Reflective Essay怎么写？Introduction写法、Topics与Examples范例
Reflective Essay怎么写？很多同学第一次看到这种作业时，第一反应都是：写自己的经历嘛，这应该比普通essay简单。
但真正打开Word以后，经常会出现另一个画面——光标闪了十分钟，第一句话还是没写出来。因为Reflective Essay真正困难的地方，并不是“我经历过什么”，而是怎样把一段个人经历写成一篇有Reflection、有逻辑，同时又符合Academic Writing要求的Essay。
Reflective Essay与普通Academic Essay有一些区别。它允许作者从自己的experience、emotion和learning出发，但并不等于写日记。尤其是Introduction，既要让读者知道发生了什么，又不能第一段就把整个故事交代完，还需要慢慢引出后面的reflection和核心观点。
下面就从Reflective Essay Topics、Introduction写法和几个不同类型的Introduction Examples开始聊。与其背一个所谓“万能模板”，不如先看明白别人到底是怎么进入主题的。
Reflective Essay到底是什么？
A reflective essay doesn’t differ completely from other forms of essays. It normally still contains three basic parts: an introduction, the body and a conclusion.
Introduction负责把读者带入主题，并说明这段经历、事件或者问题为什么值得讨论；Body进一步解释发生了什么、自己当时如何理解、后来又产生了哪些不同认识；Conclusion则需要回到一个很实际的问题：What have I learned?
| 部分 | 主要任务 | 需要回答的问题 |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 交代背景并引出Reflection | What happened and why does it matter? |
| Body | 分析经历、感受和认识变化 | What did I think, feel and learn? |
| Conclusion | 总结学习结果和成长 | How has this experience changed me? |
我见过一个挺典型的问题：有同学以为Reflective Essay就是多写几个“I think”“I feel”，于是整篇文章变成“I did this, and then I did that”。经历倒是真实，读起来却特别像流水账。
Reflective Writing真正需要处理的是Experience → Reflection → Analysis → Learning。老师想看的通常不只是事情经过，而是这件事为什么值得写，以及你经历以后究竟发生了什么变化。
Reflective Essay Topics怎么选？
Choosing a reflective essay topic sounds easy, but the topic needs to give you enough room to reflect. A useful topic normally comes from something you have actually experienced, observed or felt.
选题的时候，可以先问自己几个很简单的问题：
Can I answer the questions raised by this topic?
Will the topic be interesting to the reader?
Does it involve an idea, event or emotion worth reflecting on?
Can I connect it with my personal experience?
Did I actually learn or change because of this experience?
Reflective Essay比较有意思的地方就在这里。它和普通Essay一样需要结构，却又必须保留personal touch。没有个人经历，很容易写成普通议论文；只有个人经历而没有分析，又会变成日记。
Reflective Essay Topics for College Students
Writing a thesis statement for the first time
Video games and how important they are
Social media and college – a blessing or a curse?
Places I avoid and why
My memorable birthday
A favorite place to eat at
A moment in college that made me feel proud
A moment I was braver than I expected to be
A time I embarrassed myself in front of other students
The most important thing to me
More Reflective Essay Topic Ideas
A childhood memory I can’t forget
My favorite holiday
Feeling scared and not knowing how to cope with it
Meeting my best friend
What are my best traits?
My relationship with my friends when being a child and now
My favorite book
Leaving my family home for the first time
The first day in a new school
Moving to a new city
How to Write a Good Introduction for a Reflective Essay?
If you are no stranger to writing various essays, you are probably already familiar with the basic purpose of an introduction. The job of a reflective essay introduction, however, is slightly different. It prepares readers for what they are about to learn about your experience and, more importantly, your reflection on that experience.
From the introduction, readers should gradually understand why the event was important to your life, study or personality. Most importantly, the introduction should be interesting enough to encourage the audience to continue reading.
