To incorporate journaling as a form of reflection in a service and civic engagement, planners should identify:

• Do you need to provide participants with journals and other writing supplies, or will they need to use something of their own?
• What is the length of your program or experience? When do you want people to use journaling in your program or experience?
• How much time will you allot for journaling? 
• How do you want journaling to be used? For personal, private learning, or to share in a more public way?

What do you hope to get out of journaling? Be conscious of how you plan to use your journal, and whether it is expected to be shared with others or something that you will only use to reflect personally.

There are a wide range of journaling methods and structures. Here are a few from Gateway Technical College's Service Learning Toolkit: 

Clusters

Have people shout out words or phrases that describe the day. Ask each person to take two minutes to write five or six words in random spaces on their journaling page. Ask participants to free write focusing on those five or six items and how they are related.

The Critical Incident

Choose an incident that involved the entire group and give them a couple of minutes to think about the incident. Then ask them to write a detailed, factual report of what happened, making sure to answer who, what, where, when. You can then have participants share their stories to see how they differ from another. 

Different Perspectives

Ask participants to recall a specific occurrence from the day that involved some degree of conflict. Ask them to assume the viewpoint opposite that which they actually held during this conflict (or the viewpoint they were the least empathetic with) and write a description of the conflict from this perspective. This can include what happened, their role in it, what they want, what they envision as the ideal solution.

Double-entry Journal

When using a double-entry journal, participants write one-page entries each week: Participants describe their personal thoughts and reactions to the service experience on the left page of the journal, and write about key issues from class discussions or readings on the right page of the journal. Participants then draw arrows indicating relationships between their personal
experiences, things they are learning in class, or other areas of their lives.  

Exit cards

Brief note card reflections turned in at the end of each meeting, experience, or class period. Students are asked to reflect on content from group discussion or an article, podcast, or other learning tool and explain how this information relates to their service involvement. Exit cards can be read by facilitators in order to gain a better understanding of student experiences. Facilitators may want to  summarize key points and communicate these back to participants during a subsequent gathering.

The Fly on the Wall

Ask participants to take a couple moments to reflect on the day (where  they’ve been, what they’ve done, whom they’ve worked with, tools they’ve used). Then ask them to pretend they were a “fly on the wall” observing but not participating in the scene, and write a short descriptive passage based on their observations. You can also use any animal or plant or person that was nearby.

The Free Write

For a predetermined amount of time participants engage in continuous writing by keeping their pens moving . . . even if only to write, “I don’t know what to write.” It is helpful to trigger the free-write with an open-ended sentence such as “I don’t think I’ll ever forget . . .” or “If I could do one thing differently, I would . . .” or make up your own. Let participants know when they are nearing the end of the writing time, and then ask them how it went.

Highlighted Journal

If you have participants make several journal entries throughout their experience, ask participants to reread their journal entries and, using a highlighter, mark sections of the journal that directly relate to concepts discussed by the group.  

The Letter

Have participants write a letter to themselves, a relative, a historical figure, a political figure, etc. describing their experience and what it means to them, or ask for some piece of advice, etc.

Personal Journal

Students write freely about their experience, usually done weekly. Students can keep this information to themselves or share it with the facilitator and fellow group participants. 

Three-part Journal

Participants are asked to divide each page of their journal into thirds, and write weekly entries throughout the course of their experience. In the top section, participants describe some aspect of the service experience. In the middle of the page, they analyze how other facets of their lives (courses, etc.) relate to the service experience. And finally, an application section prompts students to comment on how the experience can be applied to their personal or professional life. 

Try to come to the exercise with an open mind. Depending on the mode of journaling selected by the facilitator, you may be asked to explore written reflection in a number of ways. Be sure to clarify any questions or expectations you have at the start of the activity, so as to get the most out of the experience.