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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

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The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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Apr 16, 2023

How to Write a Reflection Essay | Outlines and Examples

Do you ever struggle to put your thoughts into words? If you've ever felt stumped by a reflective essay assignment, you're not alone. In this article, we'll explore some strategies for writing effective reflection essays that will help you communicate your ideas clearly and powerfully!

Reflective Essays take a look at a piece of writing or an experience in your life and write down how you feel about it. This strategy not only reveals fascinating insights about your perspective and personality, but it also makes for entertaining reading. Examining some model papers is a great way to hone your skills in outlining introspective essays.

What Is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay (also called a critical reflection) involves a deep examination of one's assumptions, beliefs, and reactions to knowledge, events, or experiences. This type of writing encourages the author to introspect and articulate their personal insights on various subjects, influenced by literature, experiences, or lectures. Unlike traditional academic essays, reflective essays focus on the writer's individual perspective, employing a more subjective and expressive language without the necessity for scholarly sources. Essentially, while maintaining the core criteria of effective essay writing, a reflective essay distinguishes itself by centering on the writer's internal dialogue and personal growth.

Reflection isn't something that comes naturally to everyone. Whether one is contemplating one's own life experiences or a piece of literature, it can be challenging to put one's thoughts into words and express them adequately. Because of this, utilising this ability effectively when writing is necessary. The more time you devote to contemplating and learning about a topic, the more straightforward and understandable it will become. This situation is more complex than it initially appears to be.

What is the Purpose of Reflective Writing?

Reflective writing is another way to convey both your growth and the feelings you've experienced. You can discover a lot about yourself and how you function by conducting an in-depth investigation of your interior workings. It is interesting to watch how they mature and change over time. The initial move is always the one that presents the greatest challenge. Because of this, developing a strategy for your reflective essay is a fantastic way to kick off the writing process.

How to Create a Reflective Essay Outline?

The first part of an essay, known as the introduction, is generally composed of three parts. On the other hand, as was stated earlier, a conventional formula might experience significant shifts when written down in this manner.

Introduction

The introduction needs to be so captivating to the reader that they feel compelled to keep going with the story. To achieve this, writers will often include ambiguities, sarcastic circumstances, and tense situations in their works. An outline can be used for any kind of essay, but it is especially helpful for introspective writing because it organizes your thoughts and makes it easier to read. The abstract, just like the remainder of the essay, should be broken up into three main sections that are presented in the same order as the rest of the essay. On the other hand, as was stated earlier, a conventional formula might experience significant shifts when written down in this manner.

An engaging and interesting opening statement will pique the interest of the audience and encourage them to continue reading. To achieve this, authors will often include ambiguities, irony, and conflict within their works. The expression "my first bachelor celebration" is a good example of this concept in action.

Reflection Essay Example:

This past weekend I attended my first college frat party thanks to some friends who invited me.

That one phrase perfectly exemplifies an attention-grabbing opening to a reflective essay. In just one phrase, you've hooked the reader and set the stage for what you'll be discussing. Your essay's opening should always provide a teaser for the more in-depth explanation that follows in the essay's body.

The conclusion of your reflective essay, which you'll write based on the most significant event, should be the last line of the introduction. This sentence effectively summarises the changes brought about by the catalytic event and their importance in the grand scheme of things. 

Body Paragraphs

The body of an introspective essay needs to expand on the topic presented in the essay's thesis. Students' first challenge in writing such essays is expressing their thoughts uninhibitedly. It's simple to get sidetracked and leap from one thought to the next. This leads us to a useful piece of advice: be consistent with the story arc you've established. If possible, create a distinct outline for the paragraphs in the main body.

You're free to include as many or as few body lines as you like. The text may have a one-sentence introduction and a secret closing, for instance, but the body will always be the largest section. Put your viewpoint on display as much as possible in the middle section. Put forth justifications to back up your claim or corroborating details to back up your statements. Examples, facts, occurrences of public life, events, real-life circumstances and experiences, scientific proof, references to scholars and scientists, etc., can all serve as argumentative points.

If you don't want to appear uncertain of your views, avoid giving too many examples. A personal reflective essay only needs one piece of proof. For reflective essays, interacting aspects of literary analysis, or speculative writing about a variety of phenomena, two examples will suffice. Overloading a free reflective essay with more than three examples of the facts to be discussed will be apparent.

For Example:

My weekend at a house party made it clear that the vast majority of my fellow college students have no tolerance for alcohol.

An effective introduction to a body paragraph is provided above. Your paragraph's subject sentence should tell the reader exactly what the paragraph is going to be about. The first line of each paragraph in the body of your writing should do what the introductory paragraph did: make the reader want to keep reading. Body paragraphs are where you can bring the essay to life with specific descriptions and examples.

In other terms, immerse the reader by providing relatable examples of circumstances and describing minor details with great care. A reader's excitement and interest will increase in proportion to the originality and literary charm of each phrase.

An independent closing paragraph is optional in reflective essays. If you choose an essay format that calls for a conclusion with supporting notes, keep it brief. The end must not be overly formal, however. The paragraphs in the body of the essay need to be supervised naturally by this section.

If you look for a model reflective essay online, you will most likely find one that has a complete, detailed conclusion. You could, of course, use them as models for your essays. However, if you want your viewers to be impressed and reflect deeper on your work, you shouldn't spoon-feed them your observations. Get your readers to ignore the surface-level explanations and focus on the meat of the text where your ideas and feelings are revealed.

As I reflect on my time spent at a college party, I realize that I can no longer advocate for the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors.

As you probably know by now, the end of your essay is where you restate your thesis and discuss its significance. Then, using the details from the body paragraph, you should draw a conclusion in which you quickly restate how this experience changed you physically and/or mentally. Conclude by giving the reader your concluding thoughts on the subject.

What is the Format of a Reflective Essay?

There is a unique structure for reflective writing. In this form of writing, the author employs a specific style, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA) .

There are a few things to keep in mind when writing in APA style:

Use Time New Roman Font 

Double-space your work and use a font height of 12 points.

The page number appears in the upper right-hand area.

The major sections of an essay are the introduction, the body, and the bibliography or list of sources.

Equally to APA, there are a few things to keep in mind when using MLA format:

Use Time New Roman Font

Select 12 as a font size

Make sure to center all of your essay's names.

Include your name, the course number, the instructor's name, and the date in the header of your work.

On the last page of the essay, include the cited work.

Some Tips on Writing the Reflective Essay

The essay's structure serves as the paper's framework. You can't write a winning essay without first crafting a plan. If you have to write a reflective essay, here are some tips to follow.

References should be listed on the final page of the writing.

In the essay, try to avoid using the same phrase multiple times.

Give your take on the topic in the writing.

Verify that you have explained everything that was previously unclear.

Connect your parts with appropriate transitional language.

Make sure your plan covers everything important.

Avoid using difficult language and provide an argument to support your position.

Learn to identify your best qualities and highlight them in the writing.

Before sending or publishing the essay, make sure it has been thoroughly proofread.

Writing a reflective essay can be challenging, but you can make your way through the process with the help of a good plan. Some pupils simply don't have enough time to complete all of the required essay writing assignments. They lack the time necessary to offer essay writing their full attention.

3 Reflective Essay Examples

Impact of social media on students

Social media has become an integral part of our lives in recent years. With the advent of smartphones and the internet, social media platforms have become more accessible to everyone, including students. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and others have had a profound impact on the way students interact with each other, access information, and learn.

Social media has created a platform for students to interact with their peers, teachers, and other individuals from different parts of the world. Social media platforms provide students with the opportunity to express their thoughts, share their experiences, and discuss topics that interest them. Through social media, students can participate in discussions, exchange ideas, and learn from others.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media on Students’ Life

One of the primary benefits of social media is its ability to provide students with access to information. Social media platforms have become a significant source of news, information, and educational resources for students. Students can learn about various topics, including history, science, literature, and more, from different social media platforms. For instance, Twitter provides students with the latest news on various topics, while Facebook and LinkedIn provide them with access to professional networks and job opportunities.

However, the impact of social media on students is not all positive. Social media has become a distraction for students, and many students spend more time on social media than they do studying. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, and many students find themselves spending hours scrolling through their feeds and interacting with their peers. As a result, many students experience a decline in their academic performance and find it difficult to focus on their studies.

Moreover, social media has also had a significant impact on the mental health of students. Social media platforms can be a breeding ground for cyberbullying and online harassment, which can have a profound impact on a student's mental health. Additionally, social media platforms have been linked to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues in students. Many students feel pressured to present a perfect image of themselves on social media, which can lead to low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy.

Furthermore, social media has also affected the way students interact with each other. Many students now prefer to communicate through social media rather than in person, which can lead to a lack of social skills and interpersonal communication skills. This can make it challenging for students to form meaningful relationships and communicate effectively in the workplace and other settings.

In conclusion, social media has had a significant impact on students, both positive and negative. While social media provides students with access to information and a platform to express themselves, it has also become a significant distraction and can hurt their mental health and social skills. Therefore, students need to use social media responsibly and balance their time between social media and other activities. Additionally, educators and parents can play a significant role in guiding students on how to use social media effectively and responsibly.

Taking a Hike Through Forest

Introduction:

Nature is a therapeutic and rejuvenating element in our lives. Walking through a forest is an excellent way to connect with nature, relieve stress, and experience a sense of calmness. A hike through the forest provides a sense of freedom, and the tranquillity of the trees helps to reconnect with oneself. In this essay, I will reflect on my experience of taking a hike through a forest.

I woke up early one morning, feeling the need to get out of the city and spend some time in nature. I packed my bag with essentials and set off on a drive to a nearby forest. Upon arriving, I took a deep breath and took in the fresh air, which filled my lungs with a sense of peace.

The path was lined with tall trees, and the forest floor was soft and covered with leaves. As I walked, I could hear the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. The serenity of the forest made me forget about the outside world and its pressures.

I kept walking deeper into the forest, and soon enough, I came across a stream. The sound of the water flowing over the rocks was soothing, and I sat down by the bank to take it all in. The quietness of the forest made me feel like I was in a different world altogether, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

As I continued my hike, I came across a clearing, and there, I saw a herd of deer grazing. I stood there, frozen, watching the beauty of nature unfold in front of my eyes. It was a moment of pure bliss, and I felt grateful for the opportunity to witness it.

I reached a hilltop, and from there, I could see the entire forest. The view was breathtaking, and it made me realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things. It also made me appreciate the beauty of the earth and the environment around us.

Conclusion:

Taking a hike through the forest was a humbling and rejuvenating experience for me. The calmness of the trees, the sound of the water, and the sight of the animals made me feel connected to nature. It reminded me that we are all a part of this beautiful planet and that it's our responsibility to take care of it. The forest gave me the space to reflect and connect with myself, and it was a reminder that sometimes, the best therapy is found in nature.

