Once you’ve made decisions about the content and design of your essay, consider how you’ll frame it, or direct your readers’ attention to particular aspects of your reflections rather than to others. Framing your reflections allows you to influence your readers’ understanding of, and attitudes toward, what’s most important to you.

Organization. The organization of a reflective essay is typically determined by the nature of the subject. Most stories, for instance, are arranged chronologically so that readers can easily follow the sequence of events. Reflections on a place or an object, on the other hand, might be arranged spatially, tracing the way a reader’s eyes would take in the subject in person: top to bottom, left to right, near to far, and so on. If your reflections consider similarities and differences between your subject and something else, ordering your ideas by points of comparison and contrast might be most effective. (For more on these and other organizing patterns, see Chapter 15.)

Introduction and conclusion. Your introduction and conclusion provide the framework within which your readers will understand and interpret your reflections, so spend some time experimenting with them until they feel right. (Because these elements of an essay often prove the most challenging to draft, you might want to put them off until you finish the rest of the essay.) Several strategies are available for writing introductions and conclusions, but a few are particularly useful for reflective essays. For instance, you might open with a surprising statement or an anecdote — a brief, pointed story — that sets the stage for your main idea. As you close your essay, consider circling back to a detail from the beginning or reiterating the significance of your reflections. (For advice on drafting introductions and conclusions, see Chapter 16.)