Guidance for critical reflection assignments

17th October, 2017

As part of this practice assessment and a key part of being a health professional is the ability to think about what has happened in your practice and how you can learn from it. Therefore, you will need to identify one patient or situation you encounter during your first year of development to reflect on and evaluate, using appropriate supporting evidence.

Learning outcomes

  • Write a reflective account of a clinical incident, demonstrating how evidence can be used to inform and develop your practice. The account should explore the positive and negative aspects of the experience, offering a discussion on how current guidelines and best practice evidence can be interpreted to support or justify your comments. There should be a clear explanation and demonstration of how you would link this theory to your practice.
  • The expected word count is 2000, +/- 10%, and should be structured using a recognised model of reflection, such as Gibbs (1988).
  • The submission should include a cover sheet that contains your name, SP cohort number, personnel number and word count.
  • The assignment should be submitted using Arial size 12 and should be double spaced.
  • All patient, client, user details must be anonymised. This also includes information which identifies colleagues and organisations. You should include a confidentiality statement supported by a citation from an appropriate source, i.e. HCPC or Caldicott. Submissions that do not include a confidentiality statement, or use any form of personal identifiable information, will receive an automatic fail and a mark of 1%.
  • The assignment should also include a brief introduction to the area of reflection, and state the model of reflection used.
  • A reference list should be included, as part of the submission (but not included in the word count). References should be recorded using the Harvard style of referencing; guidance is available through either Anglia Ruskin University ( or University of East Anglia websites (

Assessment and feedback

  • The work will be assessed using an adapted university senate scale and the pass mark is 40%. Unsuccessful summative submissions will be returned with feedback, in the form of guidance notes, and the student will have one further attempt to submit. The maximum mark achievable, for resubmission, is 40%.
  • Assignments will be marked within 28 days of submission.
  • Results will be released no later than 7 days following the marking period. This allows for moderation ensuring a fair, reliable and robust assessment process. Therefore, allow a maximum of 35 days from submission to receive feedback and results.
  • Written feedback will be provided for draft (formative) submissions received up to four weeks before the start of return week 11. Any formative submissions received after this time will not be accepted and no feedback will be given. Please remember, the earlier you submit your formative essay, the longer you have to act on any feedback received.
  • Draft submissions should be emailed to: .
  • Only one draft (formative) submission is permitted per student.
  • Summative reflections should be emailed no later than midnight of the Friday of your week 11. Late submissions may not be accepted and will not be marked as a first attempt
  • Final submissions should be emailed to: .

FAQs

Do I have to use Gibbs model of reflection?

No, you can use any structured model of reflection. However, Gibbs is recognised as an effective reflective tool, particularly for novice reflectors. The Education and Training team can offer advice and guidance on alternate reflective models, or support in structuring your work. Be wary of reflective tools that lead you to a descriptive account of events, rather than one that encourages the use of evidence to support your reflection.

Do my references/citations/direct quotes count towards my final word count?

Generally yes they do. The person marking your work is not able to separate all of the direct quotes, citations and references that you use. We will use MS Word to estimate the word count and will only disregard information that is in a text box (i.e. patient observations or separate direct quotations that are appropriately cited). Very long quotes should be avoided as they demonstrate your ability to copy, not that you understand their context. Paraphrasing (restating the meaning of the text in your own words) should be used as it clearly demonstrates that you have understood your research.

What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of all of the texts that you have read, in relation to your research, regardless of whether they are used in your work or not.

A reference list records all of the text that you have used within the body of your work. Generally it is shorter than a bibliography.

A reference list is expected to be provided for this assignment.

Do I have to use Harvard style referencing?

There are many styles of referencing; the general rule is that any are fine as long as references are recorded consistently. However, both UEA and ARU will expect you to use Harvard style so we would suggest developing your understanding of this method.

How many references should I use?

This is very difficult to answer as it is dependent on your area of reflection. As a general rule, we would suggest that 8-10 appropriate sources would demonstrate a wider engagement with the literature.

What is criticality and argument?

In the context of this assignment, criticality is the ability to review your incident and discuss your practice in a critical way. You will be expected to review areas of good practice, offering a discussion on how the evidence supports your decisions; along with areas for improvement, offering a discussion about how evidence can be used to inform/improve your practice.

Argument is your ability to balance the content of one evidence source against another and discuss their importance in relation to your incident. This may mean that you use JRCALC to support a comment, but then dispute what it states because you have found more current information. In academic writing, developing this skill is how you demonstrate criticality in your writing.

My work has been described as descriptive, what is a link between theory and practice?

Work is described as descriptive if there is limited evidence of linking theory to practice. Excessive description of the experience, outlining in detail individual skills, background information or pathophysiology will not achieve a higher grade. You should have researched your area of reflection and decided on the evidence that is most appropriate to support your work, when writing about this evidence explain how it relates directly to your incident. As an example, you may reflect on a differential diagnosis of a patient; rather than just listing the signs and symptoms of one of your diagnoses, compare the presentations of two diseases and explain how one is more likely than another, based on your patient’s presentation.

Does it matter if I go over my word count?

You will be penalised for a submission that does not achieve the learning outcomes. If the work has an excessive word count, the reader will stop marking at 2200 words. If this is midway through the work then the analysis and conclusion is likely to be excluded. You are highly likely to be unsuccessful if your analysis cannot be reviewed.

Short word counts are less of a problem, but you may not be able to demonstrate sufficient analysis to meet the learning outcomes.

When should I start to think about my reflection?

You will receive some guidance in weeks 9 and 10, but it is highly recommended that you start to consider and plan your essay as early as possible. It is a daunting task, which requires planning and preparation, if you leave it until after week 10 you will be placing yourself at a potential disadvantage.

Can I reflect on anything I want?

It is your reflection and you can reflect on anything that you like. Be very wary of attempting to reflect on complex and challenging topics, consider using something that relates to your level of skill and experience. Some examples might be communication challenges, breaking bad news or Crew Resource Management challenges. These areas are relatively simple to research and discuss, without getting embroiled in discussions that are not relevant to your scope of practice/development. Keep it simple would be very valuable advice.