A personal reflective essay is the kind of assignment where the writer has to explain a certain improvement in his personality or approach due to his personal experiences. The experiences might be good or bad in nature but they should show how they have helped one become a better person in any case. Most of the times these essays talk about the academic success and performance and the way the writer achieved it. You will experience many of such papers while attempting a paper for a scholarship or a grant from an organization, during the admission season in colleges and universities and for competitions. The purpose of this paper is to show your audience how you became a better person and achieved more owing to the lessons you learnt from certain experiences. You can choose any subject or topic for your paper if given a choice and it is not mandatory to stick to academic success only. You may talk about any hardship you faced in life or even a person who taught you a lot. However, the main idea is to talk about self-acknowledgement and evaluation.
One important thing students miss while attempting these papers is that they do not include the future application of this knowledge. You do not only have to show your experiences in the past and their effect in the present but also explain the way you will use these lessons to achieve your future goals. It is difficult for students especially if they are unfamiliar with the assignment type or the subject of concern. To be able to create a good essay you should consider looking at expert written examples. These examples guide you in following the right structure, format, tone, approach, and style for your own paper. Even though the basic format of all the essays remains same, you can learn a lot about using certain data in your paper and following a logical order.
You may use first person and write like a narrative because you are talking about your personal experiences. It is better to create a list of requirements and look at different sources to find well-written examples.