Instructions for Writing Journals and Response Papers

English 103
Instructions for Writing Journals/Response Papers:

Please type and double-space all journals. Minimum length is one page (two pages for scholars). You do not need to use MLA format, but observe all grammatical rules and avoid all mechanical errors; that means that you have to reread and proof your papers (if I see too many errors, I will return them to you and you will get no credit).

The Journal should be a response to your readings; they are less formal than essays, but they still contain some structure. Somewhere in your introduction, you should mention the title, author, and publication date of the text you have read. Then you should give a brief (very brief, no more than 3-4 sentences) summary. The rest of your paper should be an analysis of something in the text that struck you as noteworthy, interesting, puzzling, or strange.

If you are responding to more than one text, you should be sure to have understood each text individually, and then relate them to each other.

The best way to keep on track with both your reading and the responses (and your discussions as well) is to always annotate your text and immediately jot down your ideas and opinions that come up while you read.

Below is Duke University’s suggestions on how to write a successful Journal/Response Paper (Writing Studio. http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio):

Writing good response papers is more demanding than it might appear at first. It is not simply a matter of reading the text, understanding it, and expressing an opinion about it. You must allow your self enough time to be clear about what each text says and how the texts relate to one another. In other words, response papers require you to synthesize the intellectual work of others—that is, bring it together into an integrated whole. In preparing to write response papers, therefore, it is crucial that you allow yourself not just enough time to do the readings but enough to digest what you have read and put the results together into a unified account.

Questions to Ask:
Consider texts individually:
What is the main problem or issue that the author is addressing?
What is the author’s central claim, argument, or point?
What assumptions does the author make?
What evidence does the author present?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the text?
What are possible counterarguments to the text’s claim?
Why are the problem(s) and the argument(s) interesting or important?
Consider texts collectively:
How do they relate to one another?
Do the authors agree? Disagree? Address different aspects of an issue? Formulate a problem in different ways?