This page has resources and information for the writing work we do in this course.

Journal Writing for Reflection & Developing Expertise 

"Journal Writing as a Teaching Technique to Promote Reflection" by Stacy E. Walker | annotated copy

Reflection involves thinking about and exploring an issue of concern, which is triggered by an experience. Reflection distinguishes experts from those with basic competency because an expert "uses information from previous experiences as well as the insights gained from the reflective process to improve decision-making ability."

competency vs. expertise

Competency = knowing-in-action or the "know-how" an individual reveals while performing an action. 

When a familiar routine produces an unexpected result, it is beneficial for students to reflect on it afterward; this helps the individual to gain insight, deepen understanding, and develop competency in the nuances and complexities of a skill.

Expertise = able to engage in reflection-in-action in which an individual "reshapes what he or she is doing while doing it" based on data and insights including those gained from reflection on past experiences. Expertise and insight comes from reflecting on a experience after it has happened.

Journal writing can be an excellent strategy for facilitating reflection and growth. Journal writing assignments give students guided opportunities to "think aloud" on paper and reflect their own perceptions or understandings of content and situations. Journal writing can be designed to enhance reflection, facilitate critical thought, express feelings in writing about problems encountered during experiences, and practice writing summaries, goals, and focused arguments.

Journal writing also helps students move from being passive to active learners, and aids in "placing responsibility with the student for active engagement and self-directed learning."

Tips for reflective journal writing: 

• the assignment should guide the written content; example assignments:

  • Write about at least one reading, video, concept, issue, event or person we have explored in class or in your independent research.

  • Choose one of the following topics to focus on in your reflection writing.

  • Reflect on your research project and/or writing this week.

  • [Specific question(s) related to topics.]

• challenge students to reflect on information and situations, as well as consider how they might perform differently should similar situations arise in the future

• encourage students to reflect on an experience, whether that experience is from classroom content or their own experiences

  • What did you like/enjoy?

  • What did you find interesting?

  • What did you struggle with? What did you find challenging?

  • What did you learn?

  • What questions do you have?

  • What relevant information or resources can you find?

  • More reflection questions

• encourage students to include new information, resources and ideas in their journal writing, especially information that is relevant to  a problem/challenge that they have identified in their previous writing, or information that interests them and provides new avenues for professional growth and development

• reflective journal writing can also involve writing about difficult concepts, summarizing a discussion, or exploring or arguing for/against a particular issue 

• encourage students to explore different perspectives in their writing

• consider assigning a mix of preassigned and spontaneous topics

  • preassigned: advantage is that students can think about the topic before writing

  • spontaneous: advantage is that students can write about any topic or experience that concerns or interests them

• allow time for journal writing during class (10-15 minutes)

• allow students to write in a freeform style -- the journal should be a safe space for free expression -- maintaining confidentiality and having a nonjudgmental approach is key

• summaries or critiques should be 1-2 pages -- content is more important than word count

• be clear about grading:

  • How will journals be graded?

  • What percentage of the grade will be affected by their journal writing? (10-20% of the overall course grade)

  • How/when are journals turned in? How/when will they be returned? 

Giving feedback on journal writing:

• if/when students submit portions of their reflective journal writing, consider giving written feedback or having an individual dialogue/debriefing session -- opportunity for validation and further input

• the focus should be on the students' thought process and the content of their writing, not on grammar, punctuation or spelling

• after the first journal writing assignment, provide timely feedback to every student -- 1-2 comments about the overall journal or comments/questions related specific portions 

• in feedback or conversations, encourage students to reflect more deeply... guide them to continuously ask themselves why they feel the way they do about a topic or situation or why they made a certain decision --> 

  • Why did I...? 

  • How will... affect...?

  • What changes could be made now or in similar situations in the future?

• individual conferences and/or group discussions can help with connecting the journal writing with critical thinking

• group discussions can promote the exchange of ideas and help students synthesize information 

3 stages of the reflective process (can be used for assessing the level of reflectivity):

1. awareness of uncomfortable feelings (frustration, stress, etc.)

