1. Write your journals on wide-ruled, loose leaf paper Model was not compensated for service.

2. Write in black ink only.

3. Write one-half page per day.

4. Skip only one line per page (between each journal entry). Besides, skipping is against school rules!

5. Journals will be checked every two weeks. I grade based on how much you write, not what you write. However, you will be held accountable in your journals for concepts taught in class. Therefore, you should read and edit your entries daily.

6. Do not write journal questions. This is copying, not writing.

7. For bonus points, write a minimum of two full extra journals (one full page, no lines skipped).

8. Remember that I shall read most of your journals. If you write something that you do not want me to read, simply write a big X on that journal, and I’ll not read it.

9. Often, I’ll make comments and suggestions on how to improve your writing. Feel free to write to me in your journals or to ask me questions about comments I’ve written to you.

10. Keep some of your really good journal entries and use them as topics for writing assignments later on. If you want, share your best entries aloud with the class.

11. Keep your old journals to show how you are growing periodically as a writer.

12. If you are absent, you may write about either what you did during your absence, or you may wait and get the topic from a friend. Remember, LPSB policy allows 5 days after an excused absence to complete and turn in any missed assignments. See the list of possible topics on your JWG sheet.

13. Personal experiences are often the best source of information for your journal entries. You are the author of your own life story, and only you can write about it the way it really happened.

Journal Writing Purpose Journal writing is practice writing and is an effective tool to help improve your writing abilities. By diagnosing your daily writing, I can pinpoint your weaknesses and help you strengthen them. Also, the more you write, the better writer you become. However, you must go one step farther. Daily, you must read your journal entries and edit them (spelling, punctuation, etc.). Editing your writing helps you avoid making future mistakes. One of the greatest rewards from daily writing is that you learn to express yourself much better. And, last, better writers make better thinkers (a good life skill).