UNGUARDED PATTERNS OF THINKING: PHYSICAL AND TOPICAL STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF STUDENT JOURNALS

Journals have been utilized in classrooms both as a reflective tool for students and as a feedback instrument for teachers. The current study however focused on form by means of analyzing the informal writing styles of students through a physical and topical structure analysis of randomly selected journal paragraphs. Following Lautamatti (1987) and Simpson (2000), two additional topical development schemes have been identified. Results indicate that topic repetition techniques and cohesive devices used adhere to the subjective nature of journal writing. Recommendations and pedagogical implications are also provided. Genre of Personal Writing A journal is one example of many kinds of personal accounts that exist in both published and unpublished forms. It usually contains descriptions of the writers experiences and observations, written over regular time intervals. Similar types of personal writings are diaries, autobiographies, memoirs and letters. The diary form began to flourish in the late Renaissance, a few decades after the invention of the printing press. Due to the increase in the popularity of the written form, both the English and the French began to record personal experiences which include historical details, often of high interest to the people of their times (Doherty & Cornog, p. 140). Although diaries and journals are often intended for the authors use alone, there have continuously been various personalities, such as politicians and celebrities, who attempt to write their biographies for publication purposes, either by themselves, or by ghostwriters. 156 MARIA EDA C. CARREO