Journals can be valuable tools for fostering adult learning and experience. Research has supported the following assumptions about learning from journals: (1) articulating connections between new and existing knowledge improves learning; (2) writing about learning is a way of demonstrating what has been learned; (3) journal writing accentuates favorable learning conditions; and (4) reflection encourages deep rather than surface learning. Opponents of assessment argue that evaluating learners' journal writing may intrude on learners' privacy and expectations of confidentiality and that developing objective criteria to assess the process or product of journal writing is difficult. Proponents of assessment state that developing objective assessment criteria is not only possible but may help instructors guide others in reflection, that reviewing journals gives instructors valuable data on students' learning processes, and that assessment may be necessary to ensure participation. The following guiding principles are offered for educators who decide to use journals in adult learning: (1) make confidentiality and boundary setting essential; (2) provide equitable feedback; (3) guard privacy and focus on learning rather than therapy; (4) practice the reflection you preach; and (5) provide clear explanations and guidelines. Learners should be given examples of the following types of possible journal entries: descriptive, metacognitive, analytic, evaluative, and reconstructive. (Contains 19 references.) (MN)