Tips for Writing a Good Reaction Paper

The main aim of this article is to give students a chance to understand what is a reaction paper and
to explain how to complete it without any efforts. A reaction paper is a type of written assignment,
which requires personal opinion and conclusions on a given article or abstract. Unlike a summary, a
reaction paper should contain your own thoughts on the problem, discussed in the original text. It
aims to show professor how deep your understanding of the situation is and how well you can use
your analytical skills.

The first part of your paper should contain information on the author and the topic. You need to
write down the main ideas and highlight the main points of the paper. You can use direct quotations
if needed. Avoid your personal opinion in this section. The second part should contain your personal
thoughts on the subject. Focus on a main problem or address all of them and describe your opinion.
Explain how the material can relate to the modern world, to the society or separate individuals. Back
your statements with sources if needed and make conclusions whether you support the author or
not.

Writing a reaction paper can be quite a challenging task, so many students use examples to learn
more about its structure and key features. Here are a few recommendations, which will help you
complete an outstanding reaction paper:

 Read the original article carefully and highlight the main ideas and points you want to
discuss;
 Describe your point of view and back it with additional information if needed. Use vivid
examples;
 Use various sources to make your statement more argumentative.

There are also a few tips, which will help you to avoid common mistakes. First, don’t give a
summary of an article. You should perform your personal opinion, not an overview. You should
always back your ideas with examples. However, avoid using examples, which are difficult to relate
to the topic. With the help of these simple rules, you will learn how to write a reaction paper and will
be able to create an outstanding work!

Reaction paper format

Formatting gives every student a chance to create an outstanding paper, using previous experience
and a clear plan of actions. With the help of such an outline, you will be able to see how the paper
will look like and will be able to go from one paragraph to another smoothly. Usually you will have
specific information on the size of the paper, so a plan will be of a great help.

A reaction paper consists of four main parts:

1. Introduction;
2. Body;
3. Conclusions;
4. List of citations and sources.
Introduction section is the face of your paper, so you need to pay extra attention to this part to
gain interest of the reader. Here you should describe the author and the paper you are
analyzing, the main ideas and problems you are going to discuss. You should write at least
three-four sentences about the original text and close the introduction section with your thesis,
which will be discussed later in the paper. Make sure your statement is brief and straight to the
point, because you will need to get back to it over and over again throughout your paper.

The second part of the paper is where the real work begins. You need to write down your
thoughts on the main ideas of the paper, backed with appropriate quotes and sources.
Remember to stick to the original article and always get back to it, while providing your personal
thoughts. However, you are free to add theoretical information to support your ideas. This
section is crucial and should contain a thorough analysis of the obtained data.

Conclusions should be brief and contain information on your thesis and main ideas, which were
shaped throughout the work. You can also refer to the target audience and the impact these
conclusions may have on the society. The list of citations should contain a brief but structured
information on the sources, used in your work.

5. Writing a reaction paper can be a real challenge, but at the same time it will help you to
improve your analytical skills and share your opinion with the world!