Reflective Essay Outline Introduction Hook—give a quick preview of the most exciting part of that story Thesis Statement—without giving too much away, write how this experience influenced you. Body Paragraph Description of the event (See Chart) The effect the event had on you at the time Lesson learned from reflecting on event Conclusion Summary of the experience Overall impact/lesson learned/goal

Reflection Assignment Purpose:  To reflect Audience:  Your teacher and peers Structure: 3-5 paragraph essay/letter Subject:  last cardmarking’s description (of the event/experience) and analysis (evaluation of that experience) The hook: you want to grab your reader’s attention from the very start. If you’re telling about an experience, give a quick preview of the most exciting part of that experience. The thesis statement/Claim: In a reflective essay, the thesis statement will usually include a brief statement of what your essay is about as well as how the specific experience has influenced you. You will expand on this later, so don’t give away too much in the beginning.

Body Outline The next part of your outline is perhaps the most important. Without your reflective essay outline, the body can get muddled and confusing. I can’t tell you exactly how to organize the body of your essay because every essay is going to be different. However, I do have a couple of tips. If you are writing about an experience or an event, use a chronology that makes sense. It doesn’t have to be completely linear, but if you jump around in the timeline too much, it can confuse both you and the reader. Laying out the important parts in the outline will help you figure out in what order to put everything.

Impact and Lessons No matter what you’re writing your reflective essay about–an experience, person or place–you should include the impact it has made and what, if anything, you learned. Zoom In This should be at least as long of a section as the description of the event, person or place. It’s what shows off who you are and it’s what the reader will be most interested in.