Instructions For Your Reading Journal Eng102

ENG102.0846 “MODERN LOVE” Instructor Beth Schwartzapfel INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR READING JOURNAL Sometimes I will give you specific questions to answer in response to a reading. Sometimes, you will simply be required to read and take notes. You have wide latitude about what notes to take. Below is a list of ideas and suggestions for what to write about; you may choose to use your entire journal entry to answer a single question (except #1), or you may go through the list and answer all of them one by one. On days when I’ve assigned more than one reading, you can choose to focus on one of the readings, or you can take notes on all of them. (The exception is that you may not write about Keys for Writers.) The only hand and fast rules for your reading journal entries are:  You must do a thoughtful, conscientious job.  You must refer to at least one specific sentence, passage or idea from the reading. (In other words, don’t use the entire journal entry to write about your cousin Mohammad without first explaining specifically why your cousin is relevant to the reading.) Use page numbers and/or quotations to direct me to the sentence, passage, or idea to which you’re referring.  You must write at least 400 words (this works out to about a page and a half, typed and double spaced, or between 4 and 8 handwritten pages, depending on the size of your handwriting). This is meant to be informal and unedited, so don’t stress about doing a “perfect job.” I’m not going to correct grammar, and I’m grading for effort only, not content. That said, your reading journal will be the raw material for your papers, so the more work you put in now, the better prepared you’ll be later. Possible topics 1. Definitions: As you read, make a list of all the words that you don’t know. Look them up and write down their definitions in your own words. 2. List words you do know but that stand out for some reason (slang, puns, dialect, words used in unusual or striking ways). Reflect on why the author might have used them and whether it was effective. 3. What are the key themes and/or main ideas of this reading? What were the author’s goals? How can you tell? Did s/he achieve these goals? How? Why/why not? 4. Disagreements: Did the author make a statement or observation that made you say, but!, or, that’s not true? Write down the things with which you disagree, or about which you’re suspicious or disbelieving, and explain why. 5. Agreements, or resonances with your own life: Did the author say something that you agree with, or something that reminded you of your own opinions or experience? Explain how or why. 6. Questions: Did the author leave you wondering, or wanting to know more about a particular subject? Make a list of your questions. If possible, do a little research to answer them. 7. Connections: Did this reading remind you of another reading we’ve done this semester? How/why are they similar? How/why are they different?