Journal 1: Organizing Essay 1
Journal 1 Requirements:
A journal differs from a discussion in that it is directly submitted to the instructor instead of being available for your classmates
to read and respond to. Moreover, whereas discussions are prewriting activities used for discussing concepts and generating ideas,
journals are a critical part of the drafting process. By the time you write your journal, you should know which assigned reading you
are going to write about in your essay, as this will be the same reading that you address in your journal. In this regard, your journal
response serves as an early draft of your essay in which you fulfill some of the same objectives of the essay assignment.
Each journal will have specific requirements that are listed beneath the assignment directions below. All journals, however, will be
assessed according to some common criteria:
• Development — since journals are an essential part of the drafting process, your ideas should display more thorough development than
discussion postings. Rather than rattling off ideas, explore each idea as a potential main point of your essay, developing it until its
logical end.
• Clarity — as learning how to express ideas with clarity is one of the main goals of ENGL 1213, your journals should develop ideas in
a manner that is easy for the reader to comprehend. Before you submit your journal, revise to eliminate or rewrite passages that are
needlessly wordy, confusingly worded, and/or awkwardly worded.
• Analysis — your goal in the journal is to analyze rather than merely summarize. While you may refer to specific passages of the
reading you are addressing, do not spend all of your time summarizing its contents. Instead, aim to offer insight by analyzing the
reading according to the requirements specified in the assignment directions below.
• Grammar — before you submit your journal, proofread to check for and correct grammatical errors. This will serve as excellent
practice for when you proofread prior to submitting your final essay draft.
Assignment Directions:
This journal will provide you an opportunity to organize Essay 1. The traditional organizational pattern is listed below.
The introduction should:
• Introduce the author and the work to which you are responding
• Provide a brief synopsis of the work
• Provide a brief statement explaining your connection to the topic
• State your thesis, which should assert your position on the issue and which should be an arguable and defendable claim.
Each body paragraph should contain:
• A topic sentence (sub-claim) that explicitly identifies a focus of the paragraph and relates specifically to the thesis of the essay
• Reasonable evidence from a variety of sources to support the topic sentence (Evidence might be from the reading selections in the
textbook, personal experiences, complex questions, fictional scenarios, anecdotes, or personal observations).
• Personal experience or specific personal observations as an essential element in the body paragraphs even if other evidence is used.
• Academic language that clearly and effectively engages the reader in his or her thinking process
• Transition sentences that help the reader move logically from one paragraph to the next
The conclusion should:
• Summarize the thesis or claim of your paper
• Answer any questions asked in the introduction
• Lead the reader toward a final position that opens his or her thoughts to a different perception of ideas.
• Explain the title of the paper if appropriate
For this journal, prepare an organizational outline of your topic. You do not need to use Roman Numerals to organize your paper, but
you should consider what you plan to write in each area of the essay. You may write full sentences in your outline, if you wish. Our
handbook, Writing Matters, provides ample information on outlining and paragraph development. See the following pages in the handbook:
• Writing Introductory Paragraphs (p. 35)
• Writing Concluding Paragraphs (p. 36)
• Organizing your Ideas (p. 24)
• Crafting and Connecting Paragraphs (p. 28; 37)
• Developing Paragraphs Using Patterns of Organization (p.31)
Journal 1: Organizing Essay 1
Journal 1 Requirements:
A journal differs from a discussion in that it is directly submitted to the instructor instead of being available for your classmates
to read and respond to. Moreover, whereas discussions are prewriting activities used for discussing concepts and generating ideas,
journals are a critical part of the drafting process. By the time you write your journal, you should know which assigned reading you
are going to write about in your essay, as this will be the same reading that you address in your journal. In this regard, your
journal response serves as an early draft of your essay in which you fulfill some of the same objectives of the essay assignment.
Each journal will have specific requirements that are listed beneath the assignment directions below. All journals, however, will be
assessed according to some common criteria:
• Development — since journals are an essential part of the drafting process, your ideas should display more thorough
development than discussion postings. Rather than rattling off ideas, explore each idea as a potential main point of your essay,
developing it until its logical end.
• Clarity — as learning how to express ideas with clarity is one of the main goals of ENGL 1213, your journals should develop
ideas in a manner that is easy for the reader to comprehend. Before you submit your journal, revise to eliminate or rewrite passages
that are needlessly wordy, confusingly worded, and/or awkwardly worded.
• Analysis — your goal in the journal is to analyze rather than merely summarize. While you may refer to specific passages of
the reading you are addressing, do not spend all of your time summarizing its contents. Instead, aim to offer insight by analyzing the
reading according to the requirements specified in the assignment directions below.
• Grammar — before you submit your journal, proofread to check for and correct grammatical errors. This will serve as excellent
practice for when you proofread prior to submitting your final essay draft.
Assignment Directions:
This journal will provide you an opportunity to organize Essay 1. The traditional organizational pattern is listed below.
