The College Writer encourages you to keep a journal to record and explore essay ideas, to review previous writing strategies and plan new ones, to build your critical reading skills, and to practice research techniques. Your journal is a "free space" where you can reflect, experiment, and create. You might choose to keep your journal entirely to yourself, to share it or parts of it with your classmates, or to show it to your instructor for occasional feedback.

To make keeping a journal easier, we have designed an online version. Included are section-by-section writing suggestions and interactive exercises. These journal activities supplement the journal activities you will find in the book. By clicking on the "Free Pages" you can do the activities from the book or do those you design for yourself. You have the option of storing your work for yourself, printing it out, or emailing it to your instructor.

Reading, Thinking, and Writing
Journal Activity 1: Creating a Critical Reading Strategy

The College Essay
Journal Activity 2: Customized Writing Chart

Narrative and Descriptive Writing
Journal Activity 3: Tapping the Power of Personal Narrative
Journal Activity 4: Painting Pictures of Life

Analytical Writing
Journal Activity 5: Loose Lips Sink Ships: A Causal Analysis of Gossip
Journal Activity 6: Repeating History: A Comparative Analysis of Media
Journal Activity 7: Missing the Trees for the Forest: The Art of Classifying
Journal Activity 8: The Devil in the Details: Analyzing Process Writing
Journal Activity 9: A Rose is still a Rose?

Persuasive Writing
Journal Activity 10: The Art of Persuasion
Journal Activity 11: Exploring Literature

Research and Writing
Journal Activity 12: Research Journal