Shorter Writing 1

Journals & Summaries

Journal

This is a form of writing that is influenced by what was read. The purpose of a journal is to stimulate thinking from which more writing ensues. It can be about personal events or 3rd person observations. It should not focus mostly on the essay read. A journal should only be influenced by the essay.

Tips

Write down your thoughts--after reading an essay.
How do your impressions change (or do they) after reading it?
Do you feel any differently after finishing?
What emotions did it invoke: laughter, tears, smiles, anger?
Was it boring and meaningless?
Record some of your reactions.
Sometimes the reading touches you, reminds you of your own life, as part of the larger human experience.
Are there connections between the essay and your own life? Or, does it remind you of an event (or events) that happened to someone you know?
Does the reading leave you with questions you would like to ask? What are they? Would you like to direct your questions at something particular? What questions would you like to ask the author?
Are you confused about meaning? What do you not understand? Does the language confuse you?
Is there an idea that makes you stop and think, or prompts questions? Identify the idea and explain your responses.
How have you changed? What did you learn that you never knew before?
Who else should read this? Should anyone not be encouraged to read this? Why?

2 different approaches to journals.
for "Computer Fallout"

Journal example 1
When my family was young, we lived in Belleville, NJ, the town Russell Baker so lovingly writes about. As fate would have it, my mother went to grammar school with him in Belleville about 75 years ago and remained friends for a while after that. He is now a Pulitzer Prize winning well celebrated author, but he still remembers Belleville and the close knit families that lived there way back when my mom was a little girl. The family events he conveys in his essay were much like those my family and friends all shared. Everybody knew everybody else, and neighborhoods seemed more friendly and comfortable than today. We had a huge Italian family; it was a carefree time of warmth and closeness. However, life moves very quickly, and things change. Last week I visited my mother in the nursing home where she stays. I brought with me a video produced by “Masterpiece Theater” for TV. I was excited to bring her this video; I picked it from the library because Russell Baker gave the introduction to the movie. I couldn’t wait until my mother saw him. I was not disappointed. Her entire face lit up when he popped onto the screen, and with wide moist eyes and trembling lips she softly declared, “he looks just the same as when he sat behind me in PS #8.”

Journal example 2
I laughed until I had tears in my eyes when I read Russell Baker's column ''Computer Fallout'' The word processor reigns supreme in my house, and many is the time that writing a brief paragraph stretches into two hours of painstaking adding, deleting and agonizing over the most simple of tasks. Crumple up one copy; walk around the room and sip on some coffee, read a magazine, take a shower, anything to keep the assignment from getting done. Nowadays all one needs do is turn on the PC and the assignment practically gets written all by itself. Spell check has turned even the best speller into a bumbling mass of confusion. Grammar check does what my brain once was capable of easily deciphering. IS this a blessing or a curse? Cashiers can't count change anymore because of the computer. Mechanics plug in a chord and bingo the problem is solved. Although word processing makes writing easy, the ease it affords in fine tuning one's words can also be it its primary pitfall, as Mr. Baker so cleverly demonstrates.

Summary

This form of writing provides an overview of what was read. Note important parts with important support.

Tips

Do not retell the essay.
Do not focus on details.

Summary: for "Computer Fallout"
In this humorous short writing Baker recounts the virtues of writing with a computer. He makes a somewhat tongue in cheek comparison between this marvel of modern technology and the ancient typewriter which heretofore was the early newest technology. In an ironic twist he seems to bless the computer for the ease by which writing can be accomplished, yet condemns it as curious drawback. This mythical perfect sentence he continually alludes to of course will always remain elusive even with a Dell at your fingertips. Again and again he referees to pencils and paper and typewriters as if he is lamenting their passing, and it is up to him to save them from the ash heaps of yesteryear. A reader will be carried away by his ambiguity right up until the end when his real feeling of couched disdain seems to suffice.

.