Reflective Writing

·         Reflective Writing: writing as exploration and discovery, not as final thought on established truths.

·         Successful reflective essays see connections between personal experiences and implications to larger, general significance and meaning.

·         Reflective Writing steps beyond autobiographical writing, which narrates a meaningful experience.

·         Reflective essays use this experience to talk about life in universal truths. Don’t just tell the story, don’t just tell why it’s important to you, explain why it has meaning beyond your own pages as well. (Avoid bumper-sticker clichés).

·         Reflective Writing Analyzes a personal incident and can discuss new dimensions of an original experience.

 

Take out your “Now and Then” writings and discuss the following questions:

What did you end up writing about? Is there somewhat of a theme in your writing?

 

Why do you think this was a topic that you chose?

 

How does this writing sample have meaning to you?

 

How might this writing sample have meaning to others?

 

How might this writing sample talk about life in universal terms?

 

Now that you have a good recording of a meaningful person, place, or experience, revise your writing on a new piece of paper by giving it the qualities of a reflective essay discussed above. How can you take your experience and write about universal truths?