Topic: Journals

10-second review: Suggests six different types of journals which offer the opportunity for “a first-rate writing exercise.”

Title: “Stay on Track with 6Types of Journals.” A E Cannon. The Writer (December 2009), 13.

Summary: Free-write Journal: pick a topic and write. Don’t correct. Idea Journal: put the idea down on paper before it “flits” away. Dream Journal. Record you dreams. “…writers who pay attention to their dreams have an easier time accessing the intuitive creative parts of themselves, and that, my friends, is a good thing.” Quotation Journal. Submissions Journal: keep track of submissions and their details—to whom and what you included. What-I-Wrote-and-How-I-Felt-About-It-Today Journal: Reflect on what you accomplished today and how you felt about it.

Comment: In teaching, I’ve always tried to stay away from personal journals. I’m no psychologist and I don’t want to spy on students’ personal affairs. It’s also the reason why I stay away from narrative writing, preferring expository writing. However, having students write about what they are learning—or not learning—in my class is, I think  a good idea. So is having students keep a journal about how they wrote their compositions and what they learned from the activity. RayS.