Weekly Reading Journal Instructions
What is a Reading Journal? Reflective writing helps you make personal sense out of the rich, complex, and confusing information you are learning and ideas you are confronting. As the term implies, this type of writing is like a mirror, giving you an opportunity to look at your developing understanding of the worldand its people. This personal connection increases your motivation, purpose, and involvement by helping you define what you want to learn and say.Journals provide space for examining your readings and your thoughts in great detail, following through on your observations in whichever way strikes you as appropriate. A journal for an academic class is not the same as a personal diary. While this is a more informal type of writingthan an essay, students should follow standard writing practices and grammatical conventions. What should you writeabout?I am looking for critical analysis and original thought, so do not just tell me what you think I want to hear. I want to hear what YOU thinkabout the literature—what connections YOU maketo the literature. You may discuss the text in any way you see fit, but if you are not sure where to start, the next page includes a list of writing promptsfor students to respond to. Each prompt should be the single focusof your Journaldiscussion. You are not to “answer” the promptslike they are questions. They aredesigned to help you exploreyour own developing understandingof the text. There will also be weekly prompts available in addition to the ones listed below that are specific to the texts we are discussing. Iwill provide those in the weekly module on eLearn.Requirements: Students will write a total of 8 Weekly Reading Journals. Students can choose which weeks they want to write about, except the first one which I willassign during the second week of class. Otherwise, it does not matter to me which week or which texts students choose to reflect upon. Journals should be 1-2 pages (250-500 words), typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font in 12 pts. Appropriate headings and titles are required. See the handout on eLearn for additional formatting guidelines and an exampleWhat is a Reading Journal? Reflective writing helps you make personal sense out of the rich, complex, and confusing information you are learning and ideas you are confronting. As the term implies, this type of writing is like a mirror, giving you an opportunity to look at your developing understanding of the worldand its people. This personal connection increases your motivation, purpose, and involvement by helping you define what you want to learn and say.Journals provide space for examining your readings and your thoughts in great detail, following through on your observations in whichever way strikes you as appropriate. A journal for an academic class is not the same as a personal diary. While this is a more informal type of writingthan an essay, students should follow standard writing practices and grammatical conventions. What should you writeabout?I am looking for critical analysis and original thought, so do not just tell me what you think I want to hear. I want to hear what YOU thinkabout the literature—what connections YOU maketo the literature. You may discuss the text in any way you see fit, but if you are not sure where to start, the next page includes a list of writing promptsfor students to respond to. Each prompt should be the single focusof your Journaldiscussion. You are not to “answer” the promptslike they are questions. They aredesigned to help you exploreyour own developing understandingof the text. There will also be weekly prompts available in addition to the ones listed below that are specific to the texts we are discussing. Iwill provide those in the weekly module on eLearn.Requirements: Students will write a total of 8 Weekly Reading Journals. Students can choose which weeks they want to write about, except the first one which I willassign during the second week of class. Otherwise, it does not matter to me which week or which texts students choose to reflect upon. Journals should be 1-2 pages (250-500 words), typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font in 12 pts. Appropriate headings and titles are required. See the handout on eLearn for additional formatting guidelines and an example of how all submitted assignments should appear. The journal should be well-organized intoparagraphs and apply correct source usage practices (like quotations) accordingto MLA documentation style, but you do not need to provide a Works Cited page. Be sure to state specifically which text you are discussing so there is no confusion.of how all submitted assignments should appear. The journal should be well-organized intoparagraphs and apply correct source usage practices (like quotations) accordingto MLA documentation style, but you do not need to provide a Works Cited page. Be sure to state specifically which text you are discussing so there is no confusion.
