College Composition Process Journal
A polished essay doesn’t just write itself—behind every great piece of writing is a process that is many times messy, frustrating, and collaborative in nature (in terms of feedback solicited from readers). It includes brainstorming, freewriting, false starts, rewriting, and lots of questions. Your journal is a place for you to keep all your behind-the-scenes work, often invisible to readers of final drafts, together. Journals will include prewriting activities, notes from readings, revision activities, and reflection. Students who fully engage in this process and have extensive journals historically do much better in this course and ultimately become stronger writers (and thinkers). Keeping an active journal throughout the semester will also help you write the final reflective essay—trust me on this!
It is your responsibility to follow the calendar to keep up on the journal in preparation for discussions. Keep all journal entries in one document that you will submit toward the end of the semester (see the course calendar for exact date).
JOURNAL 1: Inventing Ideas & Writing as Inquiry
Read Chapter 1 (through page 21) and the Writing as Inquiry document in Blackboard. What are the major takeaways from these readings? What ideas are new to you regarding writing (analysis, public resonance, rhetorical tools, thesis), and how do these ideas give you a new perspective on writing? How would you define inquiry and what does it have to do with good writing?
After reading, complete Exercise 1.6 A Mini Inquiry Project: Cell Phone Culture as practice for coming up with an inquiry question.
JOURNAL 2: Invention/Generating Ideas
After reading Chapter 1 about Inventing Ideas, take some time to freewrite on each of the following questions:
● What is a sense of place? What makes a place a place and not just a spot on Google Earth?
● Where is the place that you consider home? What words would you use to describe it? Do you want to live and die right where you are or do you long to leave some day? Why/why not?
● What is the relationship between places and names? (Read the Calvin & Hobbes comic and discussion questions to spark your thinking on this idea.)
● How has place affected the person you are? How are places woven into our psyches?
● What are some stories particular to your homeground/homeland? What family or neighborhood stories are associated with certain places?
● What role do places play in how we tell stories? Whose stories are being told? Whose are ignored? What voices are heard? Which are excluded?
● How would you define your relationship with nature/the natural world? How has this relationship changed since you were a child?
● To what degree are any of these places at risk? Or thriving? And what will they be like in five, ten, twenty-five years?
JOURNAL 3: Developing an inquiry question
● Read over your freewriting from Journal 2, underlining anything that stands out to you, that you find interesting or surprising or possibly important. Then finish this sentence: One interesting question that this raises for me is _______________________________________________________________.
● Start with this question and freewrite some more about specific stories, observations, scenes, etc. that come to mind as you consider this question.
● Looking back at this writing, what do you understand more now? What additional questions does this bring up for you? Then finish this sentence: So far, one thing I seem to be saying is that _________________________________________________________________________________________________.
● Review your writing and choose an inquiry question to explore in your essay that presents the topic of place in a complex, nuanced, and thoughtful way. My inquiry question is: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
JOURNAL 4: Observing
Read Chapter 4 (minus “Red Raiders Fans,” pp. 104-107). What are some key takeaways about observations from this chapter?
Spend some time (at least 20 minutes) observing the place you’ve chosen to write about. Take a notebook and pen or other device you can record notes with. Write down as many sensory details as you can–what do you see, hear, smell, feel, taste? Try to really experience the place in ways you haven’t before. What do you notice now that maybe you haven’t before? What questions come up for you as pay close attention to your surroundings?
JOURNAL 5: Explaining Relationships
Read Chapter 3 (minus pp. 67-75). What are some key takeaways about explaining relationships from this chapter?
After your visit to your place, think about your relationship with this place. What stories do you have about this place? How has this place affected the person you are? Respond to the analysis questions at the bottom of p. 78 and top of p. 79, the two thinking further strategies on p. 80, and the public resonance questions on p. 82.
Look at the section in the text about Thesis (pp. 84-85) and come up with a “working thesis” that attempts to answer your inquiry question.
Before writing your first draft, read “Shitty First Drafts.” How does this essay help you rethink the way you feel about drafting and revising?
JOURNAL 6: Revising Your Draft
After completing your first draft of Essay 1, what questions do you still have that you may be able to find answers to (historical information, news, etc.)? Review outside materials that may provide insight, support, a different perspective, or context. Smoothly integrate some of this material into your draft (see Chapter 16 of the text for source integration and documentation tips). Keep in mind that this is a narrative, not a research paper, so outside material should be minimal.
Now read Chapters 17, 18, and 19. What are some key takeaways you found interesting or helpful in these chapters? Now look at your draft of Essay 1. What techniques/tips/strategies from these chapters can you apply to your draft? Make a revision plan in your journal, and then follow that plan to revise before you submit your Essay 1 draft to the Peer Workshop.
