Critical thinking

ENG 101 Critical Response Essay

The Task:

This critical response provides your reaction to a text, supporting your views with evidence from within the text, your own reasoning and experiences, and another source.

Sources:

· Instructor-provided article which you will use for the critical response

· Additional source located by you in a library database or the Internet

· Your additional source must be approved by your instructor

Process:

To complete this project, you should complete/submit the following:

· Read and annotate the instructor-provided article

· Review principles of information literacy and APA formatting

· Locate a second source in a library database or the Internet with instructor approval

· Complete the prewriting as required by instructor:____________________________

· Submit the final Critical Response Essay in APA format

Format:

· Multi-paragraph essay

· APA format, including font, spacing, margins, title page, headers, embedded citations, and references page

· 825-1,375 words (must meet minimum word count, exclusive of title and references pages)

· Text evidence should be paraphrased. Direct quotes should be used appropriately. All information from a text must be properly documented in APA format.

Point of View:

· 1st and 3rd person points of view as appropriate

· 2nd person point of view is NOT appropriate for this assignment

Content:

Begin by identifying the text (author, title, date, and source) and the overall point of the text. Provide a BRIEF summary of the key supporting points of the article. Provide your overall thesis for your response. Support your thesis with information from the text, your own reasoning and experiences, and the additional source you located. Conclude the Critical Response by re-emphasizing your overall reaction to the text and providing closure. You should address the following questions in your Critical Response:

· What is the text’s purpose (e.g. persuade, entertain, inform)?

· Who is the intended audience?

· What is the text’s main idea?

· What are the key supporting points in the text?

· Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why or why not?

· What information from the text either supports your view or can be challenged?

· How do your life and experiences agree with or differ from the concepts in the text?

· What is the impact of the author’s worldviews, biases, and assumptions on the text?

· How do your personal worldviews, biases, and assumptions impact your reaction to the text?

Structure:

Your Critical Response should include the following sections:

· Introduction: Identify the text (author, title, date, source) and the overall thesis/main idea. Explain the author’s purpose and audience and, if appropriate here, author’s worldview. BRIEFLY summarize the key points in the article and end with your overall response/thesis.

· Body: Provide body paragraphs that clearly explain the points/content with which you agree or disagree. Provide specific references to the text and your own ideas, reasoning, and experiences. In addition, use your additional source to support your response. Be sure to include author’s bias/assumptions as well as relating your own worldview, bias, and assumptions within this section.

· Conclusion: Conclude the essay by restating your overall response and providing a sense of closure. No new information should be included in the conclusion.