101e Journal Assignment

ENG 101E

Mara Earley

FALL 2004

JOURNALS

 

You will be writing journals in response to each reading.  Sometimes I will ask you specific questions to write about.  Other times I’ll ask you to write a reaction to any part of the reading that appeals to you.  You should think of the journals as a safe place in which you will practice your writing, explore your thoughts, and test your ideas.  Journals are not graded on grammar; I’m interested in the content and effort.  The following number system will be used to grade your journals:

 

4- Original thoughts, ideas and/or opinions are presented regarding the content of the reading.  Specific connections to your personal experience and/or other readings are made.  The response addresses all parts of the question(s) with specific examples and details. 

 

3- The response could be further developed with more specific examples and/or original thoughts/ideas.  There may be too much summary rather than actual opinion.

 

2- The response may be too vague, too general and/or too brief or it may only partially answer the question(s).

 

1- The response does not reflect an understanding of the reading and/or does not show sufficient effort.

 

Please follow these guidelines for writing journals:

 

For each journal include the journal number, the author and the title of the reading.

 

Summary Part:

In this part include a brief summary of the reading.  This should include the main ideas of the author and/or the key point he/she is trying to make.  Again, this part should be brief.   It shouldn’t take you more than a few sentences.

 

Opinion Part:

In this part write your reaction to the reading.  If the journal assignment asked you a question, you should answer it here.  Your reaction can be about many things.  It can be about how you feel, or what you think, or whether you agree or disagree with the author.  You can raise some questions about the reading.  Your reaction can also be a connection to other readings or to a personal experience. When referring to the reading, please include the author’s exact words, so I know what you’re talking about.  Just as follows:

 

Exact Words:

“No one can advise or help you.”(p.10)

 

Reaction:

I agree with this statement.  When you create or write something -- a poem for example--don’t ask for people’s opinion to see if it’s good or not.

 

There is no set length you need to write for your journals, but if you just write two or three sentences, it’s obviously not enough.  Remember, your journals will be graded on content and effort.

 

Please write these journals on single sheets of paper that you can keep in a folder or notebook.  Please do not give me your notebooks, as they are too heavy for me to carry around.