JOURNAL 7: Thinking about Stakeholders and Understanding the Conversation
Now that you’ve thought about, observed, and written about your place, the next step is to consider that place’s role within a larger community or conversation. For Essay 2, you will research and analyze other stakeholders’ perspectives. A stakeholder is a person or group who affects or is affected by some issue regarding the place. Usually these are other community members, but they could also be outsiders who are experts on related topics.
Write about where you ended up with Essay 1. Next, make a list of possible stakeholders regarding your place. After that, write about where you think you might find perspectives of these stakeholders. Read Chapter 14 and materials on Blackboard for tips regarding finding sources. Next, go out and try to find popular sources that present these perspectives. Record your findings in this journal. While primary research is not mandatory for this essay, consider conducting an interview or survey for Essay 2 (see tips on pp. 430-435) as practice for the kind of primary research that will be required in the Research Essay.
JOURNAL 8: Analyzing Written Texts, Images, & Videos
Read Chapter 6 (pp. 153-154 and 168-187 only), Chapter 7, and Chapter 15. What are some key takeaways from these chapters regarding analyzing sources? Pay special attention to the explanation of the differences between analysis and evaluation, as this will be an important distinction as you analyze sources for Essay 2.
Now, complete the Stakeholder Analysis Chart for the sources you have found. Remember, the minimum number of sources for Essay 2 is 4, one of which must be a visual (image/video) text.
JOURNAL 9: Working Research Question & Essay 2 Sketch/Outline
In the conclusion of Essay 2, you will need to arrive at a working research question that you will investigate in the Research Essay. Review the Research Question materials on Blackboard to help you come up with a question that will lead to a strong Research Essay. What is your question? Write a brief sketch of how you see your Essay 2 developing. How will you organize it? What content and research will you use? Refer to the Essay 2 assignment sheet and Chapter 16 to help you with this and then include a sketch or outline of your essay in your journal.
JOURNAL 10: Continuing Your Research Journey–Searching for answers to your question
Now that you’ve finished Essays 1 and 2, you have a great starting point for your research paper. You’ve done background research and gathered popular sources (and maybe even some preliminary primary source material). You’ve also worked to understand a variety of perspectives, which lead you to a research question. This is all a part of an authentic research process.
Write about where your Essay 2 ended up. What was your research question? Now that you have a question, you need to find an answer. Read Chapters 11 and 12. What are some key takeaways regarding searching for causes and proposing solutions?
Where will you focus your research? What scholarly and credible sources might help you? Be sure to review the Digital Library Tutorials and other materials on Blackboard for help.
In your efforts to answer your research question, you will need to conduct some primary research. See tips regarding conducting interviews and surveys on pp. 430-435 in your text, along with other materials concerning primary research on Blackboard. What primary research methods do you think will be appropriate for your topic? Do you have any worries about this research? What is your research plan? Keep in mind the timeline and requirements for the assignment. Use this space to draft and revise your research methods, survey questions, interview responses, etc. You should also record any data and analysis here.
JOURNAL 11: Analyzing and Evaluating Your Sources
Write about the sources you’ve found so far. Are they credible? How might you use them? List the sources you have found on the Research Analysis Chart.
Use this journal to help you begin your Annotated Bibliography. You’ll also want to consider the following:
● Why is the credibility of your sources important to your argument?
● How might you achieve a well-balanced list of sources that shows you understand the complexity of the issue and allows you to develop a well-supported and logical thesis?
● Do you have sources from many different levels of research (primary, secondary, popular, scholarly)? Refer to the requirements on the Research Essay assignment sheet.
JOURNAL 12: Building a Working Thesis and Writing a Sketch/Outline
After completing your Annotated Bibliography, what answer are you leaning toward regarding your research question? Keep in mind that you will not “find” your answer in your research. Rather, you must come to your answer after more fully educating yourself through the research you conduct/find. This answer to your question is your thesis.
Read Chapters 8 and 9. What are the key takeaways regarding making and responding to arguments? Once you have a working thesis (the answer you think your research is leading you), write an outline or sketch of your research paper here. Consider how you want to present your thesis and research in the paper. What sources will be used where? How will you structure and organize your essay to present your argument most effectively to an academic audience? See the Organization Strategies materials on Blackboard for tips on setting up your essay.
Forum #8: Research Invention
Update your classmates on where you are in your research process. What is your research question? What information do you currently have and what information are you still looking for? Where do you think you’ll find scholarly and credible sources to add to your research?