Reflective essays convey a writer’s observations and thoughts on a subject to the members of a written conversation. Like memoirs and literacy narratives, reflective essays draw on personal experience and are often written from a first-person (I, me, my) point of view. However, writers of reflective essays generally move beyond themselves as the primary focus of their essays, typically by using personal experience as a foundation for exploring more abstract ideas. In doing so, they show the significance of their experiences in a broader context.

In academic settings, such as writing and writing-intensive classes, reflective essays are often written in response to the information, ideas, or arguments found in another document, such as an article, an opinion column, or a personal essay. (If writers refer to another source, they cite it in the body of the essay and in a works cited or references list using a documentation system such as MLA or APA; see Chapters 21 and 22.) Because instructors and classmates will review and comment on them, reflective essays written for college courses are usually designed with wide margins, readable fonts, and double-spaced lines. In some cases, writers use illustrations, such as photographs and drawings, to set a mood or illustrate a point.