What to watch out for when writing learning journal entries, with examples of good student writing.

2.  This unit was relaxing. I liked it and I have
learned a lot. Of course my favourite part
was vocabulary and My take on crime. There
was a lot of new words so that was good. I
also enjoy writing My take on crime. I guess
writing these stories relaxes me.

3.  This unit was relaxing. (Why? What/How do you
mean?)
 I liked it and I have learned a lot. (What did you
like? Why? What did you learn? Specific
examples? How is it relevant to you?)
 Of course my favourite part was vocabulary and
My take on crime.
 There was a lot of new words so that was good.
(Which words? Why do you think this was good?
How is it relevant to you?)
 I also enjoy writing My take on crime. I guess
writing these stories relaxes me. (What,
specifically, did you enjoy? Did that help your
learning? Is a relaxed writer a better writer?
Why?)

4.  Questions are meant to guide you, and help
if you have no inspiration.
 Be as specific as possible. Try to provide
arguments and examples.
 Try not to be vague and avoid words like
enjoy, like, good, useful, interesting on their
own.
 See if you can connect what you have
learned with something outside the class.
 Create your own learning opportunities
whenever possible.

5.  One month ago I started to learn language X. You
really have to try to speak as much as you can in that
specific language in order to master it. One has to
work on their pronunciation and widen their
vocabulary in general. (How much is that? Examples?
How can one improve pronunciation and widen
vocabulary?)
 I learn best when there is some type of a visual
presentation. The best by far are documentaries or
videos made about a topic. (Example?)
 Talking about the subject is the most effective way
for me to understand and remember new things.
(Example of something you understood this way?)

6.  The teacher could have shown us more
examples and maybe connected them more
to our everyday lives. (Example?)
 I wouldn’t change anything. This is a very
good way of studying where we participate;
it’s not boring like just listening to the
professor. (It’s good to elaborate on why you
wouldn’t change something.)

7.  Talking to other students and discussing our
common problems is certainly helpful, but
more than anything, questions during class.
Even if I am not the one talking, I tend to
remember what others found interesting or
complicated. Some of our teachers prefer to
say what they have to say and leave us as
quickly as possible, not leaving any time for
inquiries. It would be great if they could
listen to us and what we didn’t understand.

8.  One of the most impressive things I got to learn
last semester was how financial globalization has
contributed tremendously to the increase of
living standards of many citizens, especially in
developing countries. This was all during a class
called Global Economics, where the teacher
would give us weekly assignments on some pre-
decided themes having to do with poverty and
inequality all over the world. In addition to
those short tasks, the lecturer urged and
encouraged us to participate actively during
class by asking questions and presenting counter-
arguments to our own propositions.