Critical Response Essay
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Tjerrild Unit I Essay Prompt English 1A
Unit 1: Critical Response Essay
Due: Thursday, April 2nd
Choose ONE text to respond to:
· “Only Connect” by William Cronon
· “Faking Cultural Literacy,” by Karl Taro Greenfeld
· “Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling” by Emilie Wapnick
· “Following Your Passion Is Dead” by Michael Bohanes
· “A New Assignment: Pick Books You Like” by Motoko Rich
Purpose:
Learning how to read and respond to another’s arguments responsibly are the preliminary aspects of effective argument. Your purpose in this essay is two-fold: to reflect a clear understanding of the source text and to demonstrate your competence in expressing and organizing your conversation with the text.
Audience:
Assume that your audience is educated and familiar with the source’s topic but has not read the article or watched the TedTalk themselves.
Introduction:
· Context: Begin your paper by familiarizing your audience with the text to which you’re responding. What information does your reader need to know? This includes:
· introducing the author and the essay title (using appropriate punctuation)
· summarizing (5-6 sentences) the essay’s main argument.
· This brief summary should lead into your THESIS, the clear and specific claim you will be asserting and proving in response to the source essay. A good thesis will be focused and will include an essay map that lays out the trajectory of your response. (i.e. the 2-3 distinct points must be proven in order to persuade your readers that your thesis is correct)
· Choose one of the following methods for your response:
1. Agree and Extend (Agree with a difference). Strengthen the argument presented by the essay by engaging with and then extending the reasoning. Beyond agreeing with the essay, make your response worth reading by taking the ideas further by, for example, shifting the context or considering a new angle informed by your own personal experience, attitudes, and observations. Avoid simply summarizing the author’s ideas!
2. Disagree (and explain why). Identify specific assertions in the essay with which you disagree. First, carefully and accurately represent the author’s ideas. Then, explain and support your disagreement.
3. Agree and Disagree Simultaneously (Okay, but). If you find that you both agree and disagree with different aspects of the author’s essay, you can incorporate both into your response. For this method I recommend choosing your points of agreement and disagreement strategically so that your essay is cohesive. Your thesis should clearly reflect the relationship between your agreement and disagreement. Additionally, your thesis should not come across as wishy-washy or unclear.
· Please refer to the “Three Ways to Respond” reading for further explanation and suggestions on how to structure your thesis statement. Remember, a strong thesis statement is the most important basis for a strong essay.
Body:
· Use the essay map of your thesis to structure the body of your response. Consider each of the aspects of your essay map in a separate section of your response. These sections may include one or more paragraphs. Make sure each paragraph supports the idea you are making in that section of the response and that each section clearly relates to your main claim (thesis).
· Each well-developed paragraph should:
· focus on one topic
· begin with a relevant and specific topic sentence
· use sufficient evidence from your own observations, knowledge, or experience to support your assertion
· engage specifically with quotes and details from the essay
· connect back to one element of your essay map
· end with a transitional sentence that moves you into the next paragraph
· Your response is your opportunity to put your voice into the conversation; remember that you are altering the direction of the discussion and not merely repeating the author’s ideas. What do you want to contribute to this conversation?
Outside Sources:
· You MUST engage with a minimum of two outside sources (besides the text to which you are primarily responding). These outside sources may be used to provide context for the conversation in which your primary text is participating; to lend credibility and support to your own position; to demonstrate how widespread the position expressed in the primary text is; and/or to point out a weakness/omission in the primary text.
· These sources should be appropriately embedded in your essay using introductory and transitional phrases. Your reader should never be confused about who is speaking—you or the author of the primary text.
· Sources should be cited according to MLA guidelines, both in the body of the essay and in your Works Cited page.
Conclusion:
· Readdress your thesis, but do so organically and using different words. Don’t merely repeat what you’ve said before.
· Reflect: Conclusions should answer the question “So what?” for your readers. What is the significance of your essay? Make it clear why your contribution to the conversation matters.
· Step back at the end of your essay and help your reader see how your contribution fits into the larger context of the issue.
Technicalities:
· Length: 1000-1200 words total. Going over is fine (within reason), but please meet the minimum. Include a word count at the bottom of your last page.
· Format: Double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, last name and page number in the top right corner of each page (use the “Page Number” function in Word)
· Heading (not header): single-spaced in the top left corner ON THE FIRST PAGE ONLY. Please include your name, the course, your instructor’s name, and the date.
· Title: centered and un-bolded on the first page. Make it interesting and informative.
· Please use proper MLA formatting for all source essay quotations (EAA 447-464) and please include a Works Cited page at the end (not included in your word count).
Turning in your essay:
· Your Critical Response Essay is due Thursday, April 2nd.