不过有一点很容易写过头：不要在Introduction里面把整个故事讲完。
Introduction只需要给读者足够的context，再说明后面准备反思什么。真正的experience、analysis和learning应该留给正文。
| Introduction内容 | 可以怎么处理 |
|---|---|
| Context | 简短交代事件、经历或者讨论背景 |
| Personal Position | 说明自己与这段经历之间的关系 |
| Significance | 解释或者暗示为什么值得反思 |
| Main Focus | 让读者知道后文主要讨论什么 |
还有一个经常有人问我的问题：Reflective Essay能不能写“I”？
通常当然可以。你讨论的本身就是自己的experience和learning，所以第一人称并不可怕。真正需要避免的是整篇文章几十句连续的“I did... I saw... I went...”。这样即使经历是真的，也很容易写成行程记录。
Reflective Essay Introduction Examples
下面保留几个不同题目的Introduction Examples。这里有一个小提醒：这些例子并不全部属于完全相同的Academic Writing类型，所以真正值得看的不是“复制哪句话”，而是观察不同题目怎样交代context、缩小范围并进入自己的核心问题。
Example 1: Self Reflection on Employability Skills in Hospitality Industry
Introduction
In today’s hospitality industry, employability skills are key factors that an employer takes into consideration while recruiting an employee. I have also been continuously developing some of the employability skills, including conflict management, teamwork, problem-solving and professionalism, by implementing theoretical learning into practice. Throughout this assessment, I will reflect on these four employability skills and connect them with the theories that I have learned from various subjects during my campus study.
The main aim of the assessment is to consider the implications of employability skills in the workplace and understand how the implementation of these theories has influenced my work. This will be followed by reflection on my practice and its positive outcomes in exceeding guest expectations and creating an exceptional experience for guests during their stays.
写作观察：这个开头比较典型。作者没有一开始就讲某一天在酒店发生了什么，而是先把范围限定在Conflict Management、Teamwork、Problem-Solving和Professionalism四项Employability Skills，然后告诉读者后面会把Theory与Workplace Practice联系起来。
Example 2: Rumination and Gratitude
Introduction
Being grateful or ruminating on one’s depressive symptoms can have dramatic impacts on mood. Past research gives evidence that rumination leads to more negative affect in depressed people and gratitude leads to more positive affect regardless of baseline depression levels. Participants (N = 198) were randomly assigned to a neutral rumination (n = 99) or positive gratitude condition (n = 99), and the effects on positive and negative mood were examined.
I hypothesized that people high in depression would have higher negative affect in the rumination condition than in the gratitude condition, while nondepressed people would show no difference in negative affect in either condition. In line with my prediction, gratitude led to higher positive affect and lower negative affect regardless of baseline depression level.
写作观察：这个例子其实已经比较接近research-based academic writing，而不是最典型的personal reflective essay。它恰好能提醒我们：文章里面出现“I hypothesized”并不代表它自动变成Reflective Essay，最终还是应该看Assessment Brief要求什么。
Example 3: The Effect of Corporate Philanthropy on Customer-Based Brand Equity
Introduction
Over recent decades, the benefits and risks associated with corporate philanthropy (CP) have become an evolving topic as shareholders and society have developed stronger expectations of firms behaving in a socially responsible way. Society’s perceptions can contribute to a firm’s success in the current business environment and can also influence customer-based brand equity.
This study aims to examine whether corporate philanthropy has an effect on customer-based brand equity. It focuses on the telecommunication sector of Zimbabwe, with particular emphasis on NetOne Cellular Company, and introduces the problem, research purpose, objectives and questions that guide the study.
写作观察：这一段其实更像Research Project或者Dissertation Introduction。它强调的是research problem、objective和research Question，而Reflective Essay Introduction通常更强调experience以及由此产生的learning。两个放在一起比较，区别反而一下就清楚了。
Example 4: The Role of Nostalgia in Human Life
Introduction
In the play Waiting for Godot, the two characters Vladimir and Estragon wait for an unknown person named Godot who never arrives. While Godot never shows up, the two men also forget about what happened on the previous day. Forgetting enables their lives to continue as the hope of eventually meeting Godot dissolves some of their fear and uncertainty.
Nostalgia, the antithesis of amnesia, carries with it the separation from the past and the desire not to let it go. We could be thinking about the past whenever a place or an object evokes our memories. As scenes of the past enter our minds and connect with the present, what role does nostalgia play in our lives?
写作观察：这个Introduction没有先来一句很生硬的定义，而是从文学作品和具体场景切入，然后慢慢提出核心问题。通常会比“Nowadays, nostalgia is very important...”这种万能开场自然很多。
Example 5: The Role of Courage in Midwifery
Introduction
Courage is important in clinical practice because healthcare professionals may need to speak out when a patient or professional practice is put in jeopardy. The aim of this essay is to explore and appraise the concept of courage within the clinical setting of midwifery using Walker and Avant’s eight-step model.
