How to Write a Response Essay (Writing Guide)
- How to start a response essay
- How to write body paragraphs for a response essay
- How to conclude a response essay
Essay writing involves diverse technicalities meant to serve the core needs of people or the examining entity. Regardless of the type of paper, understanding the requirements of the essay underlies the key factor to a fast and easy management of your script. A respondent editorial is one of the essay writing models that gives an individual the chance to air own views through writing. Simply as the word ‘response’ dictates, it emphasizes on offering one’s opinion on a certain subject. Writing a response paper entails expressing personal learning specifically as related to the assigned text, article or book. A reader’s analysis and view of the text often differs with what the author has written. Hence, the rejoinder text enables the reader to criticize, comprehend and uphold author’s ideas and give insights to the gaps inherent in the article. A reaction script serves to weigh or exhibit the thought level of a person on a given topic. Moreover, it examines how well a reader extracts the essayist’s viewpoint and intended agenda for the manuscript. Thus, this type of essay would be likened to a letter from the reader to the writer.
Starting a response essay
The reader identifies the article under examination with the writer and the publication which includes the publisher name and the date of publication. This part informs the audience where the rejoinder essay writer draws his judgment from. Consequently, you need to offer your reader a background summary of what the article you are responding to talks about. In essence, you give an informative but precise concept of the material. This helps the reader to get a general understanding of the original work’s key points. Then, summarize the introductory part of your paper with a thesis statement. You need to state what forms the baseline to your analysis of the article. Conversely, never expound on any idea or offer personal reaction at this point. Keep the introductory part objective and factual. Precisely, this part of the essay takes a paragraph with five to eight sentences.
Writing the Body Paragraphs
This is the section that builds on your reaction, insights, agreements and disagreement of the paper. The body is the crucial part of your analysis. It carries the highest weight of the text. It is here that you argue your case against, for or modifies the script being analyzed. Also, the body informs the person who reads the level of your argumentative capability in writing a response essay. A reaction work differs from a book review, the target here is to connect the author’s issues to own experiences and current occurrences. The following basic approaches will be a guide on how to structure your body paragraphs.
Evaluation of the article
Write the major points being discussed by the author. At this juncture, highlight the strengths and weakness innate to the author’s arguments. Some of the questions you can ask yourself while analyzing the script include;
- How convincing was the piece? Did it deeply outline the topic? Why or why not?
- Was the presentation well-researched?
- Did it under-look or overemphasize some aspects against others?
- How does the writer argue his text? The tone and the strategy used to gunner the reader’s attention.
- Is there any contradiction? Illustrate how it affects the argument.
You need one to two paragraphs for this section depending on the length of the paper. Importantly, provide supportive evidence from the text as you present the playwright’s ideas. You can use direct quotes but remember to highlight them as quoted text.
Reaction
Now it is time to air your personal opinions on the text. In part 1, you only highlighted key ideas as presented by the scriptwriter. You need to criticize the work. Often, we never totally agree with what we read. Therefore, the riposte paper gives us the opportunity to improve the article through generated personal ideas. Below are some points to aid in drawing a coherent reaction.
- What is your view on the ideas brought out in the article?
- In what ways does the piece relate to own experiences?
- What questions came to you as you read the script?
- How does the work relate to present-day world issues or problems?
You require at least two to three paragraphs to argue your reaction on matters arising from the manuscript. It is in this part that your expertise gets evaluated. Therefore, be careful on how you write your points as drawn from the article. In addition, it is recommendable to use real-life examples related to the case at hand to elaborate your facts.
Conclusion
The concluding part requires just a paragraph to wrap up what you have been writing. It ties back the body and the introduction. In summing up, you need to give your stand of the reviewed article as to whether you agree or disagree. Furthermore, recommend the text to the audience you feel suits the author’s description. Additionally, offer intuitive changes possible for making the script more relevant to the reader.
Desirable points to consider
- Carefully read the article before start of your reaction paper
- Understand the context and audience targeted by the author.
- Articulate your points
- Be brief and precise- avoid re-narrating the article
- Support your argument with factual evidence from text
- Be coherent, clear and have sentences that exhibit smooth flow from introduction to conclusion
- Avoid spurious phrases such as “I find this article interesting” or “I like the ideas in this script.” Have concise sentences with specific proof. You have to justify your thoughts.
- Proofread your paper to evade grammatical typos.
It is not always the case that you disagree with the author. If the writer’s way of presentation appeals to you, you can also state so and pinpoint the reasons. Remember, your view is what dictates a response paper. Therefore, follow the above basic plan and get yourself started with that paper.
Now you know how to write a response essay! So easy, simple and fast.
Remember! Take action! Follow the steps to response paper writing.