The role of Friendship in my Life

Friendship is one of the most essential aspects of human life. It is an integral part of our social fabric, as it provides a sense of belonging, support, and joy. Friendship is not just about having someone to talk to or hang out with; it is about having a deep and meaningful connection with someone who accepts and loves us for who we are. In my life, friendship has played a crucial role in shaping my personality and helping me navigate through different phases of life. This essay aims to explore the role of friendship in my life, its significance, and how it has impacted me.

The significance of friendship:

Friendship is essential for our well-being and mental health. It is a bond that helps us feel connected and loved , even in the most challenging times. A good friend can help us navigate through difficult situations, offer us a fresh perspective on our problems, and provide us with emotional support. Friends also provide us with a sense of belonging, a feeling that we are part of something greater than ourselves. The sense of community and companionship that comes with friendship can help us develop a positive outlook toward life and a strong sense of self-esteem.

Friendship in my life:

In my life, friendship has played a vital role in shaping my personality and helping me grow as an individual. Growing up, I was a shy and introverted child who struggled to make friends. However, I was fortunate enough to find a group of friends who accepted me for who I was and helped me come out of my shell. They encouraged me to pursue my passions and interests and supported me through the ups and downs of life.

As I grew older, I realized the true value of friendship. I have made many friends over the years, and each one of them has played a unique role in my life. Some have been there for me through thick and thin, while others have helped me discover new interests and passions. Some have challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, while others have offered me a shoulder to cry on. Regardless of the role they played, all my friends have helped me grow as a person and provided me with a sense of belonging.

Impact of friendship on my life:

The impact of friendship on my life has been profound. My friends have helped me develop a positive outlook toward life and have taught me to appreciate the little things. They have taught me to be more empathetic, kind, and compassionate toward others, and have helped me develop a strong sense of self-worth. They have been a source of strength and inspiration, and have helped me navigate through difficult times.

In conclusion, friendship is an essential aspect of human life. It provides us with a sense of belonging, support, and joy, and helps us grow as individuals. In my life, friendship has played a vital role in shaping my personality and helping me navigate through different phases of life. My friends have been there for me through thick and thin, and have taught me valuable life lessons. I am grateful for their presence in my life, and I believe that everyone should have a good friend or a group of friends who accept and love them for who they are.

Final Words

In conclusion, writing a reflection essay is a powerful tool for gaining self-awareness and insight into our experiences. By following a few simple steps, such as choosing a meaningful experience to reflect on, asking yourself critical questions, and structuring your thoughts into a clear and organized essay, you can effectively convey your thoughts and emotions to your reader. Essay topics like composing a reflective essay are a great opportunity to delve deeper into your own thoughts and feelings, and to connect with your readers on a deeper level.

However, we understand that the process of writing can sometimes be challenging, and that's where Jenni.ai comes in. Our AI-powered software can help you streamline the writing process, with features such as autocomplete and citation assistance that make it easier to create high-quality content efficiently.

Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, Jenni.ai can help you take your writing to the next level. So why not give it a try today, and see how it can help you create even better reflection essays, and other types of written content?

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3.8: Process of Reflective Writing

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Learning Objectives

• Recognize possible structures for reflective writing
• Recognize component skills of reflective writing

Reflective writing is a balancing act with many factors at play: description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and future application. Reflective writers must weave their personal perspectives with evidence of deep, critical thought as they make connections between theory, practice, and learning. The steps below should help you find the appropriate balance among all these factors.

1st Step: Review the assignment

As with any writing situation, the first step in writing a reflective piece is to clarify the task. Reflective assignments can take many forms, so you need to understand exactly what your instructor is asking you to do. Some reflective assignments are short, just a paragraph or two of unpolished writing. Usually the purpose of these reflective pieces is to capture your immediate impressions or perceptions. For example, your instructor might ask you at the end of a class to write quickly about a concept from that day’s lesson. That type of reflection helps you and your instructor gauge your understanding of the concept.

Other reflections are academic essays that can range in length from several paragraphs to several pages. The purpose of these essays is to critically reflect on and support an original claim(s) about a larger experience, such as an event you attended, a project you worked on, or your writing development. These essays require polished writing that conforms to academic conventions, such as articulation of a thesis and substantive revision. They might address a larger audience than you and your instructor, including, for example, your classmates, your family, a scholarship committee, etc.

It’s important, before you begin writing, that you can identify the assignment’s purpose, audience, intended message or content, and requirements. If you can’t, ask your instructor for clarification.

2nd Step: Generate ideas for content

Refer to the Borton, DIEL, and DIEP models as you generate ideas for your writing. To meet the tasks identified in those models you might consider things like:

• Recollections of an experience, assignment, or course
• Ideas or observations made during that event
• Questions, challenges, or areas of doubt
• Strategies employed to solve problems
• A-ha moments linking theory to practice or learning something new
• Connections between this learning and prior learning
• New questions that arise as a result of the learning or experience
• New actions taken as a result of the learning or experience

3rd Step: Organize content

The Borton, DEAL, and DIEP frameworks can help you consider how to organize your content.  Remember that your reflection will generally include descriptive writing, followed by analysis and interpretation, followed by consideration of significance for future action. That pattern might be developed once throughout a short piece or repeated several times in an academic reflective essay.

When writing an academic reflection essay (as opposed to a short reflection), you’ll need to devise and support a thesis. That thesis should be an interpretive or evaluative claim, or series of claims, that moves beyond obvious statements (such as, “I really enjoyed this project”) and demonstrates you have come to a deeper understanding of what you have learned and how you will use that learning. For example, the thesis below appeared in an end-of-semester reflection essay, written in response to an assignment asking students to consider their writing progress. Notice that the student makes a focused, interpretive claim that can be supported throughout her essay with evidence from her own writing.

Throughout this class, I’ve learned that a skilled writer writes with a central focus in mind. Writing with a central focus results in a greater emphasis on the writer’s message and brings about specificity and clarity within the writing piece.

A word about thesis placement: Because a reflection essay combines personal perception with academic convention, the thesis does not necessarily appear in the introduction. Many writers build to the thesis in the conclusion of their essays. You should place the thesis where it is most effective based on the essay’s structure.

And speaking of structure, there is no one-size-fits-all organization pattern for an academic reflection essay. Some writers introduce the subject, follow the introduction with a series of reflections, and then move to an interpretive close. Others establish a chronology of events, weaving the implications of those events throughout. Still others articulate a series of major points, supporting those points with evidence. You should craft an organizational structure that best fits your distinctive ideas and observations.

However you choose to organize an academic reflection essay, you’ll need to support your claims with evidence. Evidence is defined broadly in an academic reflection, so it might include such things as anecdotes, examples, relevant material from a course or outside sources, explanations of logic or decision-making, definitions, speculations, details, and other forms of non-traditional evidence. In the example below, notice how the writer uses her decision to limit the scope of a project as evidence to support her claim.

Keeping a central focus in mind applies to multimodal compositions as well as written essays. A prime example of this was in my remix. When storyboarding for the video, I wanted to appeal to all college students in general. Within my compressed time limit of three minutes, I had planned to showcase numerous large points. It was too much. I decided to limit the scope of the topic to emphasize how digitally “addicted” Ole Miss college students are and that really changed the project in significant ways.

4th Step: Draft, Revise, Edit, Repeat

A single, unpolished draft may suffice for short, in-the-moment reflections. Longer academic reflection essays will require significant drafting, revising, and editing. Whatever the length of the assignment, keep this reflective cycle in mind:

• briefly describe the event or action;
• analyze and interpret events and actions, using evidence for support;
• demonstrate relevance in the present and the future.
• Process of Reflective Writing. Authored by : Karen Forgette. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Meme: Ask not what balance can do for you. License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Fair Use

• Library Guides
• IRWC Interactive Rubric for Written Communication
• Interactive Rubric for Written Communication
• Reflective Essay

Interactive Rubric for Written Communication: Reflective Essay

• Introduction
• 1.2. Thesis
• 1.3. Context
• 1.4. Audience
• 2.1. Information & Data
• 2.2. Conceptual Knowledge
• 2.3. Examples & Illustrations
• 2.4. Sources
• 2.4.1. Relevance
• 2.4.2. Authority
• 3.2. Evidence
• 3.3. Specificity
• 3.4. Creativity
• 3.5. Criticality
• 3.6. Reflexivity
• 3.7. Evaluation
• 4.1. Section
• 4.2. Paragraph
• 4.3. Sequence
• 4.4. Cohesive Ties
• 5.1. Clarity
• 5.2.1. Mood
• 5.2.2. Mode
• 5.2.3. Narrative Form
• 5.2.4. Voice (Active/Passive)
• 5.4. Vocabulary
• 5.4.1. Academic Vocabulary
• 5.4.2. Technical Vocabulary
• 5.4.3. Inclusive Language
• 5.5. Literary Devices
• 5.6. Referencing
• 5.6.1. Citations
• 5.6.2. Reference List
• 5.6.3. Quotations
• 5.6.4. Application
• 5.6.5. Paraphrasing & Plagiarism
• 5.7. Formatting
• 5.7.1. Font
• 5.7.2. Spacing
• 5.8. Length
• 6.1. Sentences
• 6.1.1. Fragments
• 6.1.2. Run-on Sentences
• 6.1.3. Agreement
• 6.2. Word Classes
• 6.2.1. Pronouns
• 6.2.2. Prepositions
• 6.2.3. Articles
• 6.2.4. Conjunctions
• 7.1. Spelling
• 7.2. Punctuation
• 7.2.1. Apostrophes
• 7.2.2. Full Stops
• 7.2.3. Capitalisation
• 7.2.4. Quotation Marks
• 7.2.5. Commas & Colons
• 7.2.6. Abbreviations
• 7.2.7. Other (e.g., Hyphens)
• 7.3. Editing
• Persuasive Essay
• For Lecturers

Reflective essays

Genre: A reflective essay reflects critically on personal experience and opinion in light of broader literature, theories or subject materials. As conventions and expectations may differ across contexts, always check with your lecturer for the specific conventions of the genre.

Context: This short reflective essay and reply was written in response to a weekly assessment task in an atypical development unit that required students to reflect on their own position in relation the following question :

Do Barbie Dolls affect girls' body image? If you had (or have) a young daughter, would you allow her to play with Barbie or Bratz dolls? Why or why not?

Reflective essay example 

Response: Barbie Dolls and Body Image: Just Child’s Play? This title links to the topic of the writing and raises a question that implies a thesis .

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Active and Mindful Engagement with Literature: A Practice for Reading

Andrea Malouf

Reading literature is already enjoyable on the surface level, through the stories of characters. But reading literature on a deeper level, using a more active and mindful approach, can help reveal even richer meaning that enhances the whole experience.

What is “active” reading?

