A presentation given on a communications theory course for journalism students at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications. A generic slide deck that aims to introduce a reflective writing assignment and give the students an experience of reflective writing. It really needs an exampe of reflective writing but alas I dont have one. Adapted from a slide deck by: Linda Macdonald PhD, The Dalhousie Writing Centre. http://www.slideshare.net/dalwritingcentre/critical-reflective-writing

1. Writing a Critical Reflection

2. Assignment
Write a short critical reflection on your experience on the course
and course this semester.
Your final essay should be between 500 and 700 words or
roughly two pages of A4 at 12pt, Arial, double spaced.
Hand in your assignment to your tutor during your lesson in
week 17.
There will be NO late assignments!

3. Critical Reflection
Reflection offers you the opportunity to consider how your
personal experiences and observations shape your thinking and
your acceptance of new ideas.
Critically engage with concepts from your course by making
connections between your observations, experiences, and
opinions.
Critical reflective writing demonstrates your ability to explore, to
question, and to analyse experience and to use academic
content to enhance your understanding of this experience.
The best reflections are done by those students who have
regularly taken notes throughout the semester of their

4. Critical Reflection
This model describes how to approach writing a critical reflection:
1. DESCRIPTION (Event)
What happened? What is being examined?
2. INTERPRETATION (Analysis)
What is most important/ interesting/useful/relevant about the object, event,
or idea?
How can it be explained with theory?
How is it similar to and different from other events or experiences?
3. OUTCOME (Implications)
What have I learned from this?
What does it mean for my future in this field?

5. The structure of reflective writing
Reflective writing, then, essentially asks you to look at
experience and offer:
DESCRIPTION
ANALYSIS
IMPLICATIONS

6. The structure of reflective writing
You need 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 multiple perspectives
CONCLUSION
Restates the issue
Reiterates key points
Emphasizes the implications of the points

7. Language use in critical reflective writing
Avoid writing basic and twee comments like, “I had problems
understanding the language” or “I found the website difficult”.
You need to move beyond these difficulties.
How did you overcome these issues?
What did the experience of having an issue teach you?
It is perfectly acceptable to discuss how you feel or how you felt about
an experience.
You should use the first person singular “I” rather than talk about
yourself in the abstract second or third person.

8. Language use in critical reflective writing
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?
Use of temporal language, such as “previously”, “first”, “then”, “afterwards”,
“subsequently”.
How does the writer demonstrate knowledge of the subject discipline?
Use of terms and technical language specific to the field of social work.
How does the writer relate this event to similar incidents of personal
experiences?
Use of comparison/contrast language (“similarly”, “unlike”, “alternatively”);
use of example.

9. Language use in critical reflective writing
How does the writer 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..”
How does the writer 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.
How does the writer 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 practitioner
because..”, “this understanding will be important to me as a learner
because…”, or “this skill is essential for…”

10. Additional Information
Your critical reflection SHOULD include reference
to at least one course reading and you SHOULD
show how this is linked to the topics discussed
in class and how it relates to your own group
project.

11. APA referencing
Use of secondary sources with proper citations and referencing
demonstrates academic integrity and successful engagement in
the profession.
Use proper author/date in-text citation.
Include page numbers for direct quotations.
Alphabetise the reference list and use hanging indents.
Follow the guidelines for APA 6th edition:
http://libraries.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/library/Style_Guides/apa_style6.pdf

12. Critical Reflection Exercise
1. Write a paragraph describing your expectations of the
course.
ASK YOURSELF:
1. What did you think communications theory was
about?
2. What did you think you would learn?
3. Why did you want to do this course?

13. Critical Reflection Exercise
Write a paragraph describing your expectations of the
course.
ASK YOURSELF:
1. What did you think communications theory was
about?
2. What did you think you would learn?
3. Why did you want to do this course?

14. Critical Reflection Exercise
Write a paragraph describing what you did on the course.
ASK YOURSELF:
1. Was there some theory that was particularly
interesting for you?
2. How did it link with the group work you did?
3. Was the theory similar or different to other courses
you have studied?

15. Critical Reflection Exercise
Write a paragraph describing what you learned on the
course.
ASK YOURSELF:
1. Was there something that made you think... Aha!
(what we call a light bulb moment)
2. How was the course different from what you
expected?
3. What would you do differently next time?

16. Critical Reflection Exercise
Share your writing with your partner.
Is there anything about your experiences that are similar?

17. Adapted from a slide deck by:
Linda Macdonald PhD
The Dalhousie Writing Centre
http://www.slideshare.net/dalwritingcentre/critical-reflective-writing