Reading Journal Prompt

For each literary work, write a 250–400 word reflective journal entry in first person.

Your entry must:

1. Engage with a specific element of the text (theme, character, image, symbol, passage, etc.).
2. Establish a clear connection to your own lived experience, observations, or contemporary culture.
3. Explain what that connection reveals — how the text reshapes, complicates, or deepens your understanding.

This is not a literary analysis and not a plot summary. It is a reflection on your reading experience. If your entry could be submitted as a short analytical essay in another class, you are likely missing the point.

Write in first person. Be specific. Avoid abstraction.

Before submitting, ask yourself:

• Did I use the first-person point-of-view?
• Did I clearly connect the text to something in my own life or contemporary experience?
• Did I move beyond summary?