ENGLISH 9

Quarter 4 - Module 4:
Value Judgment, Critical Thinking and Call to Action

Writing a Response/Reaction Paper

A response/reaction paper is a written assignment that provides a

personal opinion regarding a given piece of work. The paper should include a short
summary of the work, but the main focus is your thoughts, feelings and rationalizations
about what was discussed in the original text. This requires analysis of the given work
on your part, followed by a focused, well-thought-out reaction supported by outside
sources.
Your reaction paper should consist of four main parts:
1. Introduction

 Present the title, author, and publication of the material that you read.
 Give a brief summary of what you read (nutshell)
 Write your thesis statement and specify if you agree, disagree, identify, or
evaluate.

2. Body

 Begin this part with your topic sentence.

 Present details, examples, quotation that provide support for your thesis
statement.
Note: The final sentence of each paragraph should lead into the next paragraph.

3. Conclusion

 Restate what you said in your paper.

 Give your comments which focuses on your overall reaction.
Note: Your conclusion should include no new information; this is just for the
recapitulation of your response.
4. List of citations and sources
 HOW TO WRITE A REACTION PAPER

1. Read and analyze the work thoroughly

It's crucial when you do not fully understand why you're writing and what you're
reacting to. You may find yourself going back to reread, depending on the medium, to
make sure you understand completely what is being presented to you. As you do so,
take notes on parts that you find important so you can easily refer back to them later.
2. Craft your thesis statement
Go back through your notes to get an idea of your overarching angle. This will
help you form the main idea you will fully develop in your reaction. Craft a clear, concise
statement as your thesis, ideally in a single sentence.
3. Create the paper's outline
Again using your notes, start building the framework for your arguments.
Fleshing out these ideas while writing your reaction will be much easier and more
organized when you're following an outline.
4. Compose a first draft
Use your outline to form the first draft of your work. This will be rough but should
give you a clear idea of what the finished product is going to look like. Tip: write your
introduction last. It's very frustrating to write your whole paper only to realize that you
deviated from your thesis pages ago. Circling back to it after writing the rest allows you
to tweak the way you stated your thesis, if necessary.
5. Polish and repeat
There's a possibility that you'll be producing two, three or even four drafts before
the final polished piece is ready to go. For each pass through the paper during editing,
focus on one main thing that you're editing for. For example, the first pass might be
focused on spelling, grammar and punctuation. The next pass could be looking at the
organization of ideas, and so on. You'll make as many passes as you need to create
exactly what you want to present.

HERE ARE SOME STEPS FOR WRITING YOUR PAPER:

Part 1: The introduction and summary
The first part of your paper will include a quick, objective summary of the work
you're reacting to. It should include the author's name and the title of the piece as well
as the publication date. The summarization itself should be a highlight reel of the main
points and a condensed explanation of the key supporting elements.
You should feel free to use direct quotes for ideas that you deem are especially
important to your reaction. At this point, it's unnecessary to go into detail on any one
point or introduce any subjective opinions that will come later.

Part 2: Your thoughts, feelings and opinions

The second part of the paper is where you express your opinions on the key
points of the work, supported by reliable sources. For each point in your reaction, circle
back to reference the corresponding part in the original piece. This is your analysis, the
most important section of this paper. Your reactions can answer a question relating the
work to real-life situations in society, they can respond to the emotions evoked in you
when you read/watched it or they can articulate how the original work shifted or
solidified your perspective on the subject.
Your evaluation should discuss the accuracy, organization, importance and
completeness of the work. This is where you'll take a stance on whether you
recommend this work to others and the reasons for your answer. Your conclusions
should be presented concisely and reiterate your thesis and the main points that took
shape as you write. Finally, organize the list of your sources and cite them at the end of
your reaction paper.