Dialectical Reading Journals
Thinking Deeply About Other People's Ideas

© 2004, Ana McDonald, All Rights Reserved.
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Dialectical Reading Journals (DRJs) are conversations you have with the author of a book. Since authors put their ideas into words-on-paper, you must reply with words-on-paper. It's a great way of taking Level 1 Paragraphs into Level 3.

Set-Up the Page

Fold your paper so that a line runs from top to bottom (lengthwise). On the left side of the line, copy the part of the text that bothers you (the passage or "quotation") using proper format.

• "Blah, blah, blah" (#).

The right-side is for your ideas. Your ideas should take up AT LEAST half of the right-side of the page!

It should not be short. Short quotations rarely lead to deep thinking.
You need to include enough of the surrounding sentences so that a person who had never read the book would understand.

First Step / Asking Questions -

• You are asking the author, only the author can't really answer you. (Well, sometimes you can email a question to an author, and they might write back. Then again, sometimes they don't....)
• Since the author isn't answering, you have to explore the question yourself.
  • What do you think the author would say? How about your mom? Or Ms. Mac? Imagine you are someone else, and try to think what they might say. Remember, there is no wrong way to do this! So trust yourself and go for it!
  • If this is hard, try the freewriting technique (the original version, please, developed by Peter Elbow in the '70s).
    • Freewriting is writing in perfect freedom, without worrying about anything.
      • Spelling doesn't count. If you aren't sure, spell it wrong!
      • Punctuation doesn't count.
      • Organizing doesn't matter. You can do that later.
      • Can't find the right word? Use the wrong one, or leave a blank space. Later you can change it if you want to.
      • Neatness doesn't count, so long as you can read your own words. So you can draw arrows or diagrams, add notes in-between the lines, etc.
    • The only rule - your pen never stops moving! Never, never, never.
      • Whatever you're thinking, put it on the paper.
        • If you don't know what you're thinking, say so. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know...." Eventually your mind will think of something more interesting to write.
        • If your mind wanders off subject, follow! Some of the best ideas come this way.
          • When this idea fizzles out, go back to your quotation and ask another question.

2nd Step / Making Connections

Whenever you zone, check if you're zoning because you've gone off into a daydream, memory, or are thinking about an idea that's off-topic. These are connections you are making.

• On the left side of the page, write the passage that set off the zone or started the idea in your head.
• On the right side of the page, describe the daydream, idea, or memory.
  • Be as clear and specific as possible, so that someone who has never met you will understand perfectly.

Things to include in your DRJs

Grading Dialectical Journals

	Level 4 (90 - 100 Points)	Level 3 (80 - 89 points)	Level 2 (70 - 79 points)	Level 1 (50 - 65 points)
Quotations and Plot Details	Detailed, meaningful	Less detailed but still good	Few good details	Hardly any good details
Interpretation	Thoughtful, avoids cliches	Intelligent, discusses theme	vague, unsupported, plot summary	plot summaries and paraphrases
Literary Elements	Discusses diction, imagery, syntax, etc and how these contribute to meaning	Includes them but doesn't explain how they contribute to meaning	Lists literary elements but little discussion of meaning	Few literary elements, almost no discussion of meaning
Questions and Connections	Insightful personal connections, thought-provoking questions	Some personal connections, questions arise from text	Few connections, obvious questions	Few connections, no questions
Coverage of text	Covers text thoroughly	Covers important parts thoroughly	Covers most parts, but quickly	Way too short
Presentation	Neat, organized, looks professional, follows directions	Neat and readable, follows directions	Neat but hard to read, doesn't follow directions	Hard to read, doesn't follow directions