English 1B Reading Journal
Your reading journal is where you will be recording your reactions and analyses of the texts we read in class.
All reading journals must be typed, printed, and brought to class with you on the day they are due. It is
important that you have all of your past journal entries for class discussions.
To keep your reading journal, follow these steps:
Step 1: Divide a page in your journal in half. (I find it useful to make a table in your file, or use the example.)
Step 2: Choose a passage from the reading that is especially significant or that you find to be especially
beautiful or well-written. (You might find it useful to highlight/mark passages as you read, then come back and
choose the ones you like best once you are finished.) Write the passage you have chosen in the left hand
column. Be sure to include the page and paragraph number if the quote is from a story and the line number if
the quote is from a poem.
Step 3: Ask yourself, "Why is this passage important? What about its language or style caused me to choose it?
What purpose does it serve? What does it show about character/plot/theme/setting or other literary elements we
have discussed?" Record these observations in the right hand column.
Step 4: Ask yourself, "Why are my observations important?" and “What is the most significant thing I noticed
about this passage? What else can I say about it? How can I explore it more deeply?” In other words, "So
what?" This step will help you to follow your observations to their natural conclusions. Record your
observations in the right hand column underneath your observations from step three.
Step 5: Do this as many times as necessary as you read. Your number of entries will vary depending on the
length of the reading, but I expect at least three entries for each short story we read and at least two for
each poem less than one page long. I will be checking your journals during every class to make sure that they
have been completed.
Step 6: After you have completed your entries, write a short paragraph in reaction to the work as a whole, tying
together the various things you have noticed in your analysis.
Example: Here is an example entry for Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." (You will need to do this three times
for each story AND include the required paragraph (see Step 6) at the end.)
Note Taking
Analysis
Quote from text with page or line number:
(Why is this passage important?)
"On a tarnished gilt easel before the fireplace
stood a crayon portrait of Miss Emily's father."
(page 116 paragraph 5)
This passage, which occurs early in the story, is
important because it shows from the beginning
that Miss Emily's house used to be nice (the gilt
easel is tarnished), but it's not any more. Also,
she still reveres the memory of her father who
died many years ago. (Her father ended up being
a defining influence on Miss Emily, so it makes
sense that this image would be part of the initial
description of the setting.)
(Why are your observations important?)
This shows that Miss Emily has been left behind
by the passage of time. There is a sense of loss
and melancholy in this image of once-fine things
that have been ravaged by changed and decay.
Miss Emily is not part of the present. She clings
to the past, even if it has faded.