1. Critical Reflection Essay
Handy strategies for writing

2. What is critical reflection?
It is reflecting about thoughts and feelings we have- a little like a personal diary, but with more analysis.

3. Critical reflection ‘Maintain a balanced diet’ p.9.
Toney Allman (2010)
Nutrition and disease prevention, Infobase publishing, New York
For example, in a diary you might write, ‘I had a delicious bowl of noodles today’. In a critical reflection you would also need to extend the idea by analysing and using some references on this statement. ‘Nutritionists such as Toney Allman suggest that people need to maintain a balanced diet to stay healthy. You might conclude with another reflection on your experience. I think that the meal I had was both delicious and nutritious so this shows it can be easy to stay healthy.

4. What is critical reflection?
Analyse what you think, feel and believe by exploring social and cultural contexts.
Critical reflection enables us to engage in transformative learning by linking both reason and emotion.
(Taylor, 2001).
A critical reflection helps you to analyse what you think, feel and believe by exploring social and cultural contexts.
Taylor highlights the importance of critical reflection to enable us to engage in transformative learning (or learning that changes the way we live and learn) by linking both reasoned thinking and emotion (Taylor, 2001).
If you think about it, it does make sense to acknowledge both aspects of human experience.

5. Model of critical reflection with a practical purpose
Gibbs diagram assists with presenting a visual and practical explanation of a reflective cycle of learning. Does it show a real life learning process? Something happens, we react, we think about the experience; often as adults we will analyse the situation and consider what else we could have done. Sometimes we come up with an action plan in case this ever happens again. Gibbs and other critical reflection proponents emphasise that this way of thinking and behaving needs to be systematically developed in many professional contexts, especially where there is human interaction (and what profession does not require dealing with other human beings?)

6. Why critical reflection?
Critical reflection helps develop more effective thinking because it asks for
Assumption analysis
Contextual awareness
Imaginative speculation
Reflective skepticism
Brookfield (1988, as cited by Clark, 2011)
To give a more academic analysis of what critical reflection is, lets look at the underpinning theory of four essential components of critical reflection by Brookfield. Firstly, it is important to analyse assumptions. By challenging our beliefs and social structures we can determine their impact on our practice (whether it is in science or the humanities). That way we may better understand our own values, beliefs and biases. If we just maintain our own point of view, it can be catastrophic for others who disagree.
Closely linked to this is the need to be aware of context, or the situation we are looking at. By determining the social and cultural contexts that influence our assumptions we extend our ability to look at the situations in which we find ourselves. But lets not just keep to just this critical perspective. Through imaginative speculation we can envisage alternative ways of thinking that challenge our current thought patterns. Sometimes this means we need to explore contradictory feelings, reactions, and understandings to work better with others. Another aspect of this process is reflective skepticism where you question universal claims or unexamined interactions by suspending or temporarily rejecting previous knowledge about the subject. We assess our own learning so that it can inform our professional practice

7. Example Assumption analysis- check my thought/feelings
Checkout at Supermarket
Assumption analysis- check my thought/feelings
Contextual awareness- observe the situation
Imaginative speculation- consider possibilities
Reflective skepticism- question claims
brickstream.com
For example, in a busy supermarket situation, the cashier is working through the long row of customers. I am impatient and getting angry with the delay, starting to blame the person at the desk for being slow and poorly trained. Applying a critical reflection process I need to stand back and check my own thoughts and feelings about this assumption. I would look at the context and observe the cashier and the people in the row. With a little thought about this I would perhaps speculate about the reasons why this is happening and note that this perhaps is a busy time of the day when many people are shopping. I could also be skeptical about this being the only reason and should remain open to other explanations for the delay. The main thing is to question my own perspective and reaction to the event.

8. Critical reflective writing
Reflective writing encourages us to
reflect on a deeper level
show understanding of theory & course content
link experience and knowledge
use reflections to inform our professional practice
extend skills needed for lifelong learning
So why should we write about this in an academic situation? Reflective writing encourages us to critically reflect on a deeper, more challenging level
It provides opportunities to show understanding of theory & course content in a way that links to personal experience and knowledge. No student comes to study without some established perspectives in the field they are studying and this form of reflective writing helps to draw on previous experiences and informs the professional practice into we we are heading. Some also claim this is a life skill that can be carried on into other areas of our life learning.

9. Critical Reflection & Academic Essay
Like academic essays, critical reflective writing:
integrates secondary source material
incorporates discipline/subject-specific vocabulary
uses formal English (linked to personal language)
follows academic citation and referencing guidelines
There are similarities and differences between the standard academic essay and a critical reflection. Writing a critical reflection is like writing an academic essay because you need to integrate secondary source material such as journal articles as evidence. You need to incorporate discipline or subject-specific vocabulary (as noted in the example of writing about nutrition earlier.
You need to use formal English that is linked to personal language as well as follow academic citation and referencing guidelines.

10. Critical Reflection & Academic Essay (continued)
Critical reflection differs from typical academic essay writing.
Include first person (eg. In my life…).
See yourself as an object of inquiry.
Your experience is a form of evidence.
The main difference is that you are asked to include the first person voice (eg. In my life…). You are expected to see yourself as an object of inquiry and your personal experience is definitely considered a form of evidence.