The term “active reading” might seem redundant. Isn’t reading an action? Yes, it is, but unlike reading for just an experience or an immersion into a good story or poem, active reading of literature (sometimes known as close reading ) is an engagement in literary analysis or the reading of a text with the purpose to understand and analyze the text based on deeper understandings of the text or different academic needs. This kind of reading engages the reader in active roles with the text, whether that is exploring the text from multiple perspectives, literary devices or overall meanings or themes.

What do I need to know before I read a literary text?

Active reading engages in initial knowledge of the text first. Active exploration of a text prior to reading could include exploring the author’s bio or concepts of the work. It might also include reading other literary analyses of the text. Understanding the author may help to understand their purpose or focus of the text(s), which can guide your own reading for context and purpose of the text.

Historical or cultural contexts—including socioeconomic, gender, environmental and even political attitudes of the time of the text’s production—can offer important understanding of the text. Likewise, as a reader, you may identify with a text based on your own experiences and understandings of the world when you are reading it.  

The context also relates to our own reactions to a text based on our own experiences. This idea of reader-response theory (textual meaning occurs within the reader and their own unique experiences of the world) allows the reader to identify with the text on an emotional level based on one’s own experiences. Many literary texts and poems can be a year old or centuries old and still be an important record/narrative of the human condition at that time or aspects of that time and its cultural attitudes. And yet the textual meaning can become more personal for the reader based on one’s lens of personal experience. 

Knowing the cultural time, setting and attitudes in which the text is set or was written also provides an essential context to the work, and may even add layers to its meaning. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was written in 1925 as a critique of the “American Dream,” as well as a critique of capitalism and class dynamics … and has been hailed as a sign of consumerism that led to the Great Depression, even though Fitzgerald did not anticipate the Great Depression. While the glamor and mystique written of this world in Great Gatsby might have seemed a criticism of the times (and a lesson to be wary of for future generations), Fitzgerald also most likely did not foresee that his book in modern contexts also reinforces sexist and misogynistic attitudes about women—attitudes that were not seen as necessarily contrary or hurtful in 1925, unlike current times.  

The reader can extrapolate based on additional histories and one’s own lens of experience how a text may create a specific meaning while also undermining or challenging that meaning based on what the reader now knows about the ideologies of the text as they transcend times and situations. This may seem to create an impermanence of the author’s intended meaning, as meanings may multiply and extend throughout time and place with each new reader of the text. But isn’t that literature’s enduring quality? 

How do I actively read?

Active reading can be a physical engagement with the text, meaning actively highlighting, notetaking and reflecting while reading the text. This can be done in many forms, including annotation and journaling. Active reading is common in many areas of academic reading, some of which you may have experienced. If reading for information, for example, you might annotate the text and/or journal about key concepts. When actively reading literature, you might be looking for more nuanced ways the literary work is developed. Such an inquiry might include analysis of narrative devices used or the complexities of the text’s message and point of view.

What is Annotation?

Annotation refers to making notes on the pages of the text itself, for gathering information or identifying areas of interest. This is often done with active notetaking within the text or in the margins, and it can create more of a mental map for understanding the text.

Annotation techniques may be specific to each reader. Some techniques may include the following:

• Highlighting areas of the text: Highlighting can be done in print with colored markers or with digital tools in some electronic texts. You might consider highlighting areas of the text that resonate with you or that share a deeper meaning or complexity of the text. If you highlight all that is interesting, you might find you are highlighting a lot, but without a later reference of why that passage or sentence mattered to you at the time.
• Writing in the margins: Putting your own pen / pencil / digital typing tool to the text can create more context than highlighting alone. Perhaps you highlighted or underlined a meaningful section of the text; writing in the margins as to why that mattered or what it references can be helpful. You might notice poetic or literary devices used, or perhaps imagery or elements of character development. Whatever you are noticing, having a margin note or comment in the text can help you to remember later why that passage was relevant to your exploration. You might even develop an archive of symbols. For example, a star for character development or a circle for imagery might create a quick map needed to identify specific literary elements throughout the text. Whatever choices you make for annotation, the immediacy of writing in the text and in the margins can create a roadmap for later analysis.
• Knowing what to annotate for prose: Annotate for “small bits” and “bigger bits of literary analysis.” Later, you can reflect on how some of the more singular elements work with the larger elements to determine a more concrete interpretative analysis. Of course, if reading for class or an assignment, also refer to which specific elements are called for in the assignment.

“Smaller Bits” or More Singular Elements to Annotate

• Imagery/sensory details: How a setting, scene, character or even an observation by a character or narrator can highlight important elements of literary analysis.
• Symbols: A symbol may have a literal meaning or reference in the text but may also suggest or represent other meanings in the text. For example, in Jamaica Kincaid’s nonfiction novella A Small Place, the decaying library sign that states the year of remodel is a literal symbol of decay in front of a once magnificent colonial building. Neither the sign nor the building have had any updates since Antiqua became an independent state. The library sign as a symbol, with its note of pending remodel, then can be read as a symbol to the more egregious elements of post-colonial island impacts.
• Motifs: A motif is a recurring literary element that may include a symbol, concept, plot structure, imagery or other elements that surface repeatedly in the text. Their recurrence may point to a larger theme or allegory of the piece.
• Figurative Language: Figurative language does not use a word’s literal meaning, but instead creates a flourish or more dynamic way of thinking about an image, concept or idea. Figurative language can include such things as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, allusion and personification. Most are making comparisons or contrasts to the actual meaning or literal meaning. “Our love is like a rose” is an example of simile. “The seeds tore greedily through the earth” is an example of personification based on verb choice. Figurative language creates a more sensory and often deeper reading of the text’s characters, themes and point of view.

Expanding your repertoire of Literary Terms can offer multiple pathways for analysis.

“Bigger Bits” or Larger Elements to Annotate

• Character Development: You might note in your annotation certain characteristics or physical attributes of character or narrator that speak to their role or significance in the work.
• Plot: You might note twists of plot or what seems to be critical moments of the plot.
• Point of View: You might note elements of narration. Is this told in first person, second person or third person? Is the narrator a reliable narrator, an omniscient narrator or a narrator with a limited perspective?
• Theme: You might note thematic elements, or unifying elements that speak to a larger message or concept of the text. Themes often emerge from the close identification of symbols, motifs, point of view and other literary devices used in the text.
• Allegory: You might note allegoric elements that are representative of larger humanistic traits or a message in the story, such as bravery, greed or passion. Some allegories provide larger lessons or thematic concepts. For example, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could be read as an allegory for one’s struggle to contain one’s inner primal instincts.

Again, explore additional Literary Terms and examples.

Imagine this active world of reading as signposts for how you might reflect, engage and then analyze these works. That might mean more analysis with a journal or some element of reflection.  

What is a Reading Journal?

A reading journal provides a space for summary, analysis and reflection. You can use a reading journal to make notes while you read or after you read a portion of or a full text. Reading journals used in the following ways can be useful to track your ideas/analyses during and after your reading:

• Summary: Summarizing what you have just read has proven benefits for cognitive retention of the material read. For literature, you might summarize a portion of the plot, a character or even an overall arc of the text or poem.
• Analysis: Assessing how specific elements speak to overall themes or larger concepts (and vice versa) is key in analysis. For example, you might review the “small bits” of your annotation to see how imagery, figurative language, symbols and motifs are leading to larger conclusions about character development, plot, point-of-view, as well as thematic or allegoric concepts about the text.
• Synthesis: “Synthesis” is often defined as the action of combining separate elements to form a whole. One you’ve identified and analyzed the “small bits” and “bigger bits,” how do ll these aspects fit together to form a broader meaning of the text? Consider yourself an alchemist, transforming multiple elements of ideas into something more expansive and connective. Acquiring skills in synthesis can help you in other literary endeavors, too, such as writing about how two texts relate and speak to each other.
• Reflection: Bringing in your own lived experience as it might compare or contrast with characters and the story can enlighten your analysis and overall engagement with the text. A reader might relate to the more literal immigrant experience as told in Chimamanda Adiche’s story That Thing Around Your Neck , or a reader who has not had the experience of being a New American might also relate to the feelings of being an outsider or concepts of “otherness” that are portrayed in the short story. Your reflection can include things outside of personal experience or feelings, too. Perhaps you have an opinion or idea about thematic or literary device elements. Or maybe you just have some confusion, and your questions become the basis for some journal reflection about what you just read.

How is “mindful” reading important?

Ok, you’re thinking, “Wait—isn’t all reading mindful, as we use our minds to read and understand a text?” Yes and no. Mindful reading is about mindset, and often a personal and authentic mindset or approach to the “act” of reading itself. So, let us first define “mindfulness” as a practice. John Kabat-Zinn, a leader in mindfulness practices, defines mindfulness as an “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” In a way, it is creating a contemplative space for yourself to engage personally, to slow down and to attend carefully to your own reading process and the very act of reading as a way for not just cognitive understanding, but for personal awareness and fulfillment.

While many of the practices we have encountered in this essay are all elements of paying attention in the present moment without judgement of ourselves or authors, mindful reading is the act of stimulating personal insight. This might even include identifying what space or “mindset” helps you engage with a text. It might mean setting up a comfortable space for reading without distraction, or it might mean understanding your own processes for engaging with a text. It might even mean a deeper, personal reflection.

In fact, many ancient wisdom traditions used mindful reading to understand sacred texts on a deeper level and to stimulate insight and present activity, which is a form of mindful reading. Reading, then, is a contemplative practice and a method of inner inquiry. Readers within ancient wisdom traditions were not reading for the type of analysis and synthesis you might be asked to do in a literature course. For these readers, it was not about identifying point-of-view or narrative structure. Instead, reading itself became a sort of meditative practice that benefited not just the reader’s mind, but the reader’s authentic nature and insights.

Whether it be in the Buddhist, Christian or other contemplative traditions, records show these ancient readers often all engaged in similar mindful or contemplative practices. For example, in some early Christian traditions, contemplative approaches to reading texts included lectio (reading and understanding a text—something we’ve discussed), meditatio (reflection and contextualizing the meaning—again a practice outlined in this essay), oratio (listening within and living the meaning), and contemplatio (being still and meeting the “divine” in the text). As the authors of  Contemplative Practices in Higher Education describe, “It was a fundamentally contemplative approach: first becoming keenly aware of what was on the page and then successively attending to greater and deeper meaning within, building to the realization of global and divine connection” (Barbezat and Bush, 111). 

While reading for college literature courses may not be the same as many wisdom traditions of reading for “the divine experience,” many mindful practices may still help engage active and mindful reading for more enhanced awareness of a text and ourselves as a reader. Mindful reading may be as simple as centering yourself in mind and body before reading, reading the passage reflectively several times, and considering questions—“What speaks most profoundly to me here? What does my inner teacher want me to hear?” (Barbezat and Bush, 118)—and then writing for a few minutes to log the experience of the process of reading.

