I thought the following might be of interest when undertaking your Critical Reflection:
1. You might consider providing each section with a sub-title to indicate to you and the reader the focus of learning being explored, e.g. First main paragraph could be 'Developing my Critical Reading Skills'. Then fully explore this.
2. Only include description that is absolutely necessary. Blow by blow account of 'what happened' is less important than what was learnt.
3. Don’t make statements about ‘agreeing with the Reader on ‘X’ or person 'A's comments. Rather focus on how the Reader might have altered your perspective, viewpoint, and knowledge.
4. Avoid general ramble through ideas. Be specific and focused.
5. You need to put yourself into a position of arguing the relative merits and usefulness of particular ideas … indicating any level of measurement in your judgement …
6. The main point of Critical Reflection is to encourage you to question the views of others and those you hold in a critical way, which means to stay engaged with an idea, exploring from different angles, constantly questioning it, assessing its likely value (truth; usefulness; meaning) to you and / or others. Also see this as a practice not a ‘text’. It is something to develop, something that is learnt, not something you already know and simply need to express.
7. Your text needs to be two things. Firstly a means to explore ideas, as the object to be crafted as your thinking develops and deepens. Secondly, the representation and means of communicating your ideas. So see a piece of critical reflective writing as both the means to craft your ideas (through drafting and iteration), and the sum of your thinking at submission date (but with the intention that the work is not finished, but an idea in progress).