The introduction should:
• Introduce the author and the work to which you are responding
• Provide a brief synopsis of the work
• Provide a brief statement explaining your connection to the topic
• State your thesis, which should assert your position on the issue and which should be an arguable and defendable claim.
Each body paragraph should contain:
• A topic sentence (sub-claim) that explicitly identifies a focus of the paragraph and relates specifically to the thesis of the
essay
• Reasonable evidence from a variety of sources to support the topic sentence (Evidence might be from the reading selections in
the textbook, personal experiences, complex questions, fictional scenarios, anecdotes, or personal observations).
• Personal experience or specific personal observations as an essential element in the body paragraphs even if other evidence is
used.
• Academic language that clearly and effectively engages the reader in his or her thinking process
• Transition sentences that help the reader move logically from one paragraph to the next
The conclusion should:
• Summarize the thesis or claim of your paper
• Answer any questions asked in the introduction
• Lead the reader toward a final position that opens his or her thoughts to a different perception of ideas.
• Explain the title of the paper if appropriate
For this journal, prepare an organizational outline of your topic. You do not need to use Roman Numerals to organize your paper, but
you should consider what you plan to write in each area of the essay. You may write full sentences in your outline, if you wish. Our
handbook, Writing Matters, provides ample information on outlining and paragraph development. See the following pages in the handbook:
• Writing Introductory Paragraphs (p. 35)
• Writing Concluding Paragraphs (p. 36)
• Organizing your Ideas (p. 24)
• Crafting and Connecting Paragraphs (p. 28; 37)
• Developing Paragraphs Using Patterns of Organization (p.31)
Journal 1: Organizing Essay 1
Journal 1 Requirements:
A journal differs from a discussion in that it is directly submitted to the instructor instead of being available for your classmates
to read and respond to. Moreover, whereas discussions are prewriting activities used for discussing concepts and generating ideas,
journals are a critical part of the drafting process. By the time you write your journal, you should know which assigned reading you
are going to write about in your essay, as this will be the same reading that you address in your journal. In this regard, your
journal response serves as an early draft of your essay in which you fulfill some of the same objectives of the essay assignment.
Each journal will have specific requirements that are listed beneath the assignment directions below. All journals, however, will be
assessed according to some common criteria:
• Development — since journals are an essential part of the drafting process, your ideas should display more thorough
development than discussion postings. Rather than rattling off ideas, explore each idea as a potential main point of your essay,
developing it until its logical end.
• Clarity — as learning how to express ideas with clarity is one of the main goals of ENGL 1213, your journals should develop
ideas in a manner that is easy for the reader to comprehend. Before you submit your journal, revise to eliminate or rewrite passages
that are needlessly wordy, confusingly worded, and/or awkwardly worded.
• Analysis — your goal in the journal is to analyze rather than merely summarize. While you may refer to specific passages of
the reading you are addressing, do not spend all of your time summarizing its contents. Instead, aim to offer insight by analyzing the
reading according to the requirements specified in the assignment directions below.
• Grammar — before you submit your journal, proofread to check for and correct grammatical errors. This will serve as excellent
practice for when you proofread prior to submitting your final essay draft.
Assignment Directions:
This journal will provide you an opportunity to organize Essay 1. The traditional organizational pattern is listed below.
The introduction should:
• Introduce the author and the work to which you are responding
• Provide a brief synopsis of the work
• Provide a brief statement explaining your connection to the topic
• State your thesis, which should assert your position on the issue and which should be an arguable and defendable claim.
Each body paragraph should contain:
• A topic sentence (sub-claim) that explicitly identifies a focus of the paragraph and relates specifically to the thesis of the
essay
• Reasonable evidence from a variety of sources to support the topic sentence (Evidence might be from the reading selections in
the textbook, personal experiences, complex questions, fictional scenarios, anecdotes, or personal observations).
• Personal experience or specific personal observations as an essential element in the body paragraphs even if other evidence is
used.
• Academic language that clearly and effectively engages the reader in his or her thinking process
• Transition sentences that help the reader move logically from one paragraph to the next
The conclusion should:
• Summarize the thesis or claim of your paper
• Answer any questions asked in the introduction
• Lead the reader toward a final position that opens his or her thoughts to a different perception of ideas.
• Explain the title of the paper if appropriate
For this journal, prepare an organizational outline of your topic. You do not need to use Roman Numerals to organize your paper, but
you should consider what you plan to write in each area of the essay. You may write full sentences in your outline, if you wish. Our
handbook, Writing Matters, provides ample information on outlining and paragraph development. See the following pages in the handbook:
• Writing Introductory Paragraphs (p. 35)
• Writing Concluding Paragraphs (p. 36)
• Organizing your Ideas (p. 24)
• Crafting and Connecting Paragraphs (p. 28; 37)
• Developing Paragraphs Using Patterns of Organization (p.31)
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