CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation
Semester 1, 2025–2026
Reflection Guidelines
In this assignment, you will write a reflection of 800-1000 words on your learning experience
during this Introduction to Translation course. When deciding the content, you should think
about your experience. You may also reflect on any difficulties you encountered. In addition,
consider the mistakes (e.g. diction, sentence structure, grammar, ambiguity and redundancy
…) and progress you made. Finally, you should make plans on how to improve in the future.
You may discuss any in-class or take-home tasks during the semester. However, you cannot
neglect assignments 1 and 2. In other words, you must include your performances in
assignments 1 and/or 2 in your reflection.
You should consider including the following syllabus-related items in your discussion:
1. Your awareness of similarities and differences between Chinese and English
2. Your attempt to translate culture and culture specific items
3. Your knowledge of common misconceptions and errors in translation
4. Translation skills you learnt and applied (e.g. addition, omission, conversion …)
In order to achieve depth of discussion, you are encouraged not to focus on too many different
(ie, no more than two) topics/issues in your reflection.
Remember: This is NOT an assignment to summarise the lecture notes. Do NOT copy them
or anything else, because they are not your personal reflection. You should also ensure your
reflection is academic in nature. Accordingly, discussing issues such as division of labor and
inter-personal skills are not encouraged.
Due date
11:59 pm, 13 December 2025 (Saturday)
Submission
Upload your reflection to the Turnitin link on SOUL
Assessment
You will be assessed on Task Achievement, Content and Organisation, and Language. Please
read the Assessment Criteria on page 2 to understand the requirements.
Language and style
Please refer to page 5 of this document.
1
CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation Semester 1, 2024–2025
Introduction to Translation Written Class: Name: Grade:
Reflection
Grade Task Achievement (grade: ) Content and Organisation (grade: ) Language (grade: )
The response is fully relevant with no digression. It The content has all the essential stages of reflection A wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures
shows a clear understanding of the topic, is with minimal description, an emphasis on analysis, are used precisely and appropriately. Errors in
personal, and is specific to the course experience. and specific future plans clearly based on the analysis. structure and use are rare and have no effect on
A It maximises the depth and coverage of the topic The reflection develops coherently in clear, flowing meaning. Flexible and precise use of cohesive tools
with full use of the word count. It has a sense of and well-organised stages. The content is always fully with variety. Some ability to use less common
originality / personal insight / experiential learning. appropriate. Paragraphing is well-managed and language with precision. The writing requires little or
balanced appropriately. no effort on the part of the reader.
The response is mostly relevant but there may be The content has all essential stages of reflection but A range of vocabulary and sentence structures are
some digression or misunderstanding. It is specific may be very descriptive and lacking detailed analysis. used. Errors in common structures and use may be
B to the course experience but it may lack depth, The reflection develops coherently with occasional frequent but do not cause significant confusion. Use
detail, a sense of originality, or be generalised/ lapses and has clear, organised stages. Overall, the of cohesive tools may lack flexibility or precision but
impersonal learning. content is appropriate. Paragraphing is adequate. do not cause strain. Less common language may
cause minor confusion. Spelling errors are rare.
The response may include more than two topics The content may be heavily descriptive and/or The range of vocabulary and sentence structures is
and is often either irrelevant or digresses. There lacking any detailed analysis and/or future plans, or satisfactory, there is occasional confusion due to
may be little or no personal, thoughtful or original with no clear reflective stages. There may be lapses in accuracy. Language may sometimes be
C ideas, or they may be not specific to the course instances of incoherent organisation that cause some inappropriate. Errors in punctuation may occur,
experience, or it may be largely generalised. The strain. Content may be noticeably inappropriate. which cause strain. Connections between ideas may
topic may be addressed superficially or confused. Paragraphing may be faulty and/or cause strain. be simplistic, faulty or informal and may confuse.
The response shows a very limited understanding Content lacks clear organisation and may lack both The range of vocabulary and sentence structures is
of the chosen topics and may be largely irrelevant, the analysis and planning stages of reflection. Lack of noticeably limited, and inaccuracies cause
D or not specific to the course. The writing shows organisation may create strain. Content may be considerable strain for the reader. Errors in
little evidence of personal learning about the topic frequently inappropriate. Paragraphing may be punctuation affect meaning coming through. Ideas
and may be too broad or vague. There may be some absent. There may be some plagiarism and/or fewer are not adequately connected. There may be some
plagiarism and/or fewer than 800 words. than 800 words. plagiarism and/or fewer than 800 words
The response is irrelevant to any topic, or the topic Inadequate response lacks any content that shows The range of sentence structures is often so
is not discernible. The writing is inadequate, reflection. Content may lack any organisation or be inadequate that meaning comes through only after
F generalised and/or abstract. Over a third may be largely inappropriate. Over a third may be plagiarised considerable effort by the reader. Over a third may be
plagiarised or there are fewer than 800 words. or there are fewer than 800 words. plagiarised or there are fewer than 800 words.
CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation
Semester 1, 2024–2025
A short guide to reflective writing
Reflection is … … …
• a type of critical thinking.
• a way of keeping track of the skills you are learning and the knowledge you acquire,
as well as the gaps you are finding in your skills and knowledge.
• a learning process that helps you find connections between topics and between
theories.
• a professional tool to help you grow and improve.
• a way to make sense of your own thoughts and feelings.
Reflective writing for an assignment
Writing reflectively for the purposes of an assignment should not involve merely
describing something that happened. Nor does it mean pouring out everything you think
and feel in a totally unstructured way. Reflective writing requires a clear line of thought,
use of examples to illustrate your reflections, and an analytical approach. You are aiming
to strike a balance between your personal perspective, and the requirements of good
academic practice and rigorous thinking.
