The reader-response journal has proven useful in the literature-based composition class; it is also useful in the literature survey at the sophomore or junior level of college. Survey courses have a standard protocol that students have come to expect. In these classes, the teacher is an expert who lectures on historical background, trends, and author's lives, and who explains the literature. The students take it all in and parrot it back from time to time on an exam. While not all the informational aspects of the survey lack redeeming value, what is too often neglected is the development of students' sense of their own critical powers. In the reader-response model, each student has a chance to articulate his or her response prior to class. During the class, the teacher's role is not to lecture but to encourage a free and fruitful exchange of ideas. Writing about literature in a personal way is a new experience for many students. But samples from journal entries show that a transformation is possible when students are asked to internalize the literature and reflect on its importance to them. (Contains two figures and a sample of the journal writing assignment.) (TB)