Reading with the mindful intention of personal process in addition to accessing the text’s content can have important benefits for the reader. Not only are you, the reader, engaging in the literal/narrative level of a text, but you are then open to the more profound ironic or metaphoric level of meanings. And lastly, you may find yourself open to the reflective level in which you might relate or have personal responses, questions or identifiers with the text. This reflective nature of mindful reading can also enhance concepts of reader response.

So, what does this all mean for me as a reader?

While there are many purposes for reading literature—whether it is for a class assignment and/or to just better understand a piece of literature more deeply and personally—active and mindful reading can help unlock a text’s enduring qualities, as well as our own understanding of ourselves and our world around us. In fact, literature, itself, can be considered a record of the human condition. For example, it is one thing to read about WWII and the Holocaust, but there is an entirely new perspective offered when reading Anne Frank’s diary ( Diary of a Young Girl ) of her thoughts, emotions, and experiences of living at that time, in that setting and in that historical context; and, how we might identify with that very human condition from our own lens of experience, or not. So, whether you engage in some or all or some of these practices to unlock a text through multiple activities explored in this essay, you are one step closer to unlocking the puzzle of what it means to be a human being and a global citizen through the lens of literature.

Works Cited

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi.  The Thing Around Your Neck . Fourth Estate, 2009.

Barbezat, Daniel P. and Mirabai Bush. Contemplative Practices in Higher Education . John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2014.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925.

Frank, Anne.  Diary of a Young Girl. Doubleday, 1952.

Hrabal, Bohumil.  Too Loud a Solitude . Translated by Michael Henry Heim. Harcourt, 1992.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon.  Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your Life . Sounds True, 2016

Kincaid, Jamaica.  A Small Place . 1988. Daunt Books, 2018. 

Stevenson, Robert Louis and Richard Dury. The Annotated Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Ecig – Edizioni Culturali Internazionali Genova, 2005. 

Literary Studies @ SLCC Copyright © 2023 by Andrea Malouf is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Digging Deep into Purpose and Importance of Reflective Essay

Reflection writing is a powerful tool for students and professionals as they offer a unique opportunity for self-exploration, growth, and understanding. This guide on the importance and purpose of  reflective essays  aims to change your perception of writing and shed light on the many benefits of incorporating reflection into your life. With our amazing  paper help  resources and expert guidance, you can master the art of reflective essay writing and unlock your full potential.

Table of Contents

What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a type of writing that allows the author to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a structured and analytical manner. This form of writing encourages critical thinking and personal growth by examining the author’s experiences, thoughts, actions, and reactions. 

Reflective essays often focus on personal development, learning experiences, or the impact of specific events on the author’s life. However, reflection writing is also used for  college essays  or other forms of academic writing.

Types of Reflection Writing

Reflection essays come in various forms, each with its unique focus and purpose. In this note, we will delve into five types of reflective writing;

Personal Reflective Writing

Professional reflection, academic reflective essay, creative reflection.

• Social or Cultural Reflection Writing

Understanding these different approaches will enable you to choose the most suitable reflection essay type for your needs and make your writing more coherent, insightful and trustworthy.

Journaling, manifestation dairies, and written meditations are common ideas. But would you believe these are all forms and branches of personal reflection writing?

Personal reflection essays explore what you’re going through, emotionally, mentally, and provide insights. These could be about their learning, inner conflicts, resolutions and growth.

This type of reflective writing allows individuals to examine their values, beliefs, and actions, fostering self-awareness and personal development. 

Personal reflection essays may focus on topics such as significant life events, personal challenges, or the impact of relationships on one’s identity and growth.

Professional reflection writing is common in academic or workplace settings. They involve analyzing personal and professional skills and challenges and identifying areas for improvement. 

This reflection essay encourages individuals to examine their professional experiences, decisions, and outcomes, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Professional reflection essays may focus on workplace conflicts, leadership experiences, or developing specific professional competencies.

As a  college paper writing service  platform, we know that most students are intimidated by reflective essay writing. In an academic setting, the reflection essay blurs the lines between informal and formal writing. 

You might be assigned an essay account of your experience with an event, but you’ll still need to follow strict rules of academic writing, i.e., formatting or  organizing a paper . 

Academic reflective writing involves analyzing and evaluating academic materials, such as readings, lectures, or research projects, and connecting them to personal experiences or broader concepts. 

It encourages students to engage with course content on a deeper level, fostering a better understanding of the material and its relevance to their lives and future careers.

For example:

You can be assigned to write a reflection essay on  modernism in literature . You’d have to write your thoughts and observations about this era. Still, you must follow the rules like citation, proper referencing, and contextual analysis of the ideas presented in that era. 

Creative reflection essays are often utilized in artistic or creative fields, allowing individuals to examine their creative process, inspirations, and outcomes. 

This reflective writing fosters self-awareness, critical thinking, and artistic growth, enabling individuals to explore their creative motivations, challenges, and successes. 

Creative reflection essays may focus on topics such as the development of a specific artistic project, the influence of personal experiences on one’s creative work, or the role of collaboration in the creative process.

Social or Cultural Reflection

These reflection essays focus on exploring and understanding social or cultural phenomena. It involves analyzing personal experiences, observations, or interactions with others and reflecting on their significance and broader societal implications. 

Social or cultural reflection essays encourage individuals to engage with the world around them, fostering empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of social and cultural issues. 

These essays may focus on topics such as the impact of social media on interpersonal relationships, the role of cultural identity in shaping one’s worldview, or the challenges of navigating diverse social environments.

Students must grasp all of these forms of reflective essay writing. Understanding the different types of reflective writing and their unique purposes is required for crafting effective reflection essays.

By selecting the most appropriate reflection essay type for your needs, you can create a coherent, understandable, and persuasive piece of writing that fosters personal and professional growth.

Reflective writing offers a valuable opportunity for self-exploration, critical thinking, and meaningful learning, whether you are exploring your personal experiences, professional challenges, academic materials, creative endeavors, or social and cultural phenomena.

 What is the Purpose of Reflective Essay Writing?

The amazing thing about reflective essay writing is that, although we have discussed its few meaningful purposes, there’s still a long list to cover. 

These numerous goals are particularly for students dealing with academic stress and professionals experiencing work-related challenges. Here are 8 key purposes of reflective paper writing. 

• Self-awareness : Reflective essays help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their values, beliefs, and emotions.
• Critical thinking : It encourages the examination of one’s thoughts and experiences, fostering the development of critical thinking skills.
• Personal growth : Reflection writing enables individuals to learn from their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and set goals for personal development.
• Problem-solving : Reflection essay writing can help identify the root causes of problems and generate potential solutions.
• Emotional processing : Writing about emotional experiences can help individuals process and cope with their feelings.
• Learning from mistakes : Reflection writing encourages individuals to examine their failures, learn from them, and develop resilience.
• Enhancing communication skills : Reflective writing helps improve written communication skills and promotes effective self-expression.
• Empathy development:  The reflective essays can foster empathy by encouraging individuals to consider the perspectives and experiences of others.

Why Is Reflection Essay Important for Students?

Reflection writing is a crucial aspect of a student’s academic journey. Here are several reasons why reflection writing is essential for students:

Promotes Self-Awareness

Self-awareness in a student involves recognizing their academic learning style, studying habits, strengths, and weaknesses. Reflective Writing plays a crucial role in building self-awareness in students. 

Most students struggle with consulting adults or peers with issues like processing information, retaining knowledge, and solving problems effectively. They have a hard time coming to terms with certain values, beliefs, goals, and emotions. 

And an even harder time in exploring and creating their identities. Practicing reflective thought writing enables students to make informed decisions, set realistic goals, and develop healthy relationships. 

Self-aware students take ownership of their learning and personal development, seeking feedback, reflecting on experiences, and adapting their approaches. Thus, reflective essay writing contributes to effective communication, collaboration, and navigating challenges.

Develops Critical Thinking Skills

Reflective writing develops critical thinking skills in students by prompting them to analyze and evaluate their thoughts, experiences, and perspectives. 

It encourages questioning assumptions, considering alternative viewpoints, and making informed judgments. Students practice higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation through reflection. 

They learn to articulate their ideas clearly and support them with evidence. Overall, reflective writing plays a crucial role in fostering critical thinking by promoting deep thinking, evaluation of evidence, and effective communication of thoughts.

Practical Academic Stress Dealing

Reflective writing induces practical academic stress dealing in students by improving self-expression, facilitating self-composition, promoting goal-setting and problem-solving, enhancing writing skills, and fulfilling academic requirements. These benefits empower students to navigate their academic challenges more effectively and succeed in their studies.

• Improves self-expression : Reflection writing helps students enhance their written communication skills and promotes effective self-expression, which is vital for academic success and personal growth.
• Self-composition:  Reflective writing allows students to compose their thoughts and ideas in a structured and coherent manner. It encourages them to organize their reflections, leading to clearer and more articulate writing.
• Setting better goals:  Engaging in reflective writing prompts students to set better academic goals. It helps them assess their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement, and establish realistic objectives for their studies.
• Problem-solving : Reflective writing encourages students to analyze academic challenges and develop strategies to overcome them. It fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, enabling students to tackle obstacles and find effective solutions.
• Organized and better-polished writing skills : Regular practice of reflective writing hones students’ writing skills. It enhances their ability to structure their thoughts, use appropriate language, and present coherent arguments, leading to more organized and polished writing.
• Fulfills academic requirements : Reflective essays are often assigned as part of the coursework, and students need to write them to meet academic requirements. Developing reflection writing skills ensures students can effectively complete these assignments while meeting the expectations of their instructors.

Navigating Life Transitions 

Students often face significant life transitions, such as moving away from home or choosing a career path. Reflection essay writing can help them process these changes, identify their goals, and make informed decisions. 

By engaging in reflective writing, students can explore their thoughts, emotions, and experiences related to the transitions they are facing. This process allows them to gain clarity, understand their values and aspirations, and evaluate different options. 

Reflective writing is a valuable tool for self-reflection and self-discovery, empowering students to navigate life’s transitions with a deeper understanding of themselves and their desired path forward.

Addresses Emotional and Mental Conflicts 

Students may experience emotional or  mental conflicts  due to various factors, such as relationships, academic pressure, or personal issues. Reflection writing provides an opportunity to explore and resolve these conflicts, promoting mental well-being. 

By engaging in reflective writing, students can express and process their emotions, gain insights into their turmoil’s underlying causes, and develop coping and problem-solving strategies. It offers a safe and therapeutic outlet for self-expression, self-reflection, and self-care. 

Reflective essay writing empowers students to navigate their emotional and mental challenges, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and overall psychological well-being.

Balancing Work and Studies 

Many students juggle work and studies simultaneously. Reflection writing can help them assess their time management and prioritization skills, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to maintain a healthy work-study balance.

Encourages Empathy Development

Reflective essays can foster empathy by encouraging students to consider the perspectives and experiences of others, an essential skill for building strong relationships and navigating diverse social environments.

