Introduction
Goals and Goal Setting
Goals Common to All RST Writers
Other Goals to Consider
Defining My Own Goals
Advice about Assignments
Getting Started: Listing Topics to Write about in the Tutorial
Narrative One: Personal Piece on a Significant Experience
Narrative Two: Academic Piece on a Significant Experience
Summary/Response One
Summary/Response Two
Tutorial Evaluation Postscript
On Using the Resources for Writers
Generating and Developing Ideas
Finding/Expressing Main Ideas
Showing v. Telling Sentences
Focusing Topic Sentences
Thesis Statements
Reading Strategies
Assessing Your Reading Strategies
Summarizing
Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays
Discourse Analysis Worksheet
Trade Magazines
Selecting Readings
A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. "Damon argues that ..." or "Goodman also points out that ... "). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized.
The Response:
A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.
Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:
1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:
Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion
Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory.
2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.
Intro/thesis Summary point one; agree/disagree Summary point two; agree/disagree Summary point three; agree/disagree Conclusion
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Outline. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs): grab the reader's attention and state your subject and purpose. Body (3 or more paragraphs): Summarize the article you read in 1-2 paragraphs. Give three or more responses to the article with evidence to back them up. Responses include answering the following: What do you think about the ideas in the ...
Get an outline of the process for how to write a response essay from the prewriting to the final piece. See all the different steps in action to make writing a response essay a breeze. ... For example, if your response to a song was horrible, state that in your thesis along with the points you will make to show it was horrible. Thesis ...
Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" in PDF with margin notes. Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" accessible version with notes in parentheses. This page titled 5.7: Sample Response Essays is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Anna Mills ( ASCCC Open Educational Resources ...
Record your thoughts. Develop a thesis. Write an outline. Construct your essay. It may be helpful to imagine yourself watching a movie review as you're preparing your outline. You will use the same framework for your response paper: a summary of the work with several of your own thoughts and assessments mixed in.
Response Essay Examples. A response essay is a sub-genre of critical writing. It describes your impressions from a book, movie, art, music, research paper, or any other creation. Its distinctive feature is the unlimited subjectivity allowing you to express whatever emotions the analyzed object has evoked.
A response essay consists of 5-7 paragraphs: an introduction- a summary paragraph of the article; a response- 3 or more body paragraphs responding to the author; a conclusion- a concluding paragraph summing up your thoughts. Outline the essay your want to write. Use the structure of the response essay to determine the order of each paragraph.
Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays. The Summary: A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting ...
Each of these response essay examples provides a clear and focused thesis statement that expresses the writer's opinion on the subject matter. The body paragraphs use specific examples and evidence from the text to support the arguments, and the conclusion summarizes the main points of the essay and provides a final opinion on the subject.
Since most summary response essays in UCWR 110 are 2-5 pages long, remember to briefly summarize the author's overall argument while focusing on how it supports their main point in roughly half of your essay (Example: in 2 1-2 pages if the limit is 5). If you have two paragraphs per page (See "The Essay Paragraph Equation"), this means ...
A response paper is a type of academic writing that requires you to express your personal opinion and analysis of a text, film, event, or issue. If you want to learn how to write a response paper that is clear, coherent, and engaging, you should follow our guide and use our essay examples. You will find out how to create an outline, structure your paper, and use appropriate language and tone ...
The response essay is likely the most informal type of literary analysis essay students will encounter in a literature course. This essay simply asks the student to read the assigned text (s) and respond to said text (s). There are several purposes in writing such an essay. This kind of essay: helps students better understand the reading ...
Carefully Read and Analyze the Text. The first step in response paper creation is to carefully read and analyze the text. This involves more than just reading the words on the page; it requires critical thinking and analysis. As you read, pay attention to the author's tone, style, and use of language.
A summary/response essay may, at first, seem like a simplistic exercise for a college course. But the truth is that most academic writing requires us to successfully accomplish at least two tasks: summarizing what others have said and presenting what you have to say. Because of this, summarizing and responding are core skills that every writer ...
Introduction. Paragraph 1: The first part of the introduction which needs to be vivid, catchy and reflect the point you are about to make. Paragraph 2: Provide a context to your response essay: details about the source-text and the author and what the main points in the article are. Body.
Helen Lewis, the author of "The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism" explains why feminism cannot survive during the Pandemic. (Note: An outside text is introduced that the essay will engage with.) Lewis starts her article with a complaint by saying "enough already" because, in terms of housework especially for child care, there has ...
Christina Tubb. To write a reader response, develop a clear thesis statement and choose example passages from the text that support your thesis. Next, write an introduction paragraph that specifies the name of the text, the author, the subject matter, and your thesis. Then, include 3-4 paragraphs that discuss and analyze the text.
Sample format for a reader response paper of 4-5 pages: 1. Introduction/theme: 1-2 paragraphs that "set the stage" for what will follow. Possible entry ... This, as much as anything, is the "thesis" of this essay. You may choose to focus on the main argument of the book, or just one element of the book (for
Use concise and short paragraphs to cover each topic, theme or reaction. Use a new paragraph for each new topic discussed. Go into detail on your findings and reactions related to the text and try to maintain consistency and a clear flow throughout the body of your response paper. 5. Summarize your thoughts.
1. Introduction. The introductory paragraph in a critical response essay consists of two primary sections: a summary of an article and a thesis statement. Firstly, a summary of an article consists of the text's central argument and the purpose of the presentation of the argument.
The first example, however, is one I wrote as a sample for the first reading response. EXAMPLES: Chris McGee. ENGL 380-01. Response 1 Of all of the common assumptions that we discussed in class, I think one of the most common is the idea that a children's text should in some way teach the reader something.