WRITING THE REFLECTIVE ESSAY

 Here are the essential activities students go through in order to write a reflective essay of a story.

TASK 1: SUMMARY

• This is one way to test the students comprehension of the story. One can only summarize if the story read has been understood.

TASK 2: ORGANIZING THOUGHTS

• Students look into the story once more with a different perspective. They look at it as something that reflects Filipino culture, customs , tradition and even history.

• CULTURE OR TRADITION IN....

These are the Filipino culture or tradition that are eminent or are shown in the story. No need to worry, these are already given in the first column so you don't need to look for these anymore; just copy what you see in the template: Gambling and entertainment, status in society, table etiquette.

• SCENE FROM THE STORY

Now, you are going to state the scene or event in the story where in the traditions found in the first column of the table above is shown. State it briefly; refer to the sample: Husband insisted the chicken was a hen. DO NOT copy lines from the story as such would be lengthy. Hence, state it in your own simple words that are direct to the point.

• RELEVANCE TO FILIPINO HISTORY, CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

You are to write the specific Filipino tradition/culture evident in the scene you wrote in the second column. Since it said that the husband insisted the chicken was a hen so the Filipino tradition is: Patriarchal family tradition putting the father to have the last say over family matters. In other words, this column actually explains why the characters acted as such.

• YOUR OPINION

Since you already have indicated why the characters acted like they did in the story. now you are to write your opinion or reaction about such tradition. In the third column, I wrote: Patriarchal family tradition putting the father to have the last say over family matters. So if I were to give an opinion for such I'd say: Mothers must also have a say in family matters. Keep your opinion short and direct to the point. Do not be tempted to explain it; don't worry, you shall be discussing it once you are already writing your reflective essay.

• ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

This part is where you can present proof to help you explain YOUR OPINION. Since I said that mothers must also have a say in family matters, it would be a week statement if I can't defend it. So here's my evidence: Most mothers now also work to help fend for the family. Again, do not be tempted to explain it; remember what we are doing is drafting our thoughts. Wait till you write your essay for the discussions.

TASK 3: THE INTRODUCTION

• This is the first paragraph of the reflective essay.
• Here are guide questions to help students form their thoughts then into writing.

You could write it like this:

The story ________________ by ________ is about ____

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

__________________________________________. This

 essay will talk about _____________________________

____________________________________________.

NOTE: Let your introduction run in 4 - 5 sentences.

TASK 4: THE BODY

• This is now the part where you are to use the TABLE you have previously filled out.
• You are going to discuss each of the topics found in the first column of the table: Gambling and Entertainment, Status in Society and Table Etiquette.
• Here's a sample of how to use the information in your table.

A scene from the story talks about how the husband insisted that the chicken was a hen and therefore ended up with the mother crying; he was sorry though. This shows the prominence of patriarchal family traditions among Filipinos . Well, I say  nowadays, considering the many things women can do which may be at par with what men can do -  there is no need to treat women as inferior to men. Hence, mothers must also have a say in family matters as they too work to help fend for the family. Family matters must be dealt by all the members of the family -  even the children as they concern them too.

See how the information in the table are used to form your paragraph.

NOTE: Since there are three topics in the first column of your table, it means there are three paragraphs for your body.

TASK 5: THE CONCLUSION

• This is now the fifth paragraph of your essay.
• In this part you can either impart a new learning or a realization as a take away for your readers.
• Or simple answer the question: What do you want to remember after reading your essay?

TASK 6: THE REFLECTIVE ESSAY

• The students publish their essay in their blog.

Watch the video to learn more about writing the reflective essay.