1. Clearly state your policies regarding journals.  

2. Do not Offer journal writing as extra credit.  It will not work.  Students tend to do extra credit only if they need it and this is usually in dire circumstances or at the end of the term.  Moreover, such "add on" pedagogy sends a weak message about the importance of writing.   

3. Stress the importance of journal pedagogy by calculating a significant percentage into the overall grade.  For example, 1% each week equals 14-15% of the total grade in a 14-15 week semester.  

4. Require a word quota per week.  While I generally require 500 words per week, other teachers require between 250 and 300.  

5. Use the journal to keep students focused and discussing outside of class on your class.  State what the weekly focus is with provocative questions and issues that students need to use as their guide.  If you leave this open-ended students will become confused, lost, or write about totally unrelated topics such as the party last week, or the tests in other classes.  

6. Let them know spelling, grammar and punctuation are not concerns.  At the same time, I must acknowledge that students do often write in Word to use the spellchecker before posting in TJP.  Since students have an immediate audience their journals, they try to perform for their peers, which is a good thing in the rhetorical picture.   

7. State what your “week” means.  That is, when it begins and ends, e.g., the week starts and ends on Sunday at 12:01 a.m.

8. Keep a journal yourself to keep track of what works and fails in your teaching.  It's a wonderful means to see that despite it all, you keep trying.  I am convinced that all teachers keep trying and need to remember this.