You might think that a reflection is always told in chronological order—that is, is the order in which events occurred. Usually this is true of the story part of the essay. However, the larger essay that includes a reflection may be organized in several different ways.
You probably already know some of the different ways to organize essays, based on previous writing assignments. For example, you may have used comparison/contrast to persuade your audience or cause and effect to show how something works. Both of these types of organization can be used in reflective essays, as well as several other types. To review the different ways essays can be organized, study the tabs below.
Chronological order is the order in which events take place. This type of organization is most often used to tell stories. However, even within a linear retelling of events, writers sometimes skip forward, called a flash-forward, or look back to a previous time, which is a flashback.
Read an excerpt from Chris Jacobs' reflective essay "Everlasting Wannabe." As you read, note the order he uses in his reflection.
The car ride would have been long for a grown-up. For a first-grader, it was eternity . . .
Over the course of the first few weeks—once my mom caught on that [my] questions were actually complaints, her responses lost some of their patience. Though she handled the daily drives with grace, the bluish bags forming under her eyes told a different story: one about her years spent in poorly-funded, inner-city schools, and the doors that would close on her because of them. But I didn't get to hear that story till years later. For now, I just settled into a frustrated six-year-old silence, my attention flitting to the many switches and buttons in her aging '76 Dodge Aspen.
Question
Although this narrative is told in chronological order, Jacobs briefly discusses his mother's past. What literary device do these details represent?
When you use cause-and-effect organization in your writing, your goal is to explain why certain events happened, why certain conditions exist, or how something resulted from an action or a condition. You can organize a cause-and-effect essay in two ways: You can discuss the effect first and then tell what caused it; or you can discuss the cause first and then describe its effects.
Read the excerpt below from Abigail Ruben's reflective essay. As you read, see if you can determine which comes first, the cause or the effect.
But then I realized that my aunt wasn't in the same boat as the rest of us. When she heard the turkey, she immediately thought about us and forgot about herself and she got thrown from her horse and when I saw her lying on the ground, all I could think about was that I hoped she was ok . . .
Eventually, my aunt got up and back on her horse and the ride went on. When we got back to the stable, Melissa helped my aunt get off her horse. When we got to the car, it was obvious that my aunt was in pain and I knew that, being the oldest, it was gonna be my job to help her out as much as I could for the rest of my visit with her. She managed to drive us home where someone could take her to the hospital to make sure she was okay, since she was still in a lot of pain.
The next morning, my aunt told us that she had at least one cracked rib and that we wouldn't be riding horses or anything else like for the rest or our visit. One of my cousins went back to Ohio the following day and my sister and I went back to Texas the day after that. My aunt is doing a little bit better but she actually had six broken ribs!!
Question
Is this essay written with the cause appearing first or last?
When you compare/contrast, you look at the similarities and differences between two or more things. For example, in a reflective essay you might compare or contrast your thoughts and feelings before and after an incident.
Read this excerpt from Ruby Allen Short's reflective essay. As you read, ask yourself what is being compared or contrasted with what.
It is difficult for me to explain the fear that I felt as the scissors were lifted—the fear that precedes the amputation. The fear that someone will cut too close, too deep, and damage something critical. It sounds stupid now, but it gripped me: the idea of a change like that. My long hair was the one token of my femininity that I hadn't yet lost or gambled away. It had been a way of staving off bigger questions about my identity and my own intentions, a placeholder for a personality trait while I waited to grow up. In simply sitting there in that chair, I knew that I was giving up the one part of me that I had cultivated for others, and that was paralyzing—knowing that whatever was left would be my unhidden self. I looked at my face in the mirror as the blade came closer; I felt it open like a mouth, ready to bite down.
In the time following my appointment this summer, the sound of hair being cut has become one of my favorite noises. If you have a lot of it, the gathered strands make a crinkling sound as they're bunched together, and then the rasp of the scissors opening, the final snip. It's very satisfying. However, that day, it sounded like the guillotine dropping (or something equally dramatic). I felt, at the nape of my neck, a sudden lightness, a breath of cool air—I looked in the mirror and saw the hairdresser holding up my severed ponytail the way a hunter displays a shot squirrel.
Question
What does the writer compare or contrast in this excerpt?
When you use a problem-solution organization, you state a problem, analyze the problem, and suggest solutions to the problem. For a reflective essay, you might use this organizational pattern to show how you overcame a fear or accomplished one of your goals.
Read the following excerpt from Henry Haggard's reflective essay and consider how he wrote about meeting a goal in his life.
Towards the end of 8th grade, I realized that I would need 100 volunteer hours to graduate high school, and I had to start soon if I was to get ahead of the game. It seemed as though I was running out of ideas. Then, it came to me; why not work with Spanish-speaking immigrants? I was learning Spanish at the time, and I figured it would be a great way to pursue academics while helping the community in Richmond, Virginia, where I lived.
After doing some research, I found the Sacred Heart Center, which helps Latinos learn English and become citizens. There were many ways I could have lent a hand to this organization, but being a camp counselor for younger kids seemed like the best choice. At the time, I only knew a little Spanish, so this age group (5–10) seemed like a good way to improve may ability to speak the language without being too overwhelmed. Soon I was scheduled to offer my services every Tuesday for the month of July.
Before I knew it, the time came to pack my bag, fill my water bottle, and embark for the day. After a brief skirmish with the locked front door, I was finally inside the church, ready for whatever chaos would ensue. Not long after though, the little niños strolled in one by one. I felt out of place, largely because everyone had already met each other the day before. To make matters worse, I was also the youngest counselor and the one who knew the least Spanish. However, I began to make some simple conversations, draw pictures, and make paper airplanes for the kids.
Question
What is the problem, or goal, that Henry is writing about in this essay?
