Most students probably didn’t directly experience this, however, it is important to mention as it greatly affected their parents/guardians. By staying at home, the parents no longer had to pay the transportation fees of their commuting children (whether it was gas for the car or bus passes). In addition to the transportation fees that come along with sending your children to school, moving their education online allows parents to save on other costs such as lunch money, going out with friends after school, snacks or extra pocket money, etc. The children would just eat at home and stay at home so there wouldn’t be any outstanding expenditures necessary. 4. Open-Book Exams Probably the biggest perk that all students can agree to when it came to online learning is the opportunity to do all of your assignments with the help of your notes and the internet. Most exams, even on a university level, were open-book during online learning as educators knew that most students would look to their notes or the internet for help. This way, passing classes and getting good grades was a lot easier than having to memorize the materials and write them down in a classroom with a given time limit. The trouble is that now that most schools are readjusted to face-to-face learning, many students have trouble with going back to really studying the materials. 5. Creativity One major takeaway about the lockdown experience throughout the pandemic is the creativity that came out of it. Being locked down for months at a time without being able to leave the house will get to you. Human beings are social creatures needing to connect with others. During the first lockdown, people were forced to stay isolated for months on end and the only way we could connect was through social media. People came up with a lot of creative projects and trends to participate in as well as showing off their unique skills and talents to connect with others. This burst of creativity extended to the classroom as well. Due to all teaching being done online, teachers needed to get creative with the materials as well as the work itself in order to keep the focus of the students. There were a lot more online projects, whether it was using tools such as YouTube and other social media platforms, or creating video projects. These new mediums of learning aren’t normally teacher-related jobs, making most teachers go through their own learning curve in how to deal with this pandemic. In the end, students were able to interact with an entirely new style of learning rather than just reading, writing, and memorization. 6. Open Communication The pandemic, and especially lockdown, was a very lonely time for a lot of people. There were a lot of spikes in depression rates and brought a lot of attention to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and depression. The world of psychology changed by moving online as well and there was a lot more open conversation on mental health and the importance of peer relations. Specifically, schools were also bringing these issues to the forefront and began a focus on self-assessment. Many schools had emails go out and seminars you could take where you could connect with those who are going through feelings of loneliness. School communities became more tight-knit as you would only interact with your class and the same teachers virtually every day, and that would be the only human interaction most people got during the lockdown. Open communication into how people are doing, feeling, and going through was welcomed and thriving during online learning, creating a healthier environment for both students and teachers. 7. Resilience The last thing to mention is the incredible resilience both students and teachers went through during this time. Moving the entire school system online basically overnight was not an easy thing to do and go through. A lot of people (shoutout to all seniors who graduated during lockdown) missed out on a lot of fun events that normally come with being in school (graduation, prom, sports, plays, etc.). There was a lot of hardship; the world was taken over by a violently spreading deadly virus and our entire lives were confined to our homes. This was a moment in time that will make the history books one day and those that went through this only came out stronger on the other side of it. Read Also: Online Schools the Only Source for Personalized Education 3 Ways Parents Can Safeguard their Household’s Online Safety The Many Benefits of Online Education Here Are the Benefits Of Continuous Learning

Tips on cheap assignment writing services hiring

Multiple ways through students can achieve the benefits and also from hiring academic writing company and are pressed for time so man thing is and it will be able to complete the quality paper and then earned the grade you need. One of the best benefits associated with hiring a professional writer to create a custom paper on behalf of certain things. Fact is that custom writing services give students content that meets assignment details and suggestion nicely at https://writemyessayonline.com/. Make sure it has completed the right reviews from the customers which are positive and should be perfect. Hiring a professional writer can stay within the budget. When you have a custom assignment written for you is the main thing. Make sure there are biographies for writing staff. Having custom assignment writing for students will help them more and more. These are the key points are mentioned and need to remember as searching for assignment writing services and to get some perfect grades as well. The basic thing is assignment writing services required to meet the student essentials and then to submit their academic homework as assigned by teachers and tutors. When assignments assigned to assignment writing then it becomes a prerogative and then the company to abide by the standards and needs to fulfill them. Cover features of best assignment writing : As the better result, you need looking for the reputable organization and company can deliver the job and in the no time and also according to the instructions and information. Not exactly some of the qualities to look out but for the perfect writing information and details. Reputation is the main element and also the thing you need to look for online assignment writing or homework writing tips. Students can easily get about the company’s reputation by reading testimonials of subjects. Expertise, before hiring a company is for writing the assignment on cheap rates tries to find out the quality staff and that the company has or not. Basic thing is that good company should be staffed with the high-quality writers who have knowledge and skills in a variety of disciplines. Revisions are the things concerned and finding out the company intend to deal along and can handle the revisions without asking to pay for anything about the originally agreed. It may get that writer who did the paper and got filed to follow the instructions. Hiring budget friendly assignments : The objective is recognized and productions of effectual and cheapest essay writing support help and support the students to get better grades. Now the writing of assignment experts and professional writers are the artists and know how to impress readers and that thing by arranging the words on a blank paper. Cheap assignment writing offer services write the thesis assignments at the better rates and prices and then it means compromise with the quality. Online research paper assistance and help take by lots of students and in the last three months and has sent positive feedbacks about grades and marks. Read Also : 10 Top-Notch Tools To Improve Your Business Writing Skills Top 7 Things To Take Into Consideration When Selecting Essay Writing Service 5 Tips For Getting A Cheap Essay Writing Service Online

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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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.

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Workload Survival Guide for Academics

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Tips on cheap assignment writing services hiring

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

Popular

Follow Us

Recent

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