Professor Batty

Reading Journal Instructions

Reading journals are used to help readers think about, digest, summarize, question, clarify, critique, and
remember what is read. They are one way to critically read a text and help improve reading comprehension.
You will need to keep a reading journal this semester, filling in each entry as you read your assigned texts
for homework. You may choose to annotate any assigned texts , but please focus your annotations only on
texts assigned for this class.
The following explains how to format each entry:
Left Column:
The left column is used for direct quotations, paraphrases, or vocabulary words from the text being read. Copy
the quote and include quotation marks and the page number in parenthesis.
A quote is when sentence are copied directly (word for word) from the text. Quotation marks ( ) are placed at
the beginning and end of the passage.
Right Column:
The right column is used for commenting on quotes in the left column. The comments on the right may include:
what the passage reminds you of
feelings toward the authors words
words or passages not understood
words or passages that look important
connections among passages or sections of the work
If its a vocabulary word, the right column should have the definition

Quote

Title of Text You Are Annotating

Date of Entry
Commentary on Quote

1. Joe, in a fit of rage, screamed at

his friend Sue (Sheldon 4).

1. What does this mean? Are they at

the end of their friendship? I wonder
what Sues feeling inside. I hate
when arguments turn into
screaming matches.

2. Money, he had more than he could

spend (Sheldon 8).

2. I wish I had lots of money.

Sometimes I wonder what I would
do if I won the lottery. I think that I
would buy presents for everybody
that I know, and then I would buy a
new car. I dont think I would keep
my same job.

3. Theres always been a divide

between the proletariat and the
bourgeoisie. Skilled and unskilled
labor came from all parts of the
world to seek jobs in the

3. I am confused by this passage. I

dont understand some of the
vocabulary in this passage. I know
that its a discussion about workers
but what kind of divide? Who are

Professor Batty
automotive industry (Sheldon 32).
4. Proletariat (Sheldon 40).

5. They arrived later than expected...

It was marvelous (Sheldon 44).

the proletariat?
4. Noun: the class of wage earners,
esp. those who earn their living by
manual labor or who are dependent
for support on daily or casual
employment; the working class.
5. I think this is an important part. It
seems like this is where the author
is stating the main idea.

Please title each entry, stating the name of the text you are annotating.
Include the date of each entry.
Include in-text citations (author and page number) after each quote. This will help you locate
the quotes later.
For each entry, include 5 or more QUOTES to annotate.
Include at least 5 journal ENTRIES (with at least 5 quotes per entry) for every journal check.
Your journal will be collected 2 times during the semester.
Each journal check will be worth 50 points (x2 checks= 100 points).