HOW TO WRITE A GREAT JOURNAL ENTRY Journal Expectations for 8th English

How do I write a great journal entry? TOPIC – You must restate the prompt & stay on topic. * Get in the habit of including the prompt in your topic sentence. LENGTH – It must be at least 5-7 sentences of various structure (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex). FORMAT/STYLE- Make sure to keep the style/type of journal in mind when writing. See next slides for explanation. EXPLANATION & DETAILS – Fully explain yourself. Share your opinions, support your statements, give examples, use quotes, etc. GET PERSONAL & CREATIVE – This is YOUR journal. Make it yours! Add your thoughts, feelings, creativity, and personality to your writing. Just keep it school appropriate, please.

HOW TO WRITE A SELF-REFLECTION JOURNAL TOPIC – You must address the prompt & stay on topic. * Get in the habit of including the prompt in your topic sentence. LENGTH – It must be at least 5-7 sentences of various structure (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex). EXPLANATION & DETAILS – fully explain yourself. Share your opinions, support your statements, give examples, use quotes, etc. REFLECT! – Look “into” yourself and your experiences, opinions, feelings. This is the most personal type of journal as it focuses on yourself. Add your thoughts, feelings, creativity, and personality to your writing. Just keep it school appropriate, please.

HOW TO WRITE A QUOTABLE JOURNAL TOPIC –Address the prompt & stay on topic. * Include the quote and the person who said it. SEE NEXT SLIDE FOR EXAMPLES. EXPLANATION & DETAILS – Explain what you think the quote means. Give your opinion of the quote based on its meaning. Explain why you feel that way. Be specific. LENGTH – It must be at least 5-7 sentences of various structure (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex). GET PERSONAL & CREATIVE – This is YOUR journal. Make it yours! Add your thoughts, feelings, creativity, and personality to your writing. Just keep it school appropriate, please.

HOW DO I START A QUOTABLE JOURNAL? EXAMPLES: I believe that the quote, “If you think you can, you can. If you don’t think you can, you’re right,” by Mark Twain means…. When author Mark Twain said, “If you think you can, you can. If you don’t think you can, you’re right,” he was saying that… Famous author Mark Twain once said, “If you think you can, you can. If you don’t think you can, you’re right.” I agree with this quote because…. Mark Twain believes that “If you think you can, you can. If you don’t think you can, you’re right.” I think this means….

HOW TO WRITE A JOURNAL ABOUT WHAT I’M READING (TEXT-BASED) TOPIC –Address the prompt & stay on topic. LENGTH – It must be at least 5-7 sentences of various structure (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex). USE TEXT-BASED EVIDENCE– Use specific details from what you’ve read to support you as you answer the prompt. Prove that you’ve read the material and can back up your statements with evidence from the text. SYNTHESIZE – Blend your opinions with FACTS from the text by including that text-based evidence