11. The structure of reflective writing
Reflective writing, then, essentially asks you to look at experience and offer
DESCRIPTION
ANALYSIS
IMPLICATIONS
How you organise the ideas in a paragraph will vary.

12. The DEAL model
Lay and McGuire (2010) adapted Ash and Clayton’s (2004) DEAL model of reflective writing. They explain the elements of a structured critical reflection:
Step 1: DESCRIBE the experience. Provide details on the event or activity that prompts this reflection.
Step 2: EXAMINE the experience through the integration of personal experience and academic content. Using assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation, and reflective skepticism, analyze the experience.
Step 3: ARTICULATE LEARNING by responding to the questions proposed by Lay and McGuire (p.550):
What did I learn?
How did I learn it?
Why does it matter to me in my profession/ in relation to an assignment?
And sometimes
What will I do in my future practice/learning in light of this reflection?

13. The structure of reflective writing
You may be asked to create a formal written piece similar to an academic essay in form. This style of response requires an introduction, body, and conclusion. In crafting your response, consider the following
INTRODUCTION
Identifies an issue and why it is important
May use theory to explain relevance
Outlines key themes that the paper will address
BODY PARAGRAPHS
Each paragraph Introduces a theme or topic
Provides evidence from practice or current literature/theory
Introduces various perspectives on the theme
CONCLUSION
Restates the issue
Reiterates key points
Emphasizes the implications of the points
May suggest possibilities for the future or suggest changes
(Ryan, 2011)

14. Language use in critical reflective writing (adapted from Ryan, 2011)
Does the writer:
indicate that he/she is addressing or responding to something he/she has been involved in or observed?
demonstrate knowledge of the discipline (cultural self awareness and cultural intelligence)?
relate a referenced idea to similar incidents of personal experiences?
How does the writer indicate that he/she is addressing or responding to something he/she has been involved in or observed?
Use of personal pronoun “I”; use of thinking and sensing words such as “I feel”, “I realize”, “I question”, “I wonder”.
How does the writer indicate how the event took place?
How does the writer demonstrate knowledge of the discipline?
Use of terms / technical language specific to the field of study.
How does the writer relate this event to similar incidents of personal experiences?
Use of comparison/contrast language (“similarly”, “unlike”, “alternatively”);

15. Language use (cont.) How does the writer:
Demonstrate interpretation of events?
Reason and explain why things happened the way they did?
Look to the future and indicate how he/she will reconstruct and apply new knowledge?
Reinforce the implications?
Demonstrate interpretation of events
Use of phrases such as “the most significant element…”, “initially I questioned…”, “the relevant aspects were…”, “probably because of…”, “this issue may have resulted in..”
Reason and explain why things happened the way they did.
Use of causal language, such as “because” ,“since” , or “due to the fact that”; use of references to literature and practice as evidence.
Look to the future and indicate how he/she will reconstruct and apply new knowledge
Use of words indicating the future, such as “will”, “going to”, “should”, “may” or “can”.
How does the writer reinforce the implications?
Use of phrases such as “this knowledge could useful to me as a because..”, “this understanding will be important to me as a learner because…”, or “this skill is essential for…”

16. CUC107 Paragraph example: personal & analytic
Language is an essential part of communicating in any cultural context. I grew up learning English as my third language. Taipale (2012) stresses the importance of individuals extending their awareness of a variety of cultural groups in a globalised world where people travel from place to place for work or study. Being more aware of my own use of language has made me more sensitive to people who find it difficult to understand Australian English. This has also helped me adapt to various cultural situations when working overseas.
Can you identify the personal language. Is this writing trying to see hidden assumptions, examine the situation, imagine a positive outcome and be reflective? Pause this clip to read in full. Can you see elements of description, analysis and implications in this paragraph?

17. Check Expectations for reflective writing can vary.
Check the assignment guidelines
Clarify lecturer’s expectations about level of referencing; analysis & use of 1st person.
Refer to the unit assessment guidelines and the lecturer for clarification on the assignment.
Determine the form of the finished writing
a journal?
Self-assessment?
Learning diary?
A more structured research piece?
On a final note- this is general advice for when you are completing this, or any other assignment.

18. References and additional resources
Clark, D.R. (2011). Learning through reflection. Retrieved from
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Polytechnic. London: Further Education Unit. ISBN
Hampton, M. (2010). Reflective writing: A basic introduction. Retrieved from
Lay, S., & McGuire, L. (2010). Building a lens for critical reflection and reflexivity in social work education. Social Work Education 29(5),
Macdonald, L. (2011) Critical reflective writing in social work Dalhousie University. Retrieved from
Reflective Writing. (2008). Retrieved from
Ryan, M. (2011). Improving reflective writing in higher education: A social semiotic perspective. Teaching in Higher Education 16(1),
Spencer-Oatey, H. (2012) What is culture? A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts, 1-22.
Taipale, S. (2012). Mobility of Cultures and Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe. European Review, 20, pp doi: /S
Taylor, E. (2001). Transformative learning theory: A neurobiological perspective of the role of emotions and unconscious ways of knowing. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 20(3),
Writing the sociology paper. (2005). Retrieved from