Perhaps you notice a child tethered to a leash-type restraint in a local retail outlet and this causes you to reflect on parental fears, the behavior of children, stranger danger, the inability of parents to control their kids, etc.

Be sure to take this essay beyond yourself to reflect on a larger social issue. Of course you will draw upon a personal experience or observation, but you need to take this essay beyond you to explore more significant issues in society at large. For example, you might be a restaurant server who notices a couple’s awkward dinner date and this causes you to reflect on relationships in American culture, superficiality, inhibitions or lack thereof, traditional roles or breaking them, etc. Perhaps you notice a child tethered to a leash-type restraint in a local retail outlet and this causes you to reflect on parental fears, the behavior of children, stranger danger, the inability of parents to control their kids, etc. You will be evaluated on your ability to effectively engage a larger social issue/concern by first describing a relatable experience or observation.
Namely, this essay requires that you move from the “local” to the “global.” In other words, you need to choose a specific incident that you experienced, witnessed, read about, heard about, etc. and from that incident launch into a reflection on a larger social issue. The “Guide to Writing Reflective Essays” of your textbook is a valuable resource. Be sure to use your specific instance as a launching pad for a discussion of a more general issue (racism, homelessness, obsession with appearance, elder abuse, greed, destruction of the environment, etc.). Be aware, too, that your Proposal to Solve a Problem essay will also address a larger social issue. If you want to address “teen pregnancy,” for example, ask yourself if you’d like to use that topic for your Reflection or Proposal essay. You will need to choose two different topics for the two different essays.