2. critical analysis of the situation -- involves feelings and new knowledge is applied

3. development of a new perspective on the situation

More Ideas for Writing Workshop

New Ways to Workshop: A Reading List to Inspire Literary Innovation by Rachel May and Krys Malcolm Belc - discusses the idea of using a chapbook concept to commit to writing poems around a single topic, idea, question, or theme, for the entire semester.  Also includes a list of chapbooks that can be used as mentor texts for such an exploration.

The Writing Workshop and Its Variations from the Princeton Writing Program

Drafting

Notes from Books on Writing

Notes on Fiction Writing & Interpretation

Notes from "Why do we read and write?" from Nathan Bransford

definition of story: "it’s about a character trying to navigate the world." 

"And in order to make it engaging, I believe it helps for that character to be active and emerge from the story in a different place than they started. Now, please note that I’m saying active. I’m not saying powerful... Even just trying to figure something out or trying to make peace with circumstances beyond a character’s control is being active."

"I also believe good writing is precise and not vague. Different readers will project different things onto the page and everything does not have to be spelled out, but it helps for the writing to be as sharp as possible, even if this may result in different styles and approaches to get there."

Notes from A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders 

Printable Version

Lenses offered by George Saunders in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

• TICHN “things I couldn’t help notice” (84)

• 3 questions (14), “curiosity as caring”

  • What do we know so far? (In one or two sentences, summarize what you know so far)

  • What are you curious about? (What questions do you have?)

  • Where do you think the story is headed? (What bowling pins are in the air?)

• writer as juggler - what bowling pins has the author thrown into the air? (14)

• reader’s expectations, anticipating the reader (14, 17)

• structure (19)

  • “We might think of structure as simply: an organizational scheme that allows the story to answer a question it has caused its reader to ask… We might imagine structure as a form of call-and-response. A question arises organically from the story and then the story, very considerately, answers it. If we want to make good structure, we just have to be aware of what question we are causing the reader to ask, then answer that question” (14)

• “ritual banality avoidance” (35)

• escalation (60, 137)

• characterization & character development (16)

• character change, story vs. anecdote, what makes this a story? (51)

  • “What makes a piece of writing a story is that something happens within it that changes the character forever… we tell a certain story, starting at one time and ending at another, in order to frame that moment of change” (51)

• “ruthlessly efficient,” use everything, no waste (41, 48)

• sidecar of motorcycle (58)

• pattern creates expectation (134, 147)

• “in specificity lies nascent plot” (142)

Patterns in a Story

Specifying character traits can also set up plot: "once a specific person has been made (via facts, characterization), we then know, of all the many things that could happen to her, which would be meaningful... in specificity lies nascent plot... 'good writerly habit' might consist of continually revising toward specificity, so that specificity can appear and then produce plot (or, as we prefer to call it, 'meaningful action')." (142)

Establishing a pattern in a story (with slight variations) is one way to create and use/exploit reader expectations: "the pattern, as patterns tend to do, creates a series of evolving expectations." (148)

First Sentences

In short stories, the first sentence is germinal, catalytic, and atomic. It must not only pull the reader into the story, but it must also set the parameters for what the story will be. Within the context of the story, a good first sentence is truthful (within the context of the storytelling), it is efficient, it immediately sets expectations, and it piques curiosity. 

Example: In “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri, the first sentence sets up a scenario in a way that let’s the reader know that something worth reading will occur:

“The notice informed them that it was a temporary matter: for five days their electricity would be cut off for one hour, beginning at eight pm.” 

From the outset we know that the characters are being thrust into unusual circumstances, and we are wondering who these characters are and how these circumstances will lead to a fundamental change in their lives.

Question: In what ways do the first sentences of other stories fulfill these requirements? Can you write an interesting and engaging first sentence that contains the seeds of a potential story? 

The Power of Literature

“I think that the power of art is the power to wake us up, strike us to our depths, change us. What are we searching for when we read a novel, see a film, listen to a piece of music? We are searching, through a work of art, for something that alters us, that we weren’t aware of before. We want to transform ourselves…” —"Teach Yourself Italian" by Jhumpa Lahiri in The New Yorker

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” —Franz Kafka

Question: Does the story move you in any way? Does it make you view life any differently? Does it inspire you in any way?