GUIDE TO WRITING A CRITICAL REFLECTION
MGTS7610 ASSIGNMENT 1 – BUSINESS WRITING PORTFOLIO
General instructions:
• Write a separate Critical Reflection for each of the documents in this assignment:
o All-staff email
o Formal letter
o Media release.
• Each Critical Reflection should be approximately one page (not including the reference list).
o Your Critical Reflection may need to be longer than one page if you used AI.
• Show that you fully understand what you have done in this assignment – and why.
• Clearly cite all the sources you used when writing this assignment
o use in-text citations AND an APA7 style Reference List.
• Draw directly and explicitly on course content when explaining your writing choices.
o Simply mentioning individual OLM numbers is not sufficient.
• Use / adapt the structure below for each Reflection.
CRITICAL REFLECTION STRUCTURE:
1. Introduction:
• Write approximately 3 sentences, explaining the context of your Critical Reflection.
o which genre does this reflection address?
o what are the typical structure and linguistic features of this genre?
o how much experience you have with writing this genre?
• Write approximately 1-2 sentences summarising your Critical Reflection on the document
you are discussing here (i.e., email, letter, media release)
o which OLMs did you use?
o which AI tools (if any) did you use?
Sample Introduction:
This Critical Reflection addresses my [insert genre name], the basic structure of which is:
[explain genre structure]. Common linguistic features in [insert genre name] include: [select
1-2 key linguistic features of this genre]. I have [summarise your past experience creating
this genre]. When preparing this [insert genre name], I used [mention specific OLMs or
required readings]. I [did / did not] use AI because [summarise why you did / didn’t use AI].
[If you used AI add:] I also used [name the AI you used, e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly,
DEEPL] when preparing this [insert genre] because [explain why you chose this tool].
2
2. Body paragraphs:
• Write 3 short paragraphs, focusing on a different writing technique in each paragraph.
• Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, indicating the writing technique / decision
discussed in the paragraph. Then write 2-3 sentences explaining that technique / decision.
• If you used AI, explain how you used it and show that you have thought carefully about AI-
generated output before and while using it.
• Quote from the OLMs and/or required readings to show your understanding of and
engagement with the course materials. DO NOT use other sources to explain / justify your
writing decisions.
• Quote specific words or phrases from your assignment (and the AI output, if applicable), to
illustrate your writing techniques / decisions.
• Critically evaluate your own writing (and the AI output, if applicable) – DO NOT just praise
your writing.
Sample Body Paragraphs:
If you did not use AI: When writing this email, I used [name a specific writing technique]
because [explain what purpose is served by this writing technique]. As explained in
[mention specific OLMs or required readings], emails [describe the writing techniques
needed in emails]. As also explained in [mention specific OLMs or required readings],
[name the writing technique discussed in this paragraph] [describe what this technique
does]. For example, I wrote [quote specific words/phrases from your assignment that
demonstrate this technique] in order to [say why you used this technique]. I believe my use
of [name the writing technique discussed in this paragraph] is [state whether your use of
this technique is effective / ineffective] because [explain why your use of this technique is
effective / ineffective].
If you did use AI: When writing this email, I began by [describe the process you used
when interacting with AI]. As explained in [mention specific OLMs or required readings],
emails need to [describe one structural or linguistic element you hoped AI would generate].
Therefore, I used the prompt [quote a specific AI prompt that you used to generate the
structure or linguistic features typical of this genre] to [explain what you hoped this prompt
would generate]. From the AI output, I kept [quote specific words/phrases from the AI
output related to the writing technique addressed in this paragraph] in my email because
[explain why you thought this AI output was appropriate]. But I changed [quote specific
words/phrases from the AI output related to the structural/linguistic point discussed in this
paragraph] because [explain why you thought this AI output was not appropriate]. I believe
my use of [name the writing technique discussed in this paragraph] is [state whether your
use of this technique is effective / ineffective] because [explain why your use of this
technique is effective / ineffective].
3
3. Conclusion:
Write 1-2 sentences
• explain what you have learned from writing this genre AND analysing your own work
• state how you will use what you have learned in your future writing.
Sample Conclusion:
In conclusion, preparing this email taught me that [describe what you learned from writing
this genre]. The most difficult part of writing this email was [describe the challenges you
faced in writing this genre]. [If you used AI to write the genre addressed in this
reflection, add:] I also learned that [describe the strengths and weaknesses of the AI
tool(s)you used]. Reflecting critically on my own writing taught me that [describe what you
learned from writing this reflection]. [If you used AI to write the reflection, add:] I also
learned that [describe the strengths and weaknesses of the AI tool(s) you used]. In future, I
will [explain how you will use what you have learned from BOTH writing this genre AND
writing this reflection]. [If you used AI for any part of this assignment, add:] I will also
[describe how you will approach using AI in future].
NOTES:
• You MUST
a) state clearly on the Assignment Coversheet whether or not you used AI
b) If you used AI: attach a full transcript of all of your interactions with AI, e.g., a
printout or screenshots (NOTE: this step obviously isn’t required if you didn’t use AI)
c) explain in your Critical Reflection whether, how, and why you generated and
edited the AI output.
• If you don’t complete steps (a) – (c) above, the maximum grade you can earn for
Assignment 1 is 4/7.