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- You will be required
to keep a journal in a notebook or on computer this year.
- Usually you will
write your journal at home, but sometimes I will give you a special
journal assignment in class.
Purposes
A journal
is not busy work. One of the important ways of learning to write, is
to write frequently. In your journals you will practice writing extensively,
i.e., writing a lot, to develop fluency in writing.
Other purposes include:
- To practice writing
more quickly and easily without worrying about mistakes.
- To write down
your thoughts about the English news you have been listening to.
- To play with
new forms of writing.
- To keep interesting
words or sentences you have read or heard.
- To write to me
and tell me what you think, or to ask me questions.
- To write down
ideas.
- To give you a
written record of this year.
Journaling Topics and Techniques
- The most basic
topic is, "What did I do today?" "What was the most significant thing
that happened?" "What was unique about the day?" The following supplementary
questions will help you include sensory information that will enable
the reader to also experience the events of the day.
| a.
What did you see? |
d.
What did you smell? |
| b.
What did you hear? |
e.
What did you taste? |
| c.
What did you feel? |
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- Write
your reactions to events that happened during the day. A dry list
of events lacks interest, but by saying how you felt about what happened,
you can fill even a simple day's events with life.
- See the Topics
page for more ideas of what to write about.
Marks:
a. I will read your journals but
will not correct mistakes, but if you have a question about a word or
group of words, mark it with a ? and I will check it. I will read and
comment on what you say or answer questions.
b. Marks will be given on the amount
written as follows:
- 5 lines a day
= C
- 6-8 lines a day
= B
- 9+ lines a day
= A
c.
The least
you should write is 3 times a week, but you can write more if you want.
d. Your journal will be 20% of your mark each term.
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