Reading Diary- Week 8: Reading Assessment

Is there information from the instructions that you had not noticed before?

• No, I have been following the instructions.

What are the main strategies you use in writing your Diary posts? 

• My main strategies are to take down important info while also providing details that I need in a simple format.

Do you have specific Diary tips that would be useful for other students?

• Bullet points are really helpful for me. I like having things organized and laid out like a list. It makes it easy to read. 

Do you use the same Diary style/strategy each time?

• Yes, I prefer to use my diaries as a place for reading notes.

Are your Diary posts more or less the same length each time, or do they vary?

• They vary, though they mostly stay about the same length.

Overall, would you say your Diary posts are too long, too short, or just about right? 

• I think for the mot part my diary posts are about right for what I would want if I needed to remember what happened and are laid out along with the book so it makes finding more info/details much easier. 

Is there something you have started doing in your Diary posts that you wish you had done from the beginning?

• Not really, I have pretty much been doing the same thing this whole time.

Is there something you might start doing in your Diary posts now that you have not done so far? 

• I might think about using some of my diary posts as a place to discuss how I felt about that reading, or maybe include that in a small blurb at the bottom. I'm not sure yet. I think my style works well for me though I might want to find a way to do it more efficiently. It seems to take quite a lot of time. 

Do you include images in your Diary posts?

•   Sometimes I do include images in my diary posts when I feel they will help me understand better. The images are supplemental tools that are meant to give a little more explanation to a topic or remind me of something important. 

Do you include favorite quotes or phrases in your Diary posts?

• Usually if I like a quote or phrase I will include it in my diary posts; especially if I feel like it says everything I would want to say, but better. Sometimes I just don't know how to better reword something or even just to do it justice. 

Do you make connections to other stories / books / movies in your posts?

• Typically I do not reference other stories/book/movies in m posts but that might be something I could start adding. I suppose I do not do as much relation and reflection in my diary posts as some other students because I truly take them like notes and use them like notes. I just try to get what's important down. 

Do you take the notes while you are reading or afterwards? 

• I prefer to take notes while I read so I do not forget important things. Plus, it's hard to remember details instead of events and in my posts I like to put down important details as well. 

When you look back at your old Diary posts, are they useful?

• I feel like my diary posts are useful. They give me quick recaps with just enough information that I do not feel as though I am rereading the book. They just help me remember what happened. 

What could you do to make the Diary posts more useful for future reference?

• I think something I should do to help make them more useful is to write out simple bits about who/what each character is and why they are important overall so that their relevance follows them throughout the story. As it is, I tend to write their relevance in relation to just what is currently happening. 

Do you use your Diary posts when you are writing the other blogs posts each week?

• Yes, my diary posts are important when it comes to writing my other blog posts each week. I often reference them to figure out which story I want to retell for my storytelling posts. Then, I look in the book to find more detail and information so I can write the story better. 

Overall, how good a job would say you are doing with the reading assignments?

• Apart from missing a few I think i'm doing pretty good with the reading assignments. 

In general, do you remember a lot of the reading in this class, or not so much? 

• I remember plenty of reading however I feel like it is difficult to motivate myself to read Buck's Ramayana because it is just a longer version of the book we already read. 

In general, do you remember reading in your other classes? Or do you mostly focus on preparing for exams? 

• I take notes similar to my diary post notes for my other classes and I know that works to help me remember my reading which is why I chose to use that style in my diary posts. I still have to prepare for exams, but I feel like I know more when I have notes like my diary posts than when I don't. I seem to recall more information, probably because writing it down helps me learn it. 

What are the reading strategies that are most effective for you for short-term memory? What about strategies for long-term memory?

• For short-term, I prefer to skim through and find the important information instead of reading every word. This makes it so that my memory contains only what is important. 
• For long-term, I usually read slower though I still tend to skim a little and I take meticulous notes.