Journal entry-writing is one scholarly activity that I can’t say I’ve done in years, which is unfortunate because I really enjoy it. I like having the freedom to express whatever I think about something I’ve learned and/or read without the rigid, standardized parameters that I’ve come to expect to be imposed on my writing.
Even though I think my past journal entries for this class are pretty good in that they are fairly comprehensive, accurate reflections of the thoughts that I had while I read a piece of writing or watched a film, they are clearly a little rough around the edges. This is okay with me, though, because I’ve gotten the impression that these journal entries are not meant to be super polished and perfect. I’ve noticed in reading over my journal responses that my introductions and conclusions are kind of weak, if they’re even present in the entry at all, which they aren’t always.
I definitely prefer writing journal entries over taking notes. For one, note-taking is pretty tedious, and it restricts my thinking to one track, whereas writing journal entries allows me to think about the material I’ve been taught in class in a variety of ways rather than just the single way that my professor or textbook conveys the information. I also like writing journal responses because I feel like an actual human being while I’m doing it. Note-taking makes me feel like a robot, always mechanically recording what I see and hear, processing information on an unrelentingly linear, impersonal level. Also, I feel like I learn a lot more through writing journal entries than I ever would through just taking notes. I retain more information because I’ve made personal connections and reactions to the material, and I’ve thought about the material in many ways, giving me greater understanding of what I’ve learned.
