personal response essay
Today:
• What is Personal Response • Thesis Statement and Key words
(Know What You Need to Write Before Your Write it!) • Your turn:
Planning My Personal Response Worksheet
Homework
Q & A
After reading/watching/ listening to something…….
what does the prompt show you? Or,
What is the most significant idea you learned from the prompt?
This idea can connect to
My emotion
My experience
My knowledge
Comparison with another
different culture,
perspective, etc
What is Personal Response? (p. 25)
S. Zhou
Know What You need to Write Before You Write it!
Thesis Statement and Key Words
S. Zhou
Ask yourself the following three questions: • What is your main point in this essay? • What are your supporting points • Is there a logical relationship of main point and supporting point?
Know what you need to write before you write it!
S. Zhou
Ask yourself the following three questions: • What is your academic focus/main point in this essay? = thesis key word
• academic (scholarly or university level), • interpretative (reflecting on your opinion) • more general then supporting points
• What are your supporting points =paragraph key words • these are aspects/parts of your academic focus • they should have a strong connection to the main point
• Is there a logical relationship of the main point (thesis key word) and supporting point (paragraph key words)?
Know what you need to write before you write it!
Thesis Statement S. Zhou
Personal Response Essay Outline
…………………… ………………….. …………………… …………………… Body Paragraph 2 …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………….
Introduction
Background
Body Paragraph 1 …………………… ………………….. ……………………
………………….. ………………….. Conclusion
Title page Writing Page Writing Page Writing Page References
S. Zhou
Four references -3 from background paragraph -1 from body paragraph
Thesis statement is the last sentence in the introduction paragraph
Introduction Paragraph Pattern
Sentence #1: Introductory sentence How can you get readers interested in reading your essay?
Sentence #2: Topic sentence What is your specific topic of this essay?
Sentence #3: Thesis Statement What is your controlling idea of this essay?
Thesis Statement (p. 9) Thesis statement is the last sentence
of the introduction paragraph
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement (p. 9)
The most significant sentence in your essay.
• stating your opinion on the essay topic, • indicating the direction of your essay, • and focusing the thinking in your essay according to key words.
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Thesis Statement (p. 9)
Three important aspects to a thesis statement: • Clear • Strong • Specific
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement (p. 9)
Three important aspects to a thesis statement: • Clear
• locate at the end of the introduction paragraph • short (not more than one sentence), • contain key words • directly answer the question or topic that you are being asked to write about, • and clearly indicate how the essay will answer the question (show the
relationship of main idea to sub/supporting ideas)
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement (p. 9)
Three important aspects to a thesis statement: • Strong
• use strong verbs (the most common being the be verb written as is or is not) • use strong language (such as adjectives that help develop your opinion) • and should indicate an academic opinion on the topic (you must pick a side,
and cannot state there are both positive and negative aspects of the topic).
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement (p. 9)
Three important aspects to a thesis statement: • Specific
• use key words to indicate the direction of your essay • use an academic concept (made more specific through the use of accurate
adjectives) that gives the essay focus and helps the reader to understand the topic from your perspective.
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement Formula (p.26)
General thesis formula: Specific Topic + “Be” Verb + (adjective) Academic Focus + (because) Explanation of the Focus + (through) Roadmap. Example: The North American beaver is an essential Canadian icon for historical, psychological, and economic reasons
For Personal Response Essay: (Thesis key word) revealed in chapter 3 Crucible of True North (reaction) through the following aspects: (paragraph key word), and (paragraph key word )
S. Zhou
Thesis Statement and Key words (p.25)
(Thesis key word) revealed in Chapter __ of True North (reaction) through: (paragraphs key word 1, and paragraph key word 2)
Follow this formula to write your thesis statement:
In your opinion, what is the most important thing that you learned in this chapter?
Your answer should not be the book title True North or the chapter title Chapter 4.
Try to summarize this main idea with one word (or one expression).
Can you think of two specific aspects of your above main idea (thesis key word) from the chapter?
(i.e. what are two specific things in the chapter you noticed that prove your idea above is important).
Try to limit the aspect to 1 word each if possible.
Example (using chapter 1 of True North. You should write your thesis statement based on the assigned chapter for PR. Learning from the past revealed in chapter 1 Your Life Story of “True North” explains to me that one’s experience can shape his/her authentic leadership skills through : understanding oneself and concentrating on other’s needs.
To indicate your reaction, you can use phrases such as: Reminds me of ____ [noun] Reinforces my understanding of ____ [noun] Draws my attention to ____ [noun] Makes me wonder/think/consider about ____ [noun] Makes me question how/why + full sentence Contributes to my thoughts about ____ [noun] Awakens my sense of ____ [noun] Inspires me to ____ [verb – an action]
S. Zhou