The essay focuses on a case based in a clinical setting to demonstrate the concept analysis through Enquiry Based Learning (EBL), linking theoretical learning with professional practice and teamwork development.
写作观察：Healthcare、Nursing、Midwifery这些专业经常会碰到Reflective Writing，但一定要先看看题目要求的是Reflective Essay还是Concept Analysis。两种作业都可能谈clinical experience，结构却并不完全一样。
Example 6: Faith’s Impact on Substance Abuse
Introduction
Relapse can occur during recovery and should be recognised and anticipated by substance abuse recovery counsellors. One significant challenge for counsellors is helping a client move successfully and securely through a relapse while also developing strategies that may reduce the likelihood of future relapse. For some clients, faith in a higher power can become an important part of the recovery process.
写作观察：这一段很短，但它做了一件挺实用的事情：迅速把很大的“substance abuse”话题缩小到relapse、counselling和faith。Introduction并不是背景资料越多越好，有时候能把题目收窄，比堆一大段定义重要得多。
Reflective Essay最容易写成什么样？
Reflective Essay虽然允许写个人经历，但仍然属于Academic Writing。最常见的问题往往不是英语不够漂亮，而是全文只有story，却没有真正的reflection。
| 常见情况 | 可以怎样调整 |
|---|---|
| 全文都在记录发生了什么 | 增加为什么、自己的理解以及认识发生了什么变化 |
| Introduction已经把故事讲完 | 只留下必要Context，把分析留给Body |
| 大量重复I think | 把个人观察与analysis、theory或者evidence联系起来 |
| 直接照搬网上Example | 观察Example的结构，再根据自己的experience组织内容 |
| 结尾只有“我学到了很多” | 具体说明认识、行为或者future practice发生了什么变化 |
如果老师明确要求使用Gibbs Reflective Cycle、Kolb、Schön或者其他Reflective Model，那就不要硬套普通Essay模板。这个时候我一般都会先看Assessment Brief和Marking Rubric，因为模型选错以后，前面写得再热闹，后面改起来也是真的头疼。
Reflective Essay FAQ
Reflective Essay可以使用第一人称“I”吗？
通常可以。Reflective Writing本身就需要讨论personal experience、feelings和learning，因此第一人称非常常见。不过不同学校和Module的要求可能不同，最终还是应该看Assessment Brief。
Reflective Essay Introduction应该写多少字？
没有一个适用于所有学校的固定数字。Introduction需要足够说明Context、文章重点以及为什么这段经历值得reflection，但不要在第一段把所有细节都讲完。与其机械套一个百分比，不如优先看总字数和老师给出的Rubric。
Reflective Essay需要Thesis Statement吗？
很多Reflective Essay仍然需要一个清楚的central focus，只不过它不一定像Argumentative Essay那样提出非常强烈的正反立场。它可以说明文章准备围绕哪段experience，以及由此产生的learning展开。
Reflective Essay和普通Essay最大的区别是什么？
普通Academic Essay往往围绕argument和evidence展开；Reflective Essay除了analysis之外，还强调personal experience、self-awareness以及learning或development。不过Reflection并不意味着可以完全放弃academic analysis。
Reflective Essay不会写怎么办？
如果第一次接触Reflective Writing，可以先把assignment Brief和Rubric拆开，看清楚老师要求的是普通Reflection、Reflective Report还是指定Reflective Model。需要进一步梳理时，也可以围绕选题、结构、Introduction、Reflection逻辑和语言表达进行针对性的Essay写作辅导。先把“发生了什么”和“我从中学到了什么”分开，通常比一开始就急着凑满字数有效得多。
相关文章阅读
如果还不确定老师要求的是Essay、Report、case study还是Reflective Writing，可以继续看看不同Assignment类型的结构区别；已经确定要写Essay，则可以通过Essay Examples观察Introduction、Body和Conclusion在实际文章中是怎样衔接的。
最后说一个我觉得Reflective Essay挺有意思的地方：它并不是比赛谁的经历更传奇。
一次课堂讨论、一次小组合作、一段实习经历，甚至一次搞砸了的Presentation，只要能够说明自己当时怎么想、后来为什么改变，以及下一次准备怎么做，都可能比一个看起来很厉害、实际上没有Reflection的故事更值得写。