The key parts of a reflective essay are as follows; Introduction, thesis statement, argument, conclusion. Each one has its own role to play in the essay. The first part of the essay is the introduction. This is where the reader gets to know you and what you have to say. This is also the time where you should outline the theme that you will be exploring through your essay and how your essay will contribute to the theme.
The second major part of the essay is the thesis statement. The thesis is your main piece of information, it states the main idea of the essay and the reason why you wrote the essay in the first place.
The third part is the main body of the essay, which will consist of a strong argument. An argument is basically a statement of facts or a case made about a particular topic. It is made to persuade the reader to agree with the author. This part can also be written in your own words.
The last and final part of the essay is the conclusion. The conclusion is your piece of advice to the reader. It can be a suggestion to continue the conversation or even a request for the reader to take up the topic again.
A reflective essay will require you to be honest, sincere and creative in your essay writing. You may be asked to write about your own personal experiences, other people’s experiences or even write about the topic from another point of view. No matter the topic, you should always be willing to learn about the topic so that you can contribute to the discussion of the topic.
Writing a reflective essay requires you to give enough space for the reader to come to their own conclusions. You should never rush or force the reader to come to a conclusion and never try to answer the question ‘is’ it true or ‘why’.
A reflective essay requires a lot of research on the topic. When writing an essay on your own about a specific issue, you must be able to use your knowledge and skills of researching on the subject to write effectively on your own. If you cannot research properly then you can’t do the best job possible.
Cultural Identity is a huge topic that has many layers and can be very difficult to penetrate. You need to find a balance between information and opinion when writing about this topic. You also need to remember that while your audience is of the same culture and heritage that your opinion is theirs. As the writer of the essay you have to make sure you keep this in mind and give some credence to both points of view so that you have a balanced article.
The first part of a reflective essay is to provide a broad overview of the topic. The second part will then detail what your opinions are on the subject. This part will allow you to explore the importance of cultural identity in this article. Once you have done this, it is then time to detail what the main points are about which you stand by.
Some of the most important issues that you need to address issues regarding the impact of immigration on the culture and heritage of a country. Issues such as changing ethnic and social identities and issues related to multiculturalism are also vital issues to address. This part of the article needs to be researched extensively so that you do not ramble over the topic in too much detail.
Part three of the article is focused on how you view the issue from another perspective. This part requires you to provide an opinion on the matter. This is especially important for cultural identity. If you can’t provide a good and valid argument then you will have wasted the reader’s time.
Your fourth paragraph of the essay provides your opinion of the conclusion. You should always end this part of the essay on a positive note.