Due Tomorrow!!!

RESPONSE TO A REQUIRED READING 1,000 – 1,250 Words

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS - OWLS WRITING EXAMPLE

GUIDELINES: RESPONDING TO A READING Summary, Reflection, Analysis, and Argument

SUMMARY WHAT DOES THE WRITER SAY? The summary response to a reading—an article, a chapter, or a book—relates as clearly as possible what the author says. When you write a summary, you strive for objectivity and accuracy as you relate the main ideas of the original. A summary omits details and examples that are not needed to convey the "gist" of the original, and it does not include any ideas not found in the original. It is written entirely in your own words, with few, if any, direction quotations, and using present tense. A summary does not analyze, evaluate, or argue a position; it simply restates the original material in a much more condensed form.

REFLECTION HOW DOES THE WORK RELATE TO YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES? This kind of response explains your personal reaction to the work. When you write a reflective response, you explore how the work relates to your own experiences, beliefs, and values. Is the writer’s claim validated by any of your own experiences? Did the reading confirm, challenge, or change in any way your original viewpoint on the topic? Because the reflective response often involves discussion of your own experiences, beliefs, and values in relation to what you read, this response is usually written in the first person.

ANALYSIS WHAT DOES THE WRITER DO? Another kind of response to a reading is a critical response. Critical analysis examines how the author says what he/she says. When you write a critical analysis, you examine the various elements of the work to discover how they function together to form an effective whole. The elements you examine depend upon your specific purpose for analysis. For example, an analysis of an argument might look at the argument’s claims and reasons, supporting information (evidence), and logic. An analysis of a short story might focus on how the setting relates to the story’s meaning.

An analysis includes only as much summary of the work as is needed for a reader to follow the analysis and understand how it relates to the original argument. The analytical response avoids personal reflection on an agreement or disagreement with the ideas.

Often, critical analysis also evaluates the work, making judgments about how well it fulfills its purpose. In that case, your analysis would support a judgment about the overall effectiveness of the work, such as the credibility and persuasiveness of an argument: Is the thesis built on reasonable and valid claims and reasons? Are these claims supported with convincing supporting information and sound reasoning? Is its argument persuasive?

ARGUMENT WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON THE TOPIC OR ISSUE? This kind of response asserts a position on the topic, supported with reasons and evidence. When you write an argumentative response, you explain why you agree or disagree, in whole or in part, with the writer’s claims and ideas. You may agree with the claim by elaborating upon the main

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points of the argument with original support (your own ideas and evidence), or you may disagree with the claim by challenging and questioning those points.

WORD COUNT

Additional General Requirements for this Assignment:

Format of Paper: When writing a Response to Reading, use the APA format, and follow general structural guidelines. Format your paper so all of the text is double-spaced and there is a 1-inch margin on all sides. The APA recommends using Times New Roman in 12 point. For a page with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and minimal spacing elements, a good rule of thumb is 250 words for a double-spaced page. For this assignment use double spacing per page.

In-Text Citations: To strengthen your Response to Reading, you may want to quote or paraphrase sections from the original article. Whenever you do this, you must include in-text citations. With APA style, you use the author-date citation system. If you mention the original author by name, then you only need to include the year of publication within parentheses directly following his name. When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from the journal, add the page name at the end of the sentence in parentheses this should be written as "p." and placed before the final punctuation mark.

References: For references, your paper may only reference the journal that you are critiquing. To write this in proper APA style, write the author’s last name, a comma, first and middle initials and a period. Write the publication year in parentheses followed by a period. Type the name of the article title in sentence case followed by a period. Then, write the name of the journal in italics and title case, a comma, volume number, a comma, page numbers and a period. The volume number should also be in italics, but all text that follows should have plain formatting. For example: Hernandez, D. (2008). Choosing and using citation and bibliographic database software. Diabetes Educator, 34, 459-60.

Example of Required Format to Follow:

Students are reminded to follow this format, including section (student name/info, bibliography, summary, reflection, analysis/evaluation, argument and additional references if any) headings, on the Discussion Board page, as they write their paper.

Students can either type their response, following this format, in a Word document and then copy and paste it into the Blackboard Discussion Board, or they can type out their response in Blackboard Discussion Board following this format.

WRITE THE PAPER ASSUMING THAT THE READER HAS NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOPIC - THIS IS CRUCIAL TO YOUR GRADE.