Not sure if this will help, but hoping it will.
I took this from this source :PSY-300-OL
"Preview the two journal assignments before you begin your first reading assignment. These journal assignments require self-reflection. You will improve your self-reflection by integrating the material you read in each module and applying your critical thinking skills. Your response to each journal assignment question should be no less than three (3) double-spaced, typed pages or equivalent."
So it appears a journal assignment is asking you to reflect on what you have read and then write about it. Where an essay assignment seems to require sources, the journal appears to focus on your self -reflections .
I took this from this source :PSY-300-OL
"Preview the two journal assignments before you begin your first reading assignment. These journal assignments require self-reflection. You will improve your self-reflection by integrating the material you read in each module and applying your critical thinking skills. Your response to each journal assignment question should be no less than three (3) double-spaced, typed pages or equivalent."
So it appears a journal assignment is asking you to reflect on what you have read and then write about it. Where an essay assignment seems to require sources, the journal appears to focus on your self -reflections .