Personal Reflection and Growth Plan Outline Template

As an added resource for brainstorming prior to completion of the outline, review the optional resource “How Do I Organize My Brainstorm into an Outline?” found in the Topic 4 resources.

Assignment Directions:

Use this template to create an outline to prepare you for the research paper that is due in Topic 7. Please keep in mind that submitting this template to LopesWrite will yield a higher-than-normal score due to the instructions in the outline. Include a minimum of three scholarly sources that support your main points (About.com, SimplyPsychology, VeryWellMind, and Wikipedia are not considered scholarly sources). Cite any scholarly references accordingly using in-text citations and a reference list using APA formatting.

Reflection Essay Outline

Introductory Paragraph

Please note that you are not writing your full introductory paragraph in this section. You are only filling out the information below.

Hook:

Background and contextual information:

Thesis Sentence:

Subtopic 1: Take some time to reflect on your own personality traits, strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. Consider how these traits have influenced your personal growth and development in areas such as relationships, personal goals, academic pursuits, and career aspirations. Utilize scholarly resources and include in-text citations to support your content using APA formatting.

Topic Sentence:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Tendencies:

Subtopic 2: Choose two or three areas of personal growth that you would like to focus on in this assignment. These could include improving communication skills, managing stress more effectively, developing leadership abilities, improving relationships, strengthen your spiritual wellness, pursuing a new career path, etc.

Topic Sentence:

Personal Growth Area 1:

Personal Growth Area 2:

Personal Growth Area 3:

Subtopic 3: Using theoretical perspectives and assessments from the course, identify strategies and techniques that can help you work towards your chosen areas of personal growth. For example, if you have identified improving communication skills as a goal, you might consider practicing active listening or learning how to express yourself more effectively. Discuss how these improvements might impact your future academic, career, and relationship success. Utilize scholarly resources and include in-text citations to support your content using APA formatting.

Topic Sentence:

1st piece of research that supports this main point (include citation):

2nd piece of research that supports this main point (include citation):

3rd piece of research that supports this main point (include citation):

Conclusion

Paraphrase thesis statement (restated in different words):

Summarize main points:

References

Organize all references you will use in the essay and list them in the space below in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name. Be sure the reference page is double-spaced and formatted to have hanging indents by ½ an inch. See the GCU Style Guide for help with formatting references and citations. Within the essay, this reference page will be on its own page at the bottom of your essay.

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