Contents
What Is a Reflective Summary Essay
A reflective summary essay is a piece of formal writing that summarizes, explains, and draws conclusions from an event, function, book, or even a movie. It focusses on memories and feelings evoked by these elements.
In this excise, your reader expects an account of your life in a particular period. Thus, it allows you to take a personal approach and express thoughts on the topic instead of just providing bare facts. The paper can be educational, professional, and personal.
Reflective Summary Essay Outline
Writing a reflective summary paper outline is usually a series of steps, as follows:
- Express the main idea in a thesis statement
- Develop it in body paragraphs providing supportive arguments.
- Conclude facts by summarizing what you have written.
The several sections consist of different elements. Looking at them individually;
Introduction
The introduction of a reflective summary paper should be brief and clear. The purpose of the introduction is to give the audience an understanding of what you will cover in the essay. We break it into several sections.
- A welcoming sentence or quote.
- A topic sentence is also called a thesis.
- You can ask a reflective question in the text.
- A catchy phrase to keep the reader wanting to read more.
Body
The most common question that arises here is, what parts are there in the body and what do they comprise of.
The body of a reflective summary includes paragraphs. As the name suggests you are expected to give a brief narration of events that took place. Write them chronologically and reflect various points you want to address.
There are two approaches that writers can use in writing the body.
- Write a brief narration-the background of your essay in one paragraph. Then in the following paragraph list your analysis. Essentially, analysis, in this case, refers to the emotions pulled from the story, and the reactions to it.
- Break your narration into several paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain a major point or element that made you react in a certain way. At the end of each paragraph make the analysis.
While the second approach gives a more in-depth understanding and analysis, most writers prefer using the first. It creates a flow of your story making it more interesting to the audience.
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. You wouldn’t want a story with multiple stories inside it. It’s confusing. So, make it flow.
Conclusion
A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay. It is a summary of what is discussed in the previous parts. It consists of a statement of opinion or decisions reached, and a result or outcome of the experience described. It reminds the reader of the strengths of your main argument and echoes the most important evidence supporting them. In a reflective analysis essay, the writer also advises the audience on the lessons they can draw from the reflection.
What do I write about in a Reflective Summary Essay?
Finding a topic for a reflective summary should be fun and creative. It should be a story that you can remember well that you are comfortable sharing. It should also have made an impact in your life.
- Brainstorm. Take time and try to remember all the experiences you have had. Let your ideas flow freely on paper.
- Reflect on each idea to see what impacts they made in your life. It could be a book you read, a movie you watched, a place you visited, or an event you attended. What stands out is the effect all of them had on you and its relevance in the present day. What you write about should be relevant to your audience.
- Select one of the listed items and use a few words to describe it. Whatever you settle should have a dominant impact on you. Whatever emotion the experience brought out then can guide in choosing a topic.
Writing a reflective summary essay should be easy and fun. It is like narrating a story to a group of people. How you make sure not to leave out any bit, or even how you sum it up by that “all I am trying to say is, since that day…” Use the same technique, and now convert all that into text. Have fun.