Reflection Essay Writing Format

Reflection essays require a structured approach to ensure coherence and clarity in presenting one’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences. This detailed tutorial will provide an overview of the reflection essay writing format and offer instructions on how to apply APA and  MLA formatting to your reflection essay.

A well-structured reflection essay typically includes the following elements:

• Introduction : Provide an overview of the topic or experience you will be reflecting on and briefly explain its significance.
• Description : Describe the experience or event in detail, including relevant facts, feelings, and observations.
• Analysis : Examine your thoughts, emotions, and reactions to the experience, and consider the factors that influenced your response.
• Evaluation : Assess the impact of the experience on your personal growth, learning, or development and discuss any lessons learned.
• Conclusion : Summarize your reflections, reiterate the significance of the experience, and discuss any future implications or goals.

APA Formatting for Reflection Essays

The American Psychological Association ( APA ) formatting style is commonly used in social sciences and education. Here are the key formatting instructions for a reflection essay in  APA  style:

• Title Page : Include a title page with the title of your essay, your name, and the name of your institution, all centered and double-spaced.
• Running Head : Include a running head on the top-left corner of each page, consisting of a shortened version of your essay title (in capital letters) and the page number.
• Font and Spacing : Use a 12-point, Times New Roman font with double-spacing throughout the essay.
• Margins : Set 1-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Headings : Use headings to organize your essay, with level one headings centered and bold, level two headings flush left and bold, and level three headings flush left, bold, and italicized.
• Citations :  If you refer to any external sources, use in-text citations with the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses.
• Reference List : Include a reference list at the end of your essay, with a centered and bold “References” heading, and list all cited sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

MLA Formatting for Reflection Essays

The Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting style is commonly used in humanities and liberal arts. Here are the key formatting instructions for a reflection essay in MLA style:

• Header :  Include a header on the top-right corner of each page, consisting of your last name and the page number.
• Title :  Center the title of your essay at the top of the first page, using standard capitalization. Do not underline, italicize, or place the title in quotation marks.
• Indentation : Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches.
• Citations :  If you refer to any external sources, use in-text citations with the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses.
• Works Cited : Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay, with a centered “Works Cited” heading, and list all cited sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

Topics for Reflection Essays

Reflective essay topics can vary widely, depending on the individual’s experiences, interests, and goals. Some examples of reflective essay topics include:

• A significant personal experience and its impact on your life.
• A challenging academic or professional situation and the lessons learned.
• A personal or professional failure and how it has shaped your development.
• A meaningful relationship or encounter with someone who has influenced your perspective.
• A volunteer or community service experience and its effect on your values or beliefs.
• A time when you faced a moral or ethical dilemma and how you resolved it.
• A personal or professional goal and the steps taken to achieve it.
• A cultural or travel experience that broadened your understanding of the world.

Examples of Reflective Essay

Our writers have written numerous examples of reflective essays here are some of them. 

Reflection Essay Example 1

A Poetic Turnaround: How an Online Assignment Platform Reshaped My Perception

Reflection Paper Example 2 

A Day Among Colors and Canvas: Art Exhibition at School 

Reflection Writing Example 3 

Spinning the Semester Around: Witnessing a Friend Succeeding in Their Academic Battles 

Reflective essay writing can polish your being in many ways. By understanding the purpose and importance of reflective essays, as well as mastering the format and selecting meaningful topics, you can transform your writing and unlock the full potential of self-reflection. For additional help, you can avail of our top-of-the-line writing service and confidently pursue your goals, knowing you have the best support for securing impressive grades.

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Reflective writing: What does reflection involve?

• What is reflection? Why do it?

What does reflection involve?

• Reflective questioning
• Reflective writing for academic assessment
• Types of reflective assignments
• Differences between discursive and reflective writing
• Sources of evidence for reflective writing assignments
• Linking theory to experience
• Reflective essays
• Portfolios and learning journals, logs and diaries
• Examples of reflective writing
• Video summary
• Bibliography

On this page:

“Being reflective involves being: open... curious... patient... honest... rigorous” Williams et al,  Reflective writing

1) Critical Thinking

At the heart of reflection is critical thinking. In short, this means you must 'question' everything about your experiences, about what you are felt and with what you read. For an assignment, you need to use evidence-based research or theories by academic writers alongside your personal experience. If you wish to succeed at university, you have to start thinking and writing in an academic manner. The core themes you must consider are:

• objectivity (stand back, be factual and do not take sides)
• detachment (avoid emotional responses)
• theories / models / concepts (abstract ideas)
• compare and contrast (relative thinking)
• judge evidence based upon reliable research (facts, not feelings)
• methodologies (quantitative v. qualitative)
• experimental approaches (empirical approach).

This is where and why your reflective writing comes into its own. The more your reflective writing includes critical and analytical questioning, the more beneficial it will be for your academic achievements and future prospects. In order to take an objective, balanced stance, you need to reflect carefully upon the evidence you have reviewed in the academic literature and adopt an analytical approach to experimental results. That is, question everything. Critical thinking and reflective writing go hand-in-hand. If you do not develop your critical thinking skills it can bring your grades down so it is an important aspect of reflection to develop.

2) Self-discovery

Reflective thinking and writing involve a large element of self-discovery. Cottrell (2010) pointed out that the reflective process is challenging. This is because we do not always like to discover the truth about ourselves and the things we most need to know can be the hardest to hear. It takes time and practice for anyone to develop good reflective skills. You should not be discouraged if the process of reflection does not come naturally or quickly. If you do face up to difficult aspects of our approach to learning (e.g. not being organised) then there will be great benefits.

Three processes for reflective thinking

Reflective thinking essentially involves three processes: experiencing something, thinking (reflecting) on the experience, and learning from the experience.  Here is an example: a student receives a low mark in an assignment and reflects upon the experience.

The three processes above outline the most simplistic model for reflective practice:

There are models that are more complicated and frameworks that you can use for reflection and this section will later consider models by Kolb, Gibbs and Schön.

A lot of students struggle with reflective thinking as it seems a very alien skill to those used in the majority of academic reports and essays. This is not the case. Reflection can almost be seen as an extension of critical thinking, applying that criticality to yourself, your practice and your actions.

Self-reflection is an important academic skill as it informs future practice for academics, researchers and students alike!

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Introduction to The Giver

The Giver is a dystopian story by Lois Lowry , an American writer. It first appeared in the United States in 1993 and became an instant hit on account of the unusual story it presents. The story comprises a boy, Jonas, who experiences disenchantment with the living style of his community based on the sameness and ordinariness through the community’s own decision-making process. Recognized quite later in life, The Giver won Newbery Medal in 1994. It was later adapted into a movie in 2014.

Summary of The Giver

The story starts with a 12 year old boy living in a seemingly ‘perfect’ community with no war, hatred, hunger, poverty and crime. The community is established to spread sameness among all of its members for justice and fair play . Jonas, the boy, sees that the community elder, the Chief Elder, has assigned a specific role to every infant he is going to assume in the future after he grows up. Jonas’ father works as a Nurturer, while his mother works in the Justice Department in the community. When his Ceremony of Twelve, a ceremony to allot roles to each 12-year old person, arrives, he is rather shocked but seeks no guidance from his parents. They assure him that the Elders never commit a mistake.

On that day, all of his classmates receive orders to stand in the order of their birthday dates during the ceremony presided over by the Chief Elder. Jonas becomes surprised when he comes to know about his assigned role of getting training as the Receiver of Memory, a high official, who sits beside the Chief Elder during ceremonies. Despite his initial jubilation for having status and position in the community later, he finds himself isolated at this stage even from his childhood friends. He gets further instructions about the secrecy of his job and training with orders not to reveal details even to his close family members.

The main task of the Receiver of Memory is that they should have the collective memory of his community not only of the present but also of the past generations. Once the training starts, he becomes happy that at least he is the Receiver of Memory, having everything at his fingertips tips. The current Receiver of Memory, ‘the Giver’, trains and instructs him how to store vast data in his mind. The very first lesson in memory retention techniques is of the sliding down which surprises him that such a simple task receives such as high confidentiality merely for the sake of sameness, a plan that involves that involves uniform geography, climate and discouraging individuality including skin color. Sameness involves eliminating choice, emotions which could possibly lead to happiness or pain in turn causing war-like situations. As the time passes, he learns about colors, human nature, war, and several other such things strange and bizarre to him. Although he tries to learn about Rosemary, the former student of the Giver but does not get any information about her.

Soon his father informs about his worry about a fragile child in his custody at the Nurturing Center. He has won permission to take him home to improve his health. Eventually, Gabriel, the same boy, grows into a healthy child. His pale eyes, like that of Jonas, attract his attention toward the boy who finds him similar to himself, having the capability of retaining memories. However, it also transpires to him that if Gabriel does not become strong, he will be “released” soon to reach Elsewhere, a concept equal to death and graveyard. The Community has rules to send all such persons including the former student, Rosemary, to Elsewhere where they live in peace.

The Giver further informs Jonas about such things through a video camera in which he sees his father, the Nurturer, sending two boys to Elsewhere through a poisonous injection. This video rather shocks his morality after watching his father killing two children. Also, his friend Fiona is being trained in the fine art of ‘released’. However, the argument of the Giver to justify this action falls on deaf ears. He tries to explain that his father and people like who are being trained for this job do not know this is evil since feeling are not part of the life. He informs him that Rosemary has released herself. The ensuing polemic wins Jonas a place in the heart of the Giver who acquiesces to his argument that they must do something to change the Community and join hands in this venture. Jonas’s idea is that he can do it by leaving the community early, providing the Giver an opportunity to help the people to manage memories.

Feeling the intense need for such an operation, the Giver devises a plan, helping Jonas escape the Community, showing the Community that he has been drowned. However, Jonas comes to know that Gabriel is going to be released prematurely at which he has to amend his plan and take Gabriel with him.

During the hard journey, Jonas ponders if he has made the right choice since the bike journey becomes even more difficult and experience starvation for the first time. But later realizes that if he had stayed back he’d have starved for the feelings and most importantly Gabriel would have not been alive. He dwells upon the risk of making a ‘choice’ has consequences but concludes that ‘physical hunger is less destructive than emotional one’. He feared for the life of Gabriel than his own expressing compassion, love which was never felt by his community.

After many hardships and travelling in the snow , both of them reach near Elsewhere where he comes across the same sled riding that he sees in his first experience as the Receiver of Memory Both ride a sled and see colorful lights with a Christmas tree, hears music for the first time and while experiencing the symptoms of hypothermia.

