Dialectical Journals

The term “Dialectic” means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.”  Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the texts we read during this course.  The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the texts we read.  Use your journal to incorporate your personal responses to the texts, your ideas about the themes we cover and our class discussions.  You will find that it is a useful way to process what you’re reading, prepare yourself for group discussion, and gather textual evidence for your Literary Analysis assignments.

 

Procedure:

• As you read, choose passages that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand column of a T-chart (ALWAYS include page numbers). 
• In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage) 
• You can label your responses using the following codes:
• (Q) Question – ask about something in the passage that is unclear
• (C) Connect – make a connection to your life, the world, or another text
• (P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based on what’s in the passage
• (CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction
• (R) Reflect – think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense – not just to the characters in the story.  What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work? 
• (E) Evaluate  - make a judgment about the character(s), their actions, or what the author is trying to say.

 

Sample Dialectical Journal entry: THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien

 

Passages from the text	Pg#s	Comments & Questions
“-they carried like freight trains; they carried it on their backs and shoulders-and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry”.	Pg 2	(R) O’brien chooses to end the first section of the novel with this sentence.  He provides excellent visual details of what each solider in Vietnam would carry for day-to-day fighting.  He makes you feel the physical weight of what soldiers have to carry for simple survival.  When you combine the emotional weight of loved ones at home, the fear of death, and the responsibility for the men you fight with, with this physical weight, you start to understand what soldiers in Vietnam dealt with every day. This quote sums up the confusion that the men felt about the reasons they were fighting the war, and how they clung to the only certainty - things they had to carry - in a confusing world where normal rules were suspended.

 

Choosing Passages from the Text:

Look for quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling.  For example, you might record:

 

• Effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
• Passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
• Structural shifts or turns in the plot
• A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before
• Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs.
• Passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
• Events you find surprising or confusing
• Passages that illustrate a particular character or setting

 

Responding To the Text:

You can respond to the text in a variety of ways.  The most important thing to remember is that your observations should be specific and detailed. You can write as much as you want for each entry.  You can use loose leaf paper for your journals or creae one on the computer.  

Basic Responses

• Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text
• Give your personal reactions to the passage
• Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
• Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences
• Write about what it makes you think or feel
• Agree or disagree with a character or the author

 

Sample Sentence Starters: I really don’t understand this because… I really dislike/like this idea because… I think the author is trying to say that… This passage reminds me of a time in my life when… If I were (name of character) at this point I would… This part doesn’t make sense because… This character reminds me of (name of person) because…

 

Higher Level Responsesas

• Analyze the text for use of literary devices (tone, structure, style, imagery)
• Make connections between different characters or events in the text
• Make connections to a different text (or film, song, etc…)
• Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
• Consider an event or description from the perspective of a different character
• Analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as a whole
• Identify Contrasts and Contradictions , when the character acts in a way that contradicts how he/she has acted before or that contrasts with how we would act or that reveals a difference among characters. ASK: What was unexpected about the action/feeling? Why do you think the character is acted/felt that way? This reveals a difference among characters.
• Identify Aha Moments, when a character's insight or sudden understanding reveals something imnportant about the character or the plot. Ask: words told you this was going to be an Aha Moment? What realization came to the character's mind? How is this realization likely to be important in the story? This will reveal something important about the character or plot.
• Identify Tough Questions, a time when the main characters asks him-or herself. or someone else, a tough question, one that doesn't have an easy answer. How did you know that this was going to be a tough question? ASK: What did you wonder about when you though about the question? How is this question important to the story and how do you think the character will answer it? (Or, How will his/her answer affect  the events in the story to follow?
• Identify Words of the Wiser, a wiser, often older, character shares his/her experience, wisdom, or lesson about life with the protagonist, hoping to guide him/her through a difficult decision. ASK: What did you see that told you this was going to be a Words-of-the-Wiser moment? What advice or insight did the wiser character share? How do you think this will affect the main character (or the one who received the advice)?
• Identify Again and Again, words, phrases, or ideas that are repeated, making us wonder about its significance (theme, symbols, motifs). ASK: What did you find that keeps coming up over and over again? Why do you think the author keeps repeating this word, phrase, image, idea, or situation? 
• Identify Memory Moments, a memory that interrupts the flow of the story, but reveals something important about the character or the plot. ASK: What was happening when the character recalled the memory? What memory came to the character's mind? Why do you think this memory is important to the character or the story?

 

Dialectical Journal Stems  

• The author uses this imagery to _____________.
• The author compares these two ideas ____________.
• The author uses ________ and ________ tones to …
• The author uses ________ figurative language to _________.
• The author uses _______ point of view to …
• The details in this quote serve to …
• The author uses strong dicton here to…
• The author’s organization begins with _______, move to _______ and  finally to _______ showing __________.
• The author’s purpose with this quote is to …

 

Variations on the Dialectical Journal Format

• Metacognitive Journal – what I learned/how I figured it out (incl. pg. #s)
• Synthesis Journal – at the end of weekly cycle, consider your Dialectical Journal entries, group work & participation in class discussion.  Analyze your overall progress as a reader & writer.