I have used this strategy and the students really enjoy it. They can be creative and descriptive in their writing on a particular topic.
Students can then share their writings with the class.
When I was in high school, I didn't know of a single person who enjoyed keeping journals. A lot of people have the idea that journal keeping is just a way that teachers use to waste some class time, and make students do something that just seems to sound good for learning. But, a lot of that depends on what the journal assignments are. Plus, journals are a concept that are over used at times. A better assessment strategy would be to come up with something that isn't as common.