2 pages reading response need be done in 4 hours

How to Write a Reader Response Letter

(Weekly Mini-Essays)

Lorena Fuentes

Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ______________

Purpose: As you will be asked to write a weekly reading response in this class, it is important for you to understand the format you must follow in order to write your papers.

 What is a Reader Response? It is a thoughtful reaction or response to what you have read. When you turn in a reader response paper, it should be typed and proofread carefully. Usually, they are 1.5 to 2 pages long. Reader response is different from the kind of reading and writing that you normally do. It is important to develop your response by examining why you chose a piece of text or key concept as well as your understanding of how it relates to larger ideas.

 Why is it important to write Reader Responses?

As in any other learning process, practicing English through extensive reading writing will give you the opportunity to increase your vocabulary and notably improve your writing and reading fluency. Additionally, a Reader Response gives you the chance to voice your opinion and feelings about the topics discussed and/or read in class.

 Do Reading Responses have a certain structure?

Yes. As any other type of essay, it is important for the writer to keep his/her ideas organized so   his/her   readers   can   follow   the   writer’s   ideas. Even though Reader Responses are more flexible in terms of the language and style you want to use, it does not mean that you can freely record your ideas without following any type of order. That is why, for this class, your responses are expected to have the following components:

1. Introduction a) Attention Grabber: Hooking the reader with an attention grabber such as a

question, a surprise, or maybe a quotation creates a desire to read on to see what happens  next.  Even  if  all  the  information  in  the  body  of  the  essay  is  solid,  it’s   important to get the reader to that point with a good attention grabber. Starting an essay with an attention grabber ensures that your audience will want to keep reading. The attention grabber should give the reader an idea of what the essay will be about.

Figure 1- Basic Structure of an Introduction

b) Synthesis of Readings:

 After your attention grabber, you want to introduce the readings you are responding to. To do this, you must synthesize the main idea of each reading, and then analyze how those readings are connected (either through similarities or differences). Always introduce the work. Do not assume that because your reader knows what you are writing about, you do not need to mention the work's title and the authors.

 When introducing a reading (s), you need to include title of the reading in quotation marks for essays, poems, articles, songs, book chapters (e.g. “Freewriting” by Peter Elbow) and italicized for names of books, newspapers, and journals (e.g. Acting Out Culture by James S. Miller).

 When you mention the author for the first time in your essay, you must use his/her complete name. After that, you can refer to him/her by using his/her last name ONLY.

c) Thesis Statement: you always need to have a main point in your essay, and you

must prove it throughout the development of your body paragraphs. The following questions can help you brainstorm ideas for your thesis:

 How do you feel about what you are reading?  What do you agree or disagree with?  What is the most striking point of the readings you are responding to? What do they have

in common that is worthy of analyzing?  What would be the best way to evaluate the story?

Note: even though these questions are explicitly eliciting your point of view, avoid sentences such as “I think,” “I believe,” “in my opinion,” etc.in your thesis statement; just write the statements. Those expressions weaken your statements. If you are writing the essay, it is implied that those ideas come from your own opinion.

Attention Grabber

Synthesis Of Readings

Thesis Statement

2. Body Paragraphs Each body paragraph you write must contain the following features:

a) Main Idea: this idea must be strictly connected to your thesis statement. The idea is the each main idea in each body paragraph serves as a key point to prove and/or support your thesis.

b) Evidence: to further expand your main idea and support your thesis statement, it crucial that you provide the reader with evidence from the readings. The use of direct quotes and/or paraphrases from the readings will help you contextualize and underpin your claims.

c) Analysis of Evidence: your evidence must be always complemented with a thorough analysis of the importance and relevance those quotes or paraphrases have within your essay discussion. What struck you about the quotes? Do you agree or disagree with the author? Did that quote/paraphrase make you think about a different point not mentioned in the reading? You can additionally use real life examples (factual information, personal experience, etc.) to further analyze your evidence. Throwing quotes without any specific purpose will make your essay look weak and groundless. (Check how to introduce a quote in the next handout)

d) Transition Sentence: when responding to different readings in an essay, it is easy to fall into the trap of jumping from reading to reading, and paragraph to paragraph without making any specific connection or transition to the next point. It is of paramount importance that you always include a transition sentence which can connect to the next paragraph or slightly and smoothly change from one point to the other.

Figure 2- Body Paragraphs- Basic Structure

1. Evidence

2. Analysis of Evidence

3. Transition Sentence

3. Conclusion

A conclusion should

 stress the importance of the thesis statement,  restate the main ideas of the essay,  give the essay a sense of completeness, and  leave a final impression on the reader.

Suggestions…

 Answer the question "So What?" Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful.

 Synthesize, don't summarize: Don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read it. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together.

 Redirect your readers: Give your reader something to think about, perhaps a way to use your paper in the "real" world. If your introduction goes from general to specific, your conclusion must go from specific to general. Think globally.

 Create a new meaning: You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.