DOUBLE-SIDED JOURNAL

During the semester you are going to react to the book you are reading in a double-sided journal. You’ll need a notebook for this assignment.  Please put your name on the cover.

There are different forms your journal can take: 

On the left-hand page- copy three or more sentences from the book which interest you.
On the right-hand page- write your reaction.  For example, you may discuss:
*Why do you think this point is interesting?
*Does something in the reading surprise or disturb you?
*Why do the characters behave in certain ways?
*Can you anticipate what might happen later in the book?

Focus on the development of the characters in the books and the issues presented.  While you may include personal experiences related to the texts, this should not be the primary focus of the journal.

For each chapter, choose a minimum of two points to react to.  Your reaction to each point should be at least three sentences. (Many students write much more than this.)  Please note that this is not supposed to be a summary or explanation of the chapters. The journal is for you to record your thoughts and observations about the readings.  Please remember you are to write a reaction to the chapter and  not tell what the chapter is about.

1-On the left-hand page copy a few sentences which interest you from the assigned reading, followed by a  personal response on the right-hand page in which you write about your feelings and ideas about what happened or what was said in the text.  You could even refer to a similar experience that you have had in your own life.

2-Write a letter to the author or to one of the characters. This would include basically the same information as #1—reference to what happened or what was said, followed by a statement of your opinions.

3-Choose 3-5 quotations (depending on the length of the reading) and copy them into your journal on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side, for each one, write a personal response, similar but shorter to the one  described in #1.

The journals will be collected at several points during the semester.  Be sure to keep up!  This is a graded assignment.  Remember that journals will NOT contain compositions; therefore, I'll be paying attention to your ideas and comprehension of the readings much more than to your grammar and spelling.  However, the journal entries must make sense and be legible.  I will not only count the number of entries that you have written when figuring out your final grade, but also the appropriateness of each entry.