Journals are ongoing writing which creates a record of your work, your research and your developing ideas. They may also include reviews of work by other practitioners. The purpose of writing a journal entry is to document your learning and development processes, to provide material for reflection. Your writing should show that you are engaging with resources and activities and using these materials and experiences to generate ideas. If you are using information from reading it is good practice to reference it. They may also include an analysis and evaluation of your learning. Not all journals are formally assessed but extracts can be used in assessments when requested in your assignment briefs to demonstrate an aspect of learning.
Journals are typically unstructured. But check your course instructions – you may be given prompt questions to help you record your experiences and research. They can be personal and reflective using your own ideas, experiences and research as sources of information, so use 'I' or 'we' when writing them up.
Include things that did not go well – this is where the best learning happens but also document what skills you have developed too.
