JOURNAL WRITING GUIDELINES FOR ENGL 1301
Ten percent (10%) of your total grade is composed of the journal. The purpose of this
assignment is to get you to think about a proverb, how to paraphrase it, and how to apply
it to something specific in your life or in society. This will test your ability to use higherlevel thinking skills that you will need in order to be master the assignments in other
courses, in the workplace, and in your everyday life.
Five times during the semester, I will write a proverb on the board with a source. You
will copy it as it appears. In addition, each class will be assigned five poems, which are
numbered and on my web page. Later, you will type each entry (a page in the journal) in
the proper format as per the samples on line. Your journal will consist of the following
items: a title page, an autobiographical sketch, five proverbs, and five poems, for a total
of ten entries. Important: Each entry belongs on a separate page, and there is only one
title page.
The procedure to use is as follows:
1. Paraphrase the proverb.
Note: For the poems, you will paraphrase the overall message, not each line.
2. Discuss a possible application, which must be a specific example, not a generality.
Possible ways to point out a specific example are as follows: for example, for
instance, or specifically.
3. Format (refer to a sample journal entry—both a proverb and a poem on line.)
a. Number and date each entry in the upper right-hand corner of the entry. The date
may be shortened.
b. The date is the date you begin working on the poem, not the date you copied it
from the board.
c. Single space the proverb on the first writing line of the page.
d. Include subheadings in all caps as shown (PARAPHRASE and APPLICATION.)
4. The entry number is not the poem’s number on line. For example, if your class is
assigned poem 10, it would be numbered as entry 6; poem 15, entry 7; poem 21, entry
28; poem 34, entry 9; and poem 40, entry 10. You may use the pound sign (#) instead
of the word entry before the number.
Important: To receive full credit for each entry (5 points), you must show you can
paraphrase and apply effectively. An entry is typically ½ to ¾ a page, but no entry
should exceed a page. Each entry is checked for completeness and the proper format.
Then, the paraphrase and application is checked. If you are absent and fail to get a
proverb from the board, check with a classmate. For each missing entry 5 points will be
deducted. Below, you will see a number from 0-5, which is explained in the evaluation
scale below.
42 – 50
34 – 41
26 – 33
18 – 25
Below 18
=A
=B
=C
=D
=F
The total number of points is shown with the corresponding grade in the lower corner of
the title page. Example: 48/98/A. The journal is due in Week 14, two weeks before the
end of the semester. Note: No late journal will be accepted, but journals may be
submitted early!