Inference and the Reading Journal
A journal is not a diary. In a diary, a person records the happenings of her/his life. Diary entries often concern girlfriends or boyfriends or lists of a day's events. Use your journal as a "record of the mind," a place to record and examine observations, reflections, and new ideas. Journal writing promotes good writing; it also helps critical thinking ability. It's that simple.
The mechanism in the brain that produces writing is lubricated each time you put your thoughts on the page. As you are aware, a well-lubricated machine works much better than a rusty one.
You will be required to write about specific reading topics three days a week. Then on Friday, you are to choose one of your entries and re-write it. This will be typed, then turned in on Monday.
When you use a newspaper or magazine article in your reading journal there are two parts to it. First summarize the article. Second infer why the article was written. Inference is a decision that you make about what a writer has said in a written passage. What makes your decision sometimes difficult, though, is that the author may not have come right out and said anything specific in the passage about a particular idea but merely suggested it. When you make that decision about what has been suggested, you have made an inference. Half (if not more) of the journal entries you write during the course of the class need to be taken from newspaper or magazines.
Please follow the following format for this type of entry:
Sample Format:
Your Name:
Date:
1. Name of source (title of magazine, newspaper, etc.)
2. Date of publication:
3. Title of selection:
4. Author:
5. Number of pages:
6. Briefly (approx. 100 words) summarize the selection. Your aim in writing your summary
should be to give someone who has not read your article a clear idea of it.
7. Think about the ideas presented. Try to figure out the writer's point of view and the
reason the article was written. State a major implied or suggested idea and tell about it.
This is not a guessing game on your part. Just like supporting a main idea, you should be
able to support your inference with evidence from the passage.
Points to Ponder:
1. Journal entries (JE) are a place to think in writing. You may find that writing your
thoughts down helps you think more clearly.
2. Write on your assigned days; people who try to write a week's worth of journal entries
in one sitting are cheating themselves.
3. Choose a place where you won't be interrupted. Try different places.
4. Have fun with your journal. Try out new thoughts, and use vocabulary you don't normally
use. Learn to take risks.
5. TJE's (typed journal entries) will not be given a standard point grade or letter grade;
they will be minimal marked.