The journal moves through various phases: a sourcebook for ideas to be explored, material for composing major projects, a depository of critical notes, and, finally, a finished submission in and of itself for completion of the M. Phil. degree.

In each of these phases the journal takes on a different form due to its function.

The journal as final submission is rarely just a collection of previous phases of work; rather, the construction of a form for the final submission of the journal is a student's major task at the end of their program.

The final submission is usually assembled from a selection of top-quality work from the journal and courses, put together in a coherent, focused, and structured way. Completed journals are archived in the Humanities Dawson collection.

The final submission is to be presented in an attractive way (e.g., typed following university guidelines for theses, and other media presented in a professional manner, e.g., photographs mounted and titled).

Material incorporated into the journal should be carefully edited, corrected, and otherwise made to fit into the whole of which they are a part.

In a written work, journal entries and essays are integrated, provided with thematic bridging sections, and accompanied by an introduction and conclusion.

More creative, experimental work - e.g., visual art, poetry, hypertext - is to be accompanied by a written analytic commentary (this need not be lengthy but serves to point out the intellectual and thematic content of experimental media).

All journals should have an appended bibliography.