Major Themes in The Giver

• Individual and Freedom: The Giver demonstrates the theme of individuals and their freedom through the character of Jonas as well as Gabriel, the child that his father brings home to save from the likely release. Even Jonas experiences restrictions once his ceremony of twelve is held and he later comes to know that he is going to be the new Receiver of Memory after the departure of the Giver. When both realize their role in molding the Community into sameness, they plan to release the memories to revive the community. However, coincidently, Gabriel is released too early at which Jonas has to drop his plan and move ahead with his plan earlier than the fixed time. It shows that an individual has no freedom and choice of freedom except to merge with the community.
• Threats of Stability: As the Community requires stability, it is decided by the Chief Elders of all the communities that sameness must be applied at all levels. However, this sameness has its own risks; it does not make all the people same, it robs the people of their individual qualities, and it forces them to adapt to the sameness forced upon them. It happens with Jonas despite his being unable to follow it. He feels disgusted toward his father when he releases two kids to Elsewhere. When his plan fails and he releases his memories, the attempts of the sameness cause threat to the stability rather than vice versa .
• Human Emotion: The novel highlights the theme of human emotions through the character of the Nurturer, Jonas’s father, Jonas as well as Rosemary. When Jonas is inducted into the memory retention department as the Receiver of Memory by the Giver, he feels as if he has been alienated from his close and childhood friends. Almost the same goes with his father when he sees him through a video camera, showing him releasing two innocent kids with poisonous injections. He feels the same situation of having no human emotions in the Community when he hears the tale of the death of Rosemary, the daughter of the Giver.
• Memory and Wisdom: The Giver shows the relationship between memory and wisdom through the character of Jonas and his selection for being the Receiver of Memory. That is why the position of the Giver is significant, for the Committee of Elders turns to him to have the sane advice after he reviews the whole history where such instances might have caused disruption or havoc on account of the destabilizing roles such incidents might have played. It is stated that although Jonas has no wisdom having practical value for the Community. Yet as the retainer of the memory, he would be playing a positive role as the successor of the Giver. So, memory and wisdom have been shown going together.
• Dystopia : Despite having initial signs and symbols of building a utopia , the ultimate community that comes into existence is a dystopia where the craziness for the individual sameness takes not only the lives of individuals but also robs them of the natural human emotions. Jonas is surprised at his selection as well as forced isolation that he is not permitted to meet even his childhood friends. He is also horrified to learn that his father, the Nurturer, is involved in the murder of the kids not able to live for adaptation. He also feels for Rosemary who has committed suicide after she is unable to cope with the memory retention task. These developments have made the Community a dystopia instead of a utopia.
• Isolation: The novel also shows the theme of isolation through the Giver as well as Rosemary, for each of them experiences extreme isolation and becomes the victim of its consequential impacts. For example, the Giver experiences it as his own daughter has become the victim of his obsession with memory retention after she commits suicide. She herself experiences the torture from the looming isolation and resultant alienation. This is almost the same isolation that Jonas experiences and comes to the point to spread or release memories to make the Community return to its normality.
• Death: The theme of death occurs in the meanings of release from the Community that initially Jonas does not understand but becomes familiar with it during the anecdote of Pilot-in-Training. Soon he comes to know that release is used to make the Old people, kids, and those who do not fit into the Community, leave it for Elsewhere.
• Individual and Society: The novel shows the significance of individuals and society and their interdependence through Jonas, Rosemary, and Gabriel as well as the Community in which they live. The storyline, activities of Jonas, and death of Rosemary show that individuals suffer because of the demands of the Community to transform it into utopia but their interdependence continues.
• Rules: The novel shows the reverse use of rules not to facilitate individuals and society but to create a new experimental society based on individuals already trained to live in that society. This distortion of rules has been shown through the elders, their sameness, and Elsewhere.

Major Characters in The Giver

• Jonas: Jonas is the central character and the protagonist of the story. He’s12-year-old, who has to join the professional life of the Community by becoming an intern of the Giver as the Receiver of Memory. Yet he soon becomes disenchanted after reviewing two events: first his father’s act of sending two kids to Elsewhere by injecting them poison and second the death of Rosemary, the daughter of the Giver. His work of acquiring and keeping memories expands with his intimate relations with the Giver who also joins him to plan their release into Elsewhere after spreading their memories to make the Community properly humane. However, it happens that his father brings Gabriel who is to be released earlier. After this, he prematurely leaves the Community causing the release of memories earlier than the planned time after which both Jonas and Gabriel freezes to death. However, his perceptual power , his wisdom, and his intelligence won him laurels from the readers on account of his struggle to pull the Community out of the clutches of the autocratic dystopian government.
• The Giver: Despite his being a significant character, the Giver does not stand tall before the young and little Jonas with his ancientness likening to Tiresias of the Grecian plays. His worldly wisdom seems to surpass his memory acquisition job, the reason that he tolerates the suicide of his daughter, Rosemary, and continues working as the Giver. The weight of the memories of the entire Community and his responsibility of making decisions on the behalf of all makes him crumble down before Jonas after which both of them plan to release all the memories. It could be that he gives way to Jonas’s energetic efforts to bring transformation in the Community by making people independent and humane instead of making individuals the same.
• Father: Working as a Nurturer in the Community, Jonas’s father takes care of the toddlers and dedicates his life to them, yet he does not believe in love as he states it clearly to his wife. Although when releasing two kids with poisonous injections he does not feel anything, yet his concern for Gabriel makes his family members feel the transformation in him, though, he is to live in the system and perform as per his duties. So, his character stays flat until the end of the story.
• Mother: Jonas’s mother is an ambitious and career-oriented woman who has killed all of her emotions for her progress in the justice department where she punishes the rule-breakers of the Community. The training that she imparts to Jonas and other children shows her qualities akin to Lady Macbeth in resolution , yet she joins her son to deride the sentimentality of her husband when he fondles with his daughter, Lily. She becomes a model in society who wants societal ideals to be followed at every cost.
• Gabriel: The young toddler that the Nurturer intends to save at every cost, Gabriel becomes a lively child whom Jonas loves for his excellent memory and intelligence. As soon as he becomes dependent on Jonas for his sleep, his father resolves to send him to Elsewhere by releasing him. Although this premature action of his father disrupts Jonas’s plans, Gabriel causes a stir in society by releasing memories.
• Asher: Jonas’ childhood friend, Asher realizes others his discomfiture in such a Community due to the failure of the concept of Sameness. Although he does not seem capable of winning release from the Community, yet his foibles continue flabbergasting the people around him. Finally, both of them part ways after Jonas joins internship of the Giver and stops meeting him.
• Lily: Lily is Jonas’s sister shows great love for him nurtured by her father, the Nurturer when he fondles with her. She is a chatterbox and lively and takes care of Gabriel when her father brings him home.
• Fiona: Fiona has distinct red hair, and one for whom Jonas feels love. She joins a Caretaker to train herself to become one in the future to take care of the Old. As the story progresses, her character diminishes on account of the roles both of them choose to play.
• Rosemary: Rosemary is The Giver’s daughter, the incumbent Receiver of Memory, and commits suicide after she could not tolerate the pressure of the task.
• Chief Elder: The significance of the character of the Chief Elder lies in that she directs all the operations in the Community and decides the role allotted to every twelve-year-old teenager. This is called the Ceremony of Twelve that she presides to see how it goes along.
• Larissa: Her character is significant in the novel on account of her humor and chattiness. She informs Jonas about the release of Roberto.

Writing Style of The Giver

Lois Lowry has adopted a very euphemistic style in this novel, The Giver, using usual sentences but they are sometimes interspersed with run-on and broken sentences. The diction used in these sentences is twisted to suit the new context of the futuristic type of society where the Sameness has been implemented to achieve equality . Most of the diction is formal, though, at some places Lowry has used informal language. For literary devices , Lowry has relied on alliteration , consonance , metaphors , and similes.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in The Giver

