Course reflection essays are customarily assigned by instructors in higher education institutions such as colleges and universities. In order for students to achieve success, it is essential for them to develop reflective skills since this will help them engage more actively in academic learning. Reflective writings are significant because they encourage learners to analyze what they have learned from each class and how they can apply the knowledge gained in future courses. Students should be able to write a convincing reflection paper which has a purpose built structure.
Let us first define a course reflection essay and what it entails:
What is a course reflection essay?
A course reflection essay is a type of writing published by the students to analyze their academic experiences such as educational placement, exams results, and personal thoughts when studying a particular course. This kind of writing is similar to the course evaluation essay, except that a course reflection essay gives students an opportunity to reflect on their overall experience of studying the subject.
Usually, in order to write good a course reflection essay, there is a need to walk back at the way you have studied.
Basic requirements for it are as follows:
- The structure of text should be centered on an academic work or experience from the start of the course that affected him/ her greatly;
- There should be many interesting events from those moments being analyzed with detailed arguments presented;
- Every student is welcome to provide his/her own opinion about the subject which he/she worked on during the entire course;
- Course reflection essay must include some specific facts extracted from your class notes and textbooks that can be illustrated into your own short story.
Check out the following issues that you may face while writing a course reflection essay:
- The main challenge for each student is to develop his/her skills of logical thinking and reasoning. It allows him/ her to clearly present information using cohesive strategies, such as comparison, contrast, cause-effect relationships;
- Course reflection essay must show how you managed to complete all tasks or assignments derived from your current study program;
- To be successful in completing this paper with great results you need to have many skills on effective research usage because course reflection essays are based on various appropriate sources of information. It might be textbooks, lecture notes, interviews with experts etc;
- Another main challenge that student faces is the amount of studying a person has to perform to develop the skills required for writing course reflection essay. To be an effective writer, every individual should learn how to select some useful resources and use them in appropriate ways;
- Something else you must do is working on grammar and punctuation because it will help you create well-organized text without any mistakes or misinterpretations;
- To organize your writing process effectively, there is a need to summarize all the necessary information about your subject in points clearly divided into paragraphs;
Course reflection essay example
This is a one paragraph example of a course reflection essay written by a college student. Use the simple example to start/write a good college course reflection essay.
This course helped me to develop my ability of debating since it forced me to look at the applications and limits of technologies in an existing market. This was further achieved by exploring new ways of understanding human-technology interactions as well as reading some primary research articles. Through this, I have gained a deeper insight into how I would apply technologies for a client. Additionally, the assessment task has taught me how to plan and conduct interviews and questionnaires through which I can gather valuable information on how customers behave in an actual situation. In addition to that, it provides me with techniques in collecting all sources of information needed for research purposes. Overall, this module has not only expanded my skills but also gave me confidence that I am able to handle projects that involve technology.
The main point of this type of essay is that the process has taught you something valuable. If there are any new skills or techniques, if you learned something new about the subject or the software (which can be included within a more general reflection, should it not be related to anything specific), then write about those first and in greater detail. These points will come up first when your reader skims through what you wrote (so make sure they’re relevant!) – they form a good foundation for your whole piece and give it meaning beyond “this is how I did”. You might have also had an experience that made you grow as a person – include that part in the conclusion as well.
Structure of a course reflection essay
Here is one way to structure such a course reflection paper:
- Course reflection essay introduction: the importance of reflecting upon a course (2-3 sentences). An introduction of a course reflection paper grabs readers’ attention and gives them a reason to read on by giving them some idea of where you are going with the essay.
- Body paragraphs: Body paragraphs contain support for the main idea or thesis statement in one or more sentences. Write about new skills, techniques or topics you’ve learned about/discovered in this course; any experience that’ll be complemented by a ‘personal growth’ paragraph.
- Conclusion and personal reflection: Conclusion – what did it all mean to you? Your conclusion should return to your main point with emphasis on the positive outcome of this new knowledge. It doesn’t necessarily have to follow the structure detailed above but you must not forget about your audience: they are students as well so remember that when writing!
Example of a course reflection essay conclusion
Here is an example for such a simple course reflection paper conclusion:
This module has helped me gain basic research skills which I will certainly be able to apply once working within the industry. I hope to be able to apply these skills in the future and not just within the IT sector but also in a more general way, helping me develop professionally . This course has also allowed me to think out of the box when it comes down to problem-solving which will definitely come in handy once working as well. Overall, this module has given me various new opportunities that would not have been available otherwise and I am prepared for what’s yet to come!
Can I end a course reflection essay with a question?
Sure! You can end a course reflection essay with a question: how you can benefit from your experience? If you were applying for a job, a company/employer might ask for an essay answering this very thing – include it here as well, if you’d like!
Keep in mind though that you should not write about the positives only: if there were any things you didn’t like, anything that could be improved, include those as well. You may also want to go into greater detail as where you would change certain elements – your reader might ask for it and a negative comment can always turn into an overall positive one!
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