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A journal is a systematic and analytical record of your reflections. It is neither a diary, which is meant to contain thoughts usually not intended to be shared with others, nor a log, which is merely a record of events or readings, with no personal analysis. Instead, over the course of the semester you should integrate the tools you are learning in this course with your film experiences.
In a two-pocket folder decorated to reflect your taste in films, you will keep your written (word-processed, printed) weekly papers. These are “think-piece” responses to pre-assigned questions about our films screened on Tuesday afternoons. Be sure to title each entry (feel free to be creative here). For the weeks they are assigned, these journal responses are due by the beginning of class on Thursday without exception.
Your film journal entries are short, evaluative essays. Each entry length will vary; that is, spend as much or as little time and space as you need to thoroughly address the assigned question(s) and discuss your points (2 double-spaced pages max; please double-side your printing). Consider each film in relation to the questions and readings, but be sure to include your own analytical observations as well—and to avoid plot summary. Do NOT submit plot summaries in lieu of your own thoughts. See my Comments Guide for a key to understanding my comments on your papers and for suggestions on how to write your very best work.
You should engage with the subject material of your journal critically and actively. Take detailed notes on each film during the screening. Focus on how the film is put together using your newly acquired film terminology, and on why you interpret material in the way that you do. Simply writing about your reactions to the film is not the objective of this assignment; your reaction is important, but in this kind of assignment, use your reactions as points of entry into a text, image, etc., not as points of conclusion.
For format, follow the guidelines listed in on the Course
Conduct & Policies page. Journal grades will be based on the degree to which your writings reflect:
1) your understanding of the course material
2) a serious and skilled use of terminology, ideas,
theories, and concepts from the course to develop greater understanding of films
3) well-written, intelligible, expressive arguments