What is a Dialectical Journal?
A dialectical journal is a journal that records a dialogue, or conversation, between the ideas in the text (the words that you are reading) and the ideas of the reader (the person who is doing the reading). This is what you must do in your journal—keep a dialogue with yourself. In your journal, have a conversation with the text and with yourself. Write down your thoughts, questions, insights, and ideas while you read. A dialectical journal can include all sorts of things: class notes, notes on discussions, reactions to readings. The important part is that you, the reader, are reading something and then responding to it with your feelings and ideas!dialectical (die-uh-LEKT-i-cul), n. : the art or practice of arriving at the truth through logical arguments.
journal (JUHR-nul), n. : a personal record of events, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary.
Procedure
* Journals are evaluated on the quality of your response.
* Select at least two passages for each chapter.
* Select passages that YOU WANT to write about.
* Write a detailed response to each passage you have chosen.
* Simply read, think, and write as much as you can.
* Always be sincere about what you are saying in your writing.
* If you get stuck, use the following list to help you get started.
WRITE ABOUT: what you like, what you dislike, what seems confusing, what seems unusual, what you think something means, what personal connections you make, what predictions you can pose. Possible sentence lead-ins might begin like:
* I really don't understand this because. . .
* I really like/dislike this idea because. . .
* This idea/event seems to be important because. . .
* I think the author is trying to say that . . .
* This passage reminds me of a time in my life when . . .
* If I were (name of character), at this point I would . . .
* This part doesn't make sense because . . .
* This character reminds me of (name of person) because . . .
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