Experienced writers are familiar with the advice “Show. Don’t tell.” This advice, more often applied to creative writing than to academic writing, is founded on the belief that characters’ words and actions should be used to convey a story. Simply explaining what happened is far less satisfying for readers than viewing it through a series of unfolding events.

In the sense that a reflective essay conveys the story of your thinking about a subject, showing how you came to your main idea can be preferable to telling readers what it is. As you reflect, consider sharing what you’ve seen and heard about your subject that places others — the characters in your story — at the center of your essay. Use details to convey their actions. Use dialogue to convey their words.

Each point you present in your essay, each event you describe, and each observation you make should be illustrated with details. As you reflected on your subject, you collected details that helped you understand the subject. Now, return to those details, and decide which ones to include in your essay. You can go over your notes, reread your brainstorming and freewriting, and review the events and experiences associated with your subject. As you do so, select those details that will best help your readers understand your subject and grasp its significance, and add new ones as they occur to you.