Journal Writing in Second Language Education

Appendix

221 Appendix Sample Journal Writing Assignments 1. Guidelines for reading response journals in my 2007 graduate course on Issues and Practices in Teaching EFL Writing Purpose: This journal should be a record of your thinking about some of the readings we do in this course. It will be used as a resource for sharing views during class discussions, and it will also be a resource for you later when you write papers as part of your MA program. At least one other classmate will read and respond to your journals. Format: A double-entry journal. In other words, each page needs to have space for a main entry, and a second space for a reflection on an entry. I suggest doing this by formatting each page in 2 columns. Write in one column, and leave the other blank for comments by me and others. Every entry should be dated and titled with a substantive title (NOT “Journal #1”). Refer to authors by last name and date (APA style citation). Grading: This journal will not be graded for academic writing style or for “objectivity.” You are encouraged to express yourself freely, to vent, to rehash, to change your opinion, and to illustrate. It will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory for completeness, and for depth and quality of reflection. Part of the grade includes evidence that you have read thoughtfully and critically, and that you have responded to a partner’s journal. (NOTE: There are no letter or number grades for these journals, only a check that they were done satisfactorily or a minus if you need to revise. If you write a journal that inspires me to sing and dance, you may get a plus mark from me.) 222 Entries: Please write one main entry for 4 of the 6 topics in this course (about 1 journal every 3–4 weeks). Refer to one or more readings in the reading packet or on reserve by citing author and year, APA style, beginning with Contrastive Rhetoric. Make a one-sentence summary only. You can then discuss a question you have about an issue or about the way an author talks about an issue (no need to find answers), you can compare what two authors say about the same topic, you can choose a passage to respond to (please copy the passage and include page number), etc. You can also add comments about issues that were brought out in class discussions. Submission and responses: Please submit electronic copies of journals to me, in addition to bringing hard copies to class for others to read. I will respond to each journal. We will also occasionally use class time for journal sharing and writing peer responses. Do NOT use your journals to summarize your readings at length. If you wish to do this in writing for your own learning purposes, that is fine, but write this separately in a reading notebook (or on cards or in computer files). Include quotes and page numbers in your personal reading notes so that you can use these later as needed for your final paper or other work. 2. Rebecca Mlynarczyk’s (1998, p. 42) guidelines for her advanced college ESL course I’d like you to follow these guidelines for your reading/writing journal. Although I will occasionally suggest topics for the journal, most of the time you will decide what you would like to write about. 1. Content: Basically this journal is a place for you to write about yourself as a reader and a writer. Of course, readers and writers are also people. So if there are personal things you would like to discuss in your journal, that’s fine too. Journal Writing in L2 Education 223 2. Length: Writing regularly is important, so I would recommend that you write in your journal about 5 times a week, even if it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes. Each week you will be expected to write at least 5 pages (10 pages if you double space). 3. In-class writing: During each class meeting we will spend about 10 minutes freewriting. Be sure to add these writings to your journal. 4. Writing about reading: Every Friday you should come to class with a journal entry about your reaction to the chapters in A Place for Us assigned for that week. You can get some ideas for writing about reading from the Introduction of...