• 1.5 Critical Reflections

    • Why do I need to produce a critical reflection?

      A reflective writing task can help you:

      • Develop and maintain effective learning habits and stop habits which aren’t successful 

      • Identify skills you need or want to develop

      • Stand back and see your work in a wider picture 

      • Develop a personal understanding of what it means to be a professional in your field 


      How can I get started?


    • Step 1: Before you start
      Look at the assignment brief and marking criteria, and any relevant examples tutors have shown you. 
      Step 2: During the experience
      Log details of what happened each day/week in a journal. Include facts and your response to the situations.  Problem solve as you go. If you come up across difficulties, try to resolve them with the help of people or study material. 
      Step 3: After the experience 
      Stand back to gain some perspective, either with the help of tutors and friends or through further reading and reflecting. Allow some time for you to process events and see the bigger picture. 
      Step 4: Writing 

      Plan your writing: Select key moments which will illustrate your learning and development. You can‘t include everything, but try to address successes and failures you can learn from.  

      Draft your reflection: write up your experience, focusing on why things happened. Don’t hide your identity or experience.  

      Redraft: Add and remove elements to clearly focus on your central learning from the experience. 

      What should reflective writing look like?

    • Reflective Writing Extract File

      This extract illustrates some common features of critical reflections. The student describes an action they took, explains why they acted as they did and starts to evaluate the success of their actions. 

    • Annotated reflective paragraph Interactive Content

      One paragraph from the extract is annotated to highlight some common features of a critical reflection.  Compare this example to example paragraphs from your own course to see how it compares to what you are expected to produce. 

      Move the slider to highlight the different elements. 

    • Being critical

      To move from a simple reflection on your actions to a broader, more critical reflection consider the following questions:

      1. What is the bigger picture? 
      2. What goals are you working towards? Are there any conflicts of interest to take account of? 
      3. How might someone else view or judge your performance or behaviour? 
      4. Have you been pushed out of your comfort zone? How?  
      5. Which different opinions or viewpoints have you been exposed to? Are there any other viewpoints and opinions which you should investigate to build a fuller picture? 
      6. How has your attitude been shaped or changed over time? Why has it evolved in this manner? 
      7. What are the wider implications and impact of your behaviour and practice? (Social, ecological...) 
      8. Do you reinforce or question established norms and behaviours in your field?
    • Reflective language - annotated paragraph Interactive Content

      View this annotated paragraph to see common language used in reflective writing. 

    • Infographic: Keep on track with a Critical Reflection



      infographic -critical reflection.pngClick on the infographic to open a full-screen version. 

◄1.4 Literature Reviews1.6 Further Guidance►