Structure of reflective writing
Reflective writing is more than a descriptive activity. You might start by describing what
happened or how you feel, but true reflection goes beyond this step and might include
things like why you think something happened, why you feel the way you do, how your
feelings or thoughts have changed, and what you might do differently in a similar situation
in the future.
One common model for reflective writing is the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, which has 6 parts:
A. Description – Describe what happened
B. Feelings – How did it make you feel?
C. Evaluation – What was good or bad about the experience?
D. Analysis – What sense can you make of the situation?
E. Conclusion – What general and specific conclusions can you draw?
F. Action – What next, or what will you do next time?
3
CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation
Semester 1, 2024–2025
Below are examples of Gibb’s reflective cycle and key language in bold.
A. What Happened Last week, I had an interview in Admiralty for entry to a
college in Australia but after I left home, I found I had
forgotten my certificates, so I had to go back home, and then I
had to run to get to the building on time. I think I made many
mistakes in the interview.
B. What were you I felt very hot and out of breath from running, and then I felt
thinking and feeling? worried and stressed in the interview, so I could not cool down
or think clearly. It was hard to calm down. I felt unhappy and
lost all my confidence. I wanted to finish the interview as
quickly as possible and I rushed my answers.
C. What was good It is good that I arrived at the interview on time so I did not lose
and bad about it? the opportunity to get a place. However, my performance was
not my best so now I am worried I will not get accepted and
then I do not know what I will do next year.
D. What sense can The key point is to be better organised. I realize now that it is
you make of it? necessary to be prepared for things to go wrong so that it does
not surprise me and I know what to do if something happens. It
is a bad idea to leave preparation to the last minute because I
might not be feeling calm so I might make a mistake. I learned
that I am not good at calming down under stressful situations
and I lose confidence quickly, so I need to learn some relaxation
techniques.
E. What different It was possible to get ready the evening before because I could
actions were have put the certificates in my bag so I would not forget them.
possible? With more planning, it would be possible to have a checklist
of things to do. Another possibility is to prepare answers to
common interview questions, so I might not lose confidence
during the interview.
F. If it happens again, In future, I am going to get ready as soon as I can so I can relax
what will you do? and feel confident. I will revise answers to questions and try to
prepare for other challenges. I am going to leave home with
plenty of time so I will not need to hurry. In addition, I am going
to learn how to deal with stressful interviews and study
relaxation methods. I should also find other institutions to study
with and make sure I have more than one interview so I can
practice my techniques, reflect, and improve each time.
4
CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation
Semester 1, 2024–2025
Language points
Be aware of tense. Sometimes you are remembering feelings you had at the time of the
event, which should be written in past tense. Sometimes you are talking about current and
persistent feelings. Use present tense for feelings you have at the time of writing.
Tone of reflective writing
The tone of reflective writing can be quite different to other forms of academic writing.
Although it should still be a formal piece of academic writing, it will be more personal and
may be slightly less technical and abstract than other kinds of academic writing such as
Essays and Reports.
• Formal Tone
Just because reflective writing is a personal exercise, it doesn’t mean all the rules go out
the window. You still need to write in complete, grammatically correct sentences with
accurate spelling and punctuation. Since your reflection is going to be marked you need to
make sure it’s readable and abides by the marking standards.
To make your language sound as formal as possible, you should AVOID using language
features that are characteristic of casual conversation, such as:
o colloquial or slang words (→Don’t use ‘kids’. → Use ‘children’)
o contractions (→ Don’t use ‘isn’t’. → Use ‘is not’)
o abbreviations (→ Don’t use ‘max’. → Use ‘maximum’)
o spoken-like grammatical structures such as run-on sentences or sentence fragments
• Personal Tone
Reflection is subjective, whereas academic essays usually need to be objective. In
reflective writing, you are expected to reflect on your personal experience and how you
felt about things you did. So your writing should be personal, while still formal.
You are reflecting on yourself, your thoughts, and your understanding, so you really need
to use the first-person pronouns, i.e. ‘I’, ‘my’ or ‘me’. This seems to go against everything
you've been taught so far that says ‘I’ has no place in academic essays, but it’s okay in a
reflection, because you are talking about your own experiences.
You should be honest and say what you think and feel. There’s no point in lying to yourself
or your marker. Take some time to really think through your perspective, and don’t feel
that you need to make things up to provide a more interesting experience for the reader.
Your authentic experience is enough in itself.
5
CCEN4025 Introduction to Translation
Semester 1, 2024–2025
Common Misconceptions
People can have misconceptions about academic reflective writing – some of the common
ones are described below.
Academic reflective writing is NOT Instead…
Just descriptions of what has happened Descriptions should be used as foundations
for learning.
A personal diary where you can say Academic reflective writing requires
anything and use any language structure and formal language.
A place where you get marks for Your focus should be on connections
complementing the course or teacher between the skills you are learning or the
assessing you knowledge you acquire, and your own
thoughts and feelings.
A place where you get marks for The experiences you share must be used
self-disclosure – by merely sharing actively to promote learning AND be
dramatic experiences or personal trauma. appropriate for the audience. An assessor
will probably not be comfortable reading
your darkest secrets.
A nuisance or waste of time If done correctly, the formal and structured
reflection can help with your personal
learning and development.
Acknowledgement – Material in this lecture handout is adapted from:
University of Birmingham. (2015). A short guide to reflective writing.
[Link]
University of Edinburgh. (2019, July 4). General tips for academic reflections.
[Link]
UNSW Sydney. (2019, December 23). How do I write reflectively?
[Link]
Western Sydney University. (2016, July). Tone of reflective writing.
[Link]