Instructions for Reader's Journal 4: Synthesis
Read these instructions carefully as they differ from the previous three journal assignments. This module gives you an opportunity to write a different kind of Reader’s Journal. Your past journals have each focused on one specific story, exploring it in depth. This last journal asks you for a synthesis, making thematic connections to several stories throughout the course, including those in this module. Look back critically at the stories, notes, discussions, and overviews, and see if you detect similarities between several that emerge as something worthy to explore further. Here's what I want to see in this final journal:
- Sufficient Development
Focus: You investigate a specific aspect of several stories where you see a common thread. It should be something that genuinely interests you. Examples: a recurring idea that crosses the boundaries of one story, where you see similarities of character, plotting. Don’t try to cover all stories; that will be too much and weaken the discussion by being too cursory. Instead, select a few from any we’ve studied where you’ve found connections. Review the stories, background readings, notes, overviews, and discussions, and feel free to draw from any of these materials as you investigate your subject.
Consistency: Your focus should be a consistent presence throughout the journal.
Support: You provide enough evidence from the stories that helps to reinforce your conclusions. This support is both representative and accurate.
Unique Title: The title suggests the direction you plan to take in the journal. The title is unique, innovative, and thought-provoking rather than a generic one anyone might use. Don't use Reader's Journal 4.
- Organization, Coherence, and Clarity
Organization and Overall Coherence: The writing flows well from beginning to end, making the journal coherent and easy to follow. You stick to your central idea and avoid jumping around. The paragraphs are organized logically, and transitional words or phrases help smooth the connections between sentences and paragraphs.
Sentence Boundaries: The writing contains no comma splices, run-on sentences, or sentence fragments.
Omissions and Repetitions: The writing reveals no words or letters inadvertently left out, and no unnecessary repetitions.
Miscellaneous Editing Concerns: The writing contains no other editing problems (for example, misused punctuation, or subject-verb agreement, or verb tense consistency).