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the story of Jonas, the new Giver, who has become the Receiver of Memory until he releases himself prematurely. The rising action occurs when he becomes an intern of the Giver. The falling action occurs when Gabriel is released prematurely, and the plan of Jonas and the Giver has to be unfolded before its time.
• Anaphora : The below examples of anaphora are given below, i. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. (I) ii. Though Jonas had only become a Five the year that they acquired Lily and earned her name, he remembered the excitement, the conversations at home, wondering about her: how she would look, who she would be, how she would fit into their established family unit. (2) iii. His father smiled his gentle smile. (2) iv. A silence fell over the room. They looked at each other. Finally his mother, rising from the table, said, “You’ve been greatly honored, Jonas. Greatly honored.” (9) These examples show the repetitious use of “frightened”, “she would”, “smile” and “greatly honored.
• Allusions: The novel shows the use of allusions as given in the below sentences, i. Jonas had casually picked up an apple from the basket where the snacks were kept, and had thrown it to his friend. Asher had thrown it back, and they had begun a simple game of catch. (3) ii. There had been nothing special about it; it was an activity that he had performed countless times: throw, catch; throw, catch. It was effortless for Jonas, and even boring, though Asher enjoyed it, and playing catch was a required activity for Asher because it would improve his hand-eye coordination, which was not up to standards. (3) iii. Yes, I think I will,” Lily said. She knelt beside the basket. “What did you say his name is? Gabriel? Hello, Gabriel,” she said in a singsong voice . Then she giggled. “Ooops,” she whispered. “I think he’s asleep. (3) These examples show the use of allusion such as Jonas as Johana of the Bible, the apple as the allusion of the first apple, and Gabriel, the allusion of the angel .
• Antagonist : As there is no person who could make life difficult for Jonas, society itself is the obstacle in the way of every individual. Therefore, society is the antagonist of the novel, The Giver .
• Conflict : The novel shows the internal conflict as well as external conflict . The external conflict is going on between Jonas and the Community, while the internal or mental conflict is going on in the mind of Jonas due to his obligations to his position and his moral awakening.
• Characters: The novel shows dynamic as well as static characters . Jonas, the young boy, is a dynamic character as he witnesses a considerable transformation in his behavior and actions. However, all other characters are static characters such as his father, mother, Larissa, Lily, and Gabriel.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when Jonas sees that his father has killed the boys which means he has released them from the Community.
• Hyperbole : Here are two examples of hyperboles from the book, i. For a moment he froze, consumed with despair. He didn’t have it, the whatever-she-had-said. (8) ii. A silence fell over the room. They looked at each other. Finally his mother, rising from the table, said, “You’ve been greatly honored, Jonas. Greatly honored.” (9) Both of these examples exaggerate things as a person does not actually freeze and that silence never actually falls.
• Imagery : The Giver’s imagery examples are given below, i. Jonas shrugged. He followed them inside. But he had been startled by the newchild’s eyes. Mirrors were rare in the community; they weren’t forbidden, but there was no real need of them, and Jonas had simply never bothered to look at himself very often even when he found himself in a location where a mirror existed. Now , seeing the newchild and its expression, he was reminded that the light eyes were not only a rarity but gave the one who had them a certain look— what was it? Depth, he decided; as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn’t been discovered yet. He felt self-conscious, realizing that he, too, had that look.. (3) ii. Jonas nodded. “But it wasn’t really the same. There was a tub, in the dream . But only one. And the real bathing room has rows and rows of them. But the room in the dream was warm and damp. And I had taken off my tunic, but hadn’t put on the smock, so my chest was bare. I was perspiring, because it was so warm. And Fiona was there, the way she was yesterday. (5) iii. Jonas obeyed cheerfully. He closed his eyes, waiting, and felt the hands again; then he felt the warmth again, the sunshine again, coming from the sky of this other consciousness that was so new to him. This time, as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth, he felt the passage of time. His real self was aware that it was only a minute or two; but his other, memory-receiving self felt hours pass in the sun. His skin began to sting. Restlessly he moved one arm, bending it, and felt a sharp pain in the crease of his inner arm at the elbow. (10) These examples show images of feelings, sight, movement, and color.
• Irony : The examples of irony are given in below sentences, A committee was studying the idea. When something went to a committee for study, the people always joked about it. They said that the committee members would become Elders by the time the rule change was made. (2) These sentences show the irony in the word joke that people used to cut at the committee e members.
• Metaphor : The examples of metaphors are given in the sentences below, i. Many of the comfort objects , like Lily’s, were soft, stuffed, imaginary creatures. Jonas’s had been called a bear. (2) ii. Sometimes he awoke with a feeling of fragments afloat in his sleep, but he couldn’t seem to grasp them and put them together into something worthy of telling at the ritual. (5) iii. He sank back down into his chair, puzzled. (5) iv. The old man shrugged and gave a short laugh. “No,” he told Jonas. “It’s a very distant memory. That’s why it was so exhausting—I had to tug it forward from many generations back. It was given to me when I was a new Receiver, and the previous Receiver had to pull it through a long time period, too.” (10) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the first shows objects as creatures, the second shows feelings as ducks, the third shows chair as a lake and the fourth shows memory compared to some trolley.
• Mood : The novel shows very light and happy mood in the beginning but turns to dispassionate, sad as well as tragic during different events in the story of Jonas.
• Motif : Most important motifs of The Giver, are overtness, vision and release or death.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from a third person omniscient point of view .
• Paradox : The below sentences are the examples of paradox , i. Jonas thought about it. The details were murky and vague. But the feelings were clear, and flooded him again now as he thought. (5) ii. This time the hands didn’t become cold, but instead began to feel warm on his body. They moistened a little. The warmth spread, extending across his shoulders, up his neck, onto the side of his face. (10) iii. “It’s just that I don’t know your name. I thought you were The Receiver, but you say that now I’m The Receiver. So I don’t know what to call you.” The man had sat back down in the comfortable upholstered chair. He moved his shoulders around as if to ease away an aching sensation. He seemed terribly weary. “Call me The Giver,” he told Jonas. (10) These examples show paradoxes as the first one shows two contradictory ideas of vague and clear, the second shows cold and warm, while the third shows receiver and giver given side by side in these sentences.
• Personification : The below sentences are good examples of personifications, i. “It took me many years. Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine.” (12) ii. And the strongest memory that came was hunger. It came from many generations back. Centuries back. The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. Excruciating hunger and starvation. It was followed by warfare. (13) These examples show as if wisdom and memory have life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : The young boy, Jonas, is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry into the story and ends with his plans to release memories in the Community.
• Repetition : The examples of repetitions are given in the below sentences, i. His father smiled his gentle smile. (2) ii. Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. His parents did, and Lily did, and so did all of his group members and friends. (3) iii. There had been nothing special about it; it was an activity that he had performed countless times: throw, catch; throw, catch. (3) iv. The prohibition of dream-telling, he thought, would not be a real problem. He dreamed so rarely that the dream-telling did not come easily to him anyway, and he was glad to be excused from it. (9) These examples show repetitions of different things and ideas such as of “gnawing”, “enjoyment” and “over and over.”
• Rhetorical Questions : The rhetorical questions are used at several places in the book. Two examples are given below, i. “Yes, I think I will,” Lily said. She knelt beside the basket. “What did you say his name is? Gabriel? Hello, Gabriel,” she said in a singsong voice. Then she giggled. “Ooops,” she whispered. “I think he’s asleep. (3) ii. Jonas was stunned. What would happen to his friendships? His mindless hours playing ball, or riding his bike along the river? Those had been happy and vital times for him. Were they to be completely taken from him, now? (9) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed but different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of The Giver is a fictional distant society called the Community.
• Simile : The below sentences are examples of similes from the book, i. Lily considered and shook her head. “I don’t know. They acted like … like…” “ Animals ?” Jonas suggested. He laughed. (2) ii. Look how tiny he is! And he has funny eyes like yours, Jonas!” Jonas glared at her. (3) iii. Then, as the angle of incline lessened, as the mound—the hill —flattened, nearing the bottom, the sled’s forward motion slowed. (10) iv. “It’s full of electrical impulses. It’s like a computer. If you stimulate one part of the brain with an electrode, it—” He stopped talking. He could see an odd look on The Giver’s face. (13) These similes show that things have been compared directly such as the first shows their action like that of animals, the second shows a comparison of the eyes of two persons, the third one shows a comparison of the sled and the hill, and the third one shows the comparison of electrical signals with a computer.

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Q1 reader reflections – “shaving”.

Here’s the first of 3 posts from this year’s reading. I asked two readers for each question to answer a few questions and share their thoughts. Thanks to David Choate and Gina Kortuem for today’s post. You can read more about them following their reflections.

AP® Literature Free Response Questions 2022

What did you notice in upper-half essays?

DC: Overall, “Shaving” was a very accessible poem for students, and I saw more students earn 3 points in row B compared to the poetry response from last year. Students who earned 3-4 points had not just a grasp on the subject of the poem but were also able to explain how one or more literary elements supported their claim(s). Students focused on elements such as metaphor, simile, symbolism, imagery, and tone. Those students who earned the 4th point in row B were able to discuss multiple devices and were able to move beyond the why (“the symbolism of the shaving cream establishes the memory of his father”) and explain how multiple devices supported the various claims (“By comparing the narrator’s memories of their passed father with a sudden, jarring stop in hair growth, indicates the abruptness of the father’s death.”). Student essays in the upper-half were also clearly organized (established a clear and explicit line of reasoning) and focused on 2-3 ideas. In other words, these students recognized shifts in tone, two ways the shaving impacted the speaker, or two different meanings of shaving.

GK: Upper-half essays consistently analyzed the purpose and significance of a poem, rather than summarizing a meaning of a poem. Strong introduction paragraphs weren’t necessarily long (2-3 sentences is all you need), but responded to the prompt with adjectives and established a line of reasoning. I also noticed that essays that scored 4 in the Evidence and Commentary (getting full credit) avoided organizing essays by literary terms and instead had unique topic sentences reflecting the poem’s complex message. This allowed analysis to grow and evolve, rather than reflect a stagnant thesis. 

What did you notice in lower-half essays?

DC: First, I rarely saw misreads with this poem. Even students in the lower-half grasped the subject of the poem; however, these student essays often summarized the meaning of the poem or a device or simply relied on “this proves statements” (“the speaker is shaving which proves he wants to forget his father”). These essays had the skeleton of an upper-half essay but couldn’t quite succinctly or explicitly explain why or how the poet used a particular device. These essays lacked a line of reasoning and many of these essays relied on basic thesis statements (“Blanco uses literary devices to create a sad tone when shaving.”) rather than thesis statements that recognized complexity in the speaker’s attitude towards the act of shaving.

GK: Lower-half essays tended to summarize a poem’s meaning or literary terms with little analysis on its significance. A poem analysis should ultimately answer “Why does this matter?” and those that score lower do not do that. The lowest ones offer a cursory summary of the poem’s literary terms with little to say about the poem’s significance. I also noticed a lot of vague analysis of literary terms, such as  “the imagery helps us paint a picture” or “in lines 3-4 you see alliteration, bringing more attention to the lines.” These do not elucidate anything on the poem’s significance (the “why does it matter?”), earning only 1 or 2 in Evidence and Commentary. 

What makes for a strong line of reasoning? 

DC: The essays organized by insights seemed to score the highest. These essays focused on 2-3 insights explored within the poem and used transitions to connect the complexities explored. In addition, those students who used transitions within their body paragraphs also seemed to score higher than those who did not (another device that establishes…). I also noticed that students who established a line of reasoning within their introductory paragraph and/or thesis presented a more organized essay and presented their argument with confidence and clarity. I did not always agree with some student assessments of the poem; however, students who were able to use transitions and see layers within the poem oftentimes scored high regardless of their interpretation.

GK: A strong line of reasoning, to me, means that you’ve evolved your claim somehow since you established it in the thesis. This is why most prompts ask about complexity, which means two things are happening at once. If you say that the poem shows a complex view, I expect you to tell me how something contrasts, changes, shifts, or moves in attitude. If you simply say the poem is about grief, then prove it’s about grief, you haven’t evolved that initial claim, therefore there is no line of reasoning. 

Let’s talk sophistication . . .

DC: First, I did notice more students earn this point this year which is a positive sign. Last year being online, I felt there was much confusion about this point, and I think many essays did not earn the point because of that confusion. I do still feel this point is somewhat subjective, but I do feel that readers this year were more likely to reward students who recognized complexities or wrote in a persuasive style. The most common way I noticed students earning this point was employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive. I did not see any essays situating the poem in a broader context or providing an alternative interpretation. I did see some student essays that recognized tensions or complexities but often students would fail to make note of those tensions throughout the poem. The most common tensions or complexities students recognized were the longing/melancholy/hopeful father and son relationship or the notion that shaving provided the speaker with a new understanding about nature/life/death/identity/maturity.

GK: Hot take: I’m convinced the sophistication point is not worth chasing in classroom instruction. Students who earn the sophistication point usually walk in the door with this skill in the fall. They write well because they are avid readers or participate in some kind of debate activity, making them very persuasive. It feels like a difficult thing to teach in addition to the other requirements of AP Lit, so I don’t see the need to incorporate vocabulary drills in class. However, if a student told me they needed that sophistication point, however, I’d tell them they need to be reading EVERY DAY. Students who avidly read a variety of voices and genres will grow in their writing skills, but it’s a process that takes time. 

Any teaching points connected to what you learned at the reading?

DC: Teaching a line of reasoning is so important. I plan on introducing this early and often to begin the school year. The LOR is what separates an upper-half essay from a lower-half essay. Last year I used Roy Smith’s Hand Turkey lesson with great success, and I plan on using that lesson earlier in the school year—maybe even multiple times. In connection with the line of reasoning, I want to encourage students to begin recognizing ideas or attitudes in opposition. In other words, what are 2-3 tones or contrasting ideas presented within a work. This will help students not only recognize complexity but also help students easily establish a line of reasoning. I often worry about students recognizing the “correct” theme or idea presented, but from this reading I noticed that it really does not matter what ideas a student recognizes as long as those ideas can be supported with evidence from the text. What really matters is recognizing those images or ideas in opposition and teaching students to recognize those complexities will create richer conversations and arguments.

