How to Write a Self-Reflection Paper

Writing a self-assessment is a great opportunity to learn more about yourself, your strengths and your goals.

A self-reflection is a great opportunity to learn more about your experience and think critically about what you've learned. It is a valuable resource for self-teaching and learning more than what you thought you could from a project, experience or course. In self-reflection, the major principles to remember are specificity, connective thinking and honesty about challenges and obstacles.

Things You'll Need

• computer with word processing software
• printer
• pencil or pen

Instructions

Steps in Writing a Self-Reflection

1. Write an outline with three to five major points you'd like to cover. These points could include specific things you learned during a process or could represent categories. For instance: improvements, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and new goals/interests.

2. Write a short paragraph for each main point. In each paragraph, be as specific as possible about your experience and your review of th experience. For instance, if you are assessing your completion of an essay revision, you might include details such as the following:

   -How you reorganized your thoughts

   -What patterns of error you were able to find and correct (e.g., comma splices and run-on sentences)

   -what you learned specifically about the proofreading process (e.g., It is helpful to proofread an essay aloud to catch mistakes.)

3. Write an introduction that broadly introduces the overall topic. The introduction paragraph should consist of a few sentences and give the reader a hint of what you'll cover in the rest of the paper.

   For example: In the process of revising my essay, I learned a great deal about organizing, writing effectively and proofreading. Reflecting on the process, I understand the importance of writing multiple drafts and editing thoroughly, as well as asking someone else to proofread my writing.

4. Write a conclusion. Leave the reader with an ending paragraph that reiterates the importance of what you learned, not simply a verbatim account of the points in the body of your paper.

5. Print and proofread your self-reflection. Read it aloud, and mark any sentences that need editing. This way, you can return to the computer and easily make the necessary edits to polish the final draft.

Tips & Warnings

• Proofreading aloud will help you catch errors that your eyes might miss. The brain corrects things when you read silently, so it is important to read aloud so you can hear the mistakes and catch punctuation, spelling and structural errors.

References

• The Riley Guide; Self Assessment Resources

Resources

• Tidewater Community College; Style Tips for Students - Writing Center at TCC