These journals are due weekly by the Sundays at the end of weeks two through nine. These are primarily a place for you to record your thoughts on the weeks readings and show me how you’re thinking about them. If you do not cover all of the readings for the week, then you should show that you have deeply analyzed the readings you do cover and justify your exclusive focus on those readings. You can use an informal style in the writing.

The journals should be one to four pages long. You can use single- or double-spacing and a standard 12-point font. These journals are evaluated almost exclusively along effort lines. At a minimum, I would expect to see a discussion of what each reading argued and what (if anything) you found interesting about it.

Here is the rough scale I will use:

15 = Shows passion and insight while providing a full analysis of all the readings.

14 = Covers all of the readings with a full analysis (summary, questions, context, and reflection).

13 = Covers all of the readings (or makes an argument about readings uncovered) with a basic analysis.

12 = Covers most of the readings without suggesting careful analysis.

11 = Barely addresses some of the readings.

10 = Does not meaningfully address the readings.