Response Journal Questions

Very simply, a response journal is much like a diary. Only in this diary you will not be writing about your friends or the type of day you have had. Instead, you will be exploring your feelings about and reactions to the novel you have chosen to read. In your journal entries you can discuss anything that interests you about the material you are reading (a character you despise, a scene you found particularly moving, a setting that was described in extraordinary detail, etc.) There is no set limit on how long your entries have to be. Yet keep in mind, these journals will provide a significant part of your final grade for each book you read. I ask that you think carefully about what you are writing, and be sure to give me complete answers. This means that you will have to explain in detail your thoughts, feelings, ideas and opinions.

The following are some possible statement starters for you to choose from when you are making your entries:
a) My favorite characters…
b) The part I liked best/least…
c) I would like __________ as a friend because…
d) If I were the author I would…
e) What impressed me in this chapter was…
f) I noticed…
g) It upset me when…
h) I wonder about…
i) I don’t really understand…
j) I now understand…
k) If I were________ I would…
l) I predict that…
m) I was shocked by/when…
n) This part reminds me of…
o) I know someone like…
p) When this happens to me I feel…
q) It was or was not fair when…
r) The author could have…

Besides writing entries telling what you are thinking about the book, you may write response journal entries which are letters to the author or to characters in the book.

Your Response Journal will be graded according to the following rubric:
+5 Journal is submitted on time. Response is reasonable and shows thought and
knowledge of the material.
0 Journal is submitted on time. Some of the above elements are lacking.
-5 Journal is not submitted on time.

These weekly grades will be tallied into your final score for each novel.