GK: I think there’s a lot of value in comparing sample essays that score 2, 3, and 4 in Evidence and Commentary. Since most get the thesis point and most don’t get the sophistication point, it’s imperative to emphasize strong Evidence and Commentary strategies, such as establishing a growing line of reasoning and organizing your essay in a clear and logical way. 

Since I scored the poetry essay, I always walk away knowing I need to do more with poetry. Despite our best efforts, students often feel helpless and lost when faced with a poem. I’m going to do more to emphasize poem analysis based on interpretation. I like poems like Olive Senior’s “Plants,” Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool,” and Yeats’ “The Second Coming” that are open to a variety of interpretations. Letting students grapple with multiple interpretations, especially ones that are valid, help them learn that poetry analysis is not about solving a riddle; it’s about responding to the prompt in a defensible interpretation, then proving that interpretation with support.

Anything else you want to say?

DC: Each and every teacher should be applauded for preparing students for the exam and giving them the confidence to write about a poem—not always an easy task. I read more well-developed essays than I have in my previous nine years as a reader. I know this was not an easy year for countless educators, but the student responses this year are proof that what educators do day in and day out has a direct impact on students and their success. Thank you to every AP Lit teacher for allowing me a glimpse of the magic you do every day.

GK: While I enjoyed the Blanco poem, I noticed that there weren’t many misreadings or students that seemed stuck. A lot of us called it a relatively “safe” poem, at least in terms of interpretation. I’d situate it early in the year to help them explore the impact of multiple poetic elements rather than emphasize unique interpretations, like I do with more complicated poems later in the year. It’s a great poem for discussing AP Lit Enduring Understandings 5 and 6 (figurative language). 

Each year at the reading, there’s a professional night typically featuring a poet. This year, however, Chief Reader Steve Price chose to have a few teachers share how they incorporate poetry into the classroom. Here’s a link to the presentation: Powerful Poetry Today

David Choate has been teaching English for 20 years. This was his 10th year to attend the AP reading and 6th year to score the poetry question. He lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife and three children, ages 8, 10, and 12. His hobbies include being a soccer dad, reading, and writing bad poetry for his students.

Gina Kortuem is a teacher, mother, and educational resource creator who lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband and three children. She has taught AP English Literature, basic and Honors levels grades 9-10, Shakespearean Literature, World Literature, British Literature, Journalism, and Creative Writing and is an award-winning One Act Play writer.  

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10 Moscow Novels That Every Muscovite Initiate Should Read

Moscow’s rich history and innumerable paradoxes has inspired some of the greatest novels in Russian literary history. More than a simple backdrop to these extraordinary narratives, Moscow is an integral character in the stories. From glamorous 19th century ballrooms to desolate suburban apartment blocks, and the metro that runs beneath them, we’ve picked 10 of the top Moscow novels that will give you a literary passport to this extraordinary city.

Day of the Oprichnik – Vladimir Sorokin

Sorokin’s striking novels have gained him substantial international recognition as an author. His novel Day of the Oprichnik , set in 2028, is both a disconcerting side-step from a recognizable Moscow and potentially more ominously, a nod to it. We experience Sorokin’s dystopian world through the eyes of one of the ‘oprichniks’ (a term dating back to the days Ivan the Terrible), who seek out enemies of the reinstated Tsar, raping and pillaging to keep the population in a state of perpetual control and fear. Sorokin’s rendering of the world is as its darkest, and the carnivalesque prose is packed with pithy comments and oddly archaic statements that strike you in their direct delivery. This is a novel that focuses on the interplay of power and the grotesque normalization of violence in service to a higher ruler.

The Lady with the Dog – Anton Chekhov

The time: night – lyudmila petrushevskaya.

This novel is a heart wrenching, intimate portrayal of struggle one woman endures as she battles to survive in poverty-stricken circumstances. The Time: Night is a novel framed as the manuscript left behind by Anna, a woman striving to keep her family together whilst latching onto her role as a the self-sacrificing ‘babushka’ to her errant children and her grandson Timur. The novel is set in the bleak post-soviet apartments of Moscow, and the atmosphere is tangibly impregnated with despair. Petrushevskaya’s work is beautifully written, undulating from torrid streams of consciousness to poetic reflection to neurotic panic. Petrushevskaya’s sharp wit and sardonic social commentary help lift the bleak narrative and create a truly unique and insightful perspective on the desperate nature of one family’s existence.

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Anna Karenina – Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is a novel that delights in contrasting diametric opposites, from Levin and Kitty’s marriage and Anna and Vronsky’s love affair to the spatial opposition of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Moscow is full of glamorous balls, elegant fashions and handsome officers. Moscow is where Anna and Vronsky see one another for the first time, and Moscow is where the novel ends. The text is ambitious and labyrinthine, creating a rich mosaic of human emotion that defies judgement of human actions. However you feel about Tolstoy’s treatment of his heroine, he does an exceptional job of representing the minutiae of contradictory and complex motivations that govern human behaviour.

The Master and Margarita – Bulgakov

Bulgakov’s masterpiece reaches past the concrete reality of an identifiable Moscow to an evanescent world beyond it. The novel follows a series of inexplicable and utterly hilarious events that ensue when the Devil arrives in fervently atheistic soviet Russia. Bulgakov satirizes the materialistic nature of Muscovite society to gesture to the spiritual void beneath it. Characters include a motley demonic band of individuals, and a droll-humoured cigar-smoking cat, wreaking havoc around town in a series of wickedly funny skits. From a magic show featuring a temporary decapitation, to a magical scene in which the eponymous Margarita flies over Moscow on a broomstick completely naked, there is no end to Bulgakov’s incredible imagination. Those familiar with the opening scene will be delighted when they visit modern day Moscow’s Patriarch Ponds, where a cautionary sign will advise you that it is ‘forbidden to talk to strangers’.

Night Watch – Sergei Lukyanenko

Night Watch was translated into English after the phenomenal success of the films based on Lukyanenko’s pentology of novels. This novel is the first in the series, a gripping sci-fi fantasy that explores the supernatural underworld lurking just beneath the surface of our everyday world. Lukyanenko’s novel reflects a trend for fantastical or allegorical fiction which is currently prevalent in Russia. In Night Watch, a supernatural race of primeval humans must ally either with agents of Dark or Light. The main protagonist, Anton, finds himself caught in the middle of this tumultuous battle and drawn into a world of moral incertitude. This is (in the most non-cliché terms) a really griping page-turner.

Moscow-Petushki – Venedikt Erofeev

This is a slight cheat, as the majority of the narrative takes place during a train journey between Moscow and Petushki, a suburban settlement that appropriates a utopian-like quality in the mind of Venichka, the drunken protagonist. There are many who believe that Erofeev’s work is untranslatable, replete as it is with cultural references to classical poems, the orthodox faith and slurred streams of consciousness. Nevertheless, we believe it would be a pity to miss out on insight into the darkly witty, tremendously sad and sparkling mind of Erofeev. His prose-poem allows us to be simultaneously privy to Venichka’s internal dialogue, the external dialogue of his accompanying passengers and to the author himself. Erofeev plays with all readerly expectations through Venichka, the proverbial holy fool who, through his tangled commentary on everything from Marx to Pushkin to vodka slowly unveils his authenticity as a character.

Red Square – Martin Cruz Smith

This is the third novel in the Investigator Renko series, following on from the incredibly popular Gorky Park and Polar Star . Red Square does not actually refer to the Moscow location but rather a missing avant-garde painting that recently resurfaced in the illegal black-markets of 1990’s Russia. Renko is shown as an individual awash in a sea of corruption, attempting to cling to the law in an atmosphere of rapid and unprecedented change. Red Square provides an in-depth insight into the emerging capitalism taking hold of Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, its setting an interesting comparison of Russia and cultural trends in Munich and Berlin during this tumultuous period. As ever, Cruz Smith’s writing is engaging and darkly funny.

Envy – Yuri Olesha

Olesha’s 1927 novel is a slapstick examination of the tussles between a smug sausage mogul and the drunken no-hope he chances upon in the gutter one day. If that’s not the kind of scenario to secure your interest then be assured that this is a much over-looked, brilliantly-rendered and vigorously delivered poetic feat. Although Olesha only wrote one book, it seems he put all his genius into it. As with Moscow-Petushki , Envy succeeds in being simultaneously lyrical and satirical; Olesha’s wry social commentary bubbles up from the pages with incredible energy. There are some fantastically disgusting descriptions that are utterly absurd and also oddly believable. This novel probably won’t suit every taste but if you have a penchant for the avant-garde then look no further.

Metro 2033 – Dmitry Glukhovsky

This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the Moscow metro system. The sprawling stations take on ideologies and statehoods of their own after a nuclear disaster above-ground forces survivors into a subterranean world where rifle cartridges are currency and men fight both against intangible threats and one another. Artyom, the young protagonist of the novel, has never experienced fresh air, seen grass or been exposed to natural light. His fellow inhabitants at VDNKh raise anaemic pigs on waste products and grow mushrooms for food, eking out a precarious existence in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After meeting an enigmatic figure called Hunter, Artyom takes on an epic quest to reach the mythical city of Polis, navigating the various perils that ensue as he traverses the claustrophobic, cramped conditions of life in the metro. Metro 2033 is ultimately a study of the human psyche and man’s irrepressible desire to survive no matter what that means. With this comes a bleak insight into the moral and physical degradation of people when they are pushed to their absolute limits.

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Reimagining Design with Nature: ecological urbanism in Moscow

• Reflective Essay
• Published: 10 September 2019
• Volume 1 , pages 233–247, ( 2019 )

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The twenty-first century is the era when populations of cities will exceed rural communities for the first time in human history. The population growth of cities in many countries, including those in transition from planned to market economies, is putting considerable strain on ecological and natural resources. This paper examines four central issues: (a) the challenges and opportunities presented through working in jurisdictions where there are no official or established methods in place to guide regional, ecological and landscape planning and design; (b) the experience of the author’s practice—Gillespies LLP—in addressing these challenges using techniques and methods inspired by McHarg in Design with Nature in the Russian Federation in the first decade of the twenty-first century; (c) the augmentation of methods derived from Design with Nature in reference to innovations in technology since its publication and the contribution that the art of landscape painters can make to landscape analysis and interpretation; and (d) the application of this experience to the international competition and colloquium for the expansion of Moscow. The text concludes with a comment on how the application of this learning and methodological development to landscape and ecological planning and design was judged to be a central tenant of the winning design. Finally, a concluding section reflects on lessons learned and conclusions drawn.

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The landscape team from Gillespies Glasgow Studio (Steve Nelson, Graeme Pert, Joanne Walker, Rory Wilson and Chris Swan) led by the author and all our collaborators in the Capital Cities Planning Group.

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Evans, B.M. Reimagining Design with Nature: ecological urbanism in Moscow. Socio Ecol Pract Res 1 , 233–247 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-019-00031-5

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