AC English Handbook - 7

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Journals:

Journals have become an intrinsic part of the AC curriculum. This does not always please everyone, but then not everyone can always be pleased. Journals are often assigned daily for short intervals. Journals serve many purposes, some of which include the following:

1. Develops fluency in writing--the more you write, the better you write.
2. Outlet for personal expression, creativity
3. Please to experiment with writing--try some new stylistic techniques, play with vocabulary
4. Share feelings, ideas with instructor
5. Important vehicle for "discovery learning"--you discover what you think when you write it
6. Opportunity to analyze specific topics, especially those associated with the book under study analyze character development, presentation of themes, use of viewpoint or setting, author's style, organization, etc.
7. Opportunity to share thinking with others (either privately or in shared readings)
8. Place to react to current events.
9. A record of your school life, your teenage years
10. A placed to summarize lessons--paraphrase what you have learned--react to what you have learned (a chance to reinforce your learning)

Journals may be collected on a daily basis--or less frequently. When they are collected, they will be read and given some reaction. Occasionally during the semester a packet of journals will be collected for review and points will be assigned--most generally for the amount of writing completed as much as anything. Most students will write between a half page and a page during the time allowed.

Every effort will be made to account for all work turned in. Because of the amount of work frequently assigned, special measures will be taken to identify who turns in what work when, i.e.--all papers will be checked on the day they are turned in and stamped with a date. Hopefully this will alleviate the problem of papers which suddently turn up missing. This will also enable the instructors to keep track of late work.

Prepared and distributed by B. Spencer and M. Thompson.