This journal is designed to give you practice in academic writing, which is very different from the personal essay writing that you have been practicing. Academic writing entails making a point and supporting that point with information from a reputable source. There are three ways to support a point with information from a source: quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. This week, you will practice quoting a source and citing that source in your journal entry. Please be sure to read and review the “Example Journal Entry – Quotes” document, which describes how to integrate quotations.
Note: The journal assignment should not be confused with a personal journal. This activity requires organization, effective stylistics and grammar, and proper source incorporation. It is not a free-writing or reflective writing exercise.
Both of the personal essays we have read this week, “Sister Flowers” and “I Want a Wife,” use narrative and/or descriptive elements (refer to sections 6.3 and 6.4 in Essentials of College Writing), and each has a clear purpose. Choose one of the essays assigned this week to write about. In 250 to 500 words
State the purpose of the essay.
Describe one literary element being used in the essay (refer to sections 6.3 and 6.4 in the text).
Explain why you think that literary element is used well by the writer.
Incorporate a quote from the essay and properly cite the essay.
Explain how you plan to use the literary element in your personal essay.
As you are writing this journal entry, please pay attention to the areas that you struggled with in your Grammar Assessment and Practice Essay.