(This post was migrated from a now-deleted blog hosted by UNG)
I frequently assign reflective essays in my courses. Reflective essays allow students to integrate the course material with personal experience to deepen their understanding of a specific topic. Reflective essays are different than other types of essays in that the writer becomes part of the information presented in the essay. Reflective essays focus both on the literature you are studying and your personal experience and growth. Consider the following two statements:
“Research on person-team fit demonstrates that an individual’s perception of fit with their team has a positive relationship with the level of satisfaction an individual feels when working with that team (1).”
(Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005)
“I am more satisfied when working with a team where I feel like I belong and can contribute positively to the team. Research supports my experience: when team members feel like they are a good fit with a team, they are generally more satisfied when working with that team (1).”
(Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005)
The first statement is more likely to appear in literature reviews and essays designed to demonstrate a formal discussion of the literature. The second sentence is a good example of internalizing the information you are asked to consider and exploring how you experience (or do not experience) what research or practice has demonstrated.
Reflective essays may be informal, but they are also structured just like any other essay. A reflective essay will have an introduction, a body of text, and a concluding paragraph. The introduction is your “hook,” or a story of how you will bridge your personal experience with the literature. The body of your essay (i.e. multiple paragraphs) demonstrates both your understanding of the academic or practitioner knowledge you are evaluating and how you have experienced (or not) the concepts in your personal and professional life. The concluding paragraph provides closure to the essay by sharing the most important (to you) key ideas already presented in the body of your essay.
Several resources exist to help you write a reflective essay. I recommend you visit the following academic writing guide to learn how to write a reflective essay.
· WriteOnline – click on “Reflective Writing” and follow the prompts through the six sections of the guide.
Above all, reflective essays are designed to help you integrate what you learn in class with your personal experiences in order to help you be a better employee and leader in your social and professional organizations. The effort you put into a quality product is directly related to the benefit you will realize from the activity of writing a reflective essay.
Happy writing!
Dr. Woods
(1) Kristof-Brown, A., Zimmerman, R. D., & Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: A meta-analysis of person—job, person—organization, person—group, and person—supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281-342. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00672.x/abstract