The objective of this Assignment is to provide you with a private place to think on the page; “thinking on the page” is a phrase used to describe writing as a form of thinking. Some of us process our thoughts out loud as we describe them to others. In an academic environment, you will be asked to record your ideas in writing or “thinking on the page” to show the new knowledge that you’ve acquired through reading and listening to the resources and completing the assignments. The journal is not a formal type of writing and only you and your Instructor will see the journal entry.

The weekly journals will be used to develop a personalized academic writing plan that will fit into the Week 6 Personal Success Plan Assignment.

Each journal must be at least three paragraphs long, but you are allowed to write as much as you would like. These entries are meant to be free writing, but you should revise before submitting. Your journal entries will be graded on participation and do not have rubrics.

To prepare for writing your Journal entry:

Review the Montante article in the Week 3 Learning Resources
Review the Academic Writing Expectations Checklist to guide your writing
Review sample journal entries posted in an Announcement.

Assignment Instructions:

Think about the material you encountered in the course this week, and describe one aspect of the classroom resources (Assignments, Discussions, or assigned readings) that surprised you. Make sure to describe why the material interested you as a thinker.

Set a timer (on the stove, a clock or on your phone) and write for ten minutes without stopping. The prompts will remain the same each week, but you will reflect about a different aspect of each week’s resources.

By Day 7

Post an entry that addresses each of the following:

Observe. Describe the week’s content and resources to a person who has not seen/heard or observed it.

Process. Answer the question: “What does this content/topic mean?”

Reflect. Answer the question: “What is the value in understanding this?”