How to Write a Reaction Paper

My students will most certainly need to know how to read a paper. Moreover, they will need to know how to react to it. Therefore, I decided to copy and paste this article (How to Write a Reaction Paper) from wikihow.com (I do hope they don’t mind).

It is important to state that on my blog, I will only post a part of the whole article, so they will need to read the rest on their site mentioned above.

First, let us start with the questions – what is a reaction paper?

(From now on, every single word is from wikihow.com)

A reaction or response paper requires the writer to analyze a text, then develop commentary related to it. It is a popular academic assignment because it requires thoughtful reading, research, and writing. You can learn how to write a reaction paper by following these writing tips.

Prewriting and Actively Reading

Understand the purpose of a reaction paper. Reaction or response papers are assigned so that after reading a text, you will think carefully about what you feel or think about the text. When you write a response paper, you need to evaluate the text's strengths and weaknesses, along with if and how well the text accomplishes its objective. A reaction paper is not just a paper where you express your opinion. These papers require a close reading of the text that goes beyond the surface meaning. You must respond to implied ideas, and elaborate, evaluate, and analyze the author's purpose and main points. In many cases, you can use the first-person "I" while writing reaction papers.

When you respond to the text, back up your ideas with evidence from the text along with your own connection of ideas, texts, and overarching concepts. If you are asked to agree or disagree, you have to provide convincing evidence about why you feel this way.

If responding to multiple texts, you must analyze how the texts relate. If responding to one text, you probably should connect the text to overarching concepts and themes you have discussed in the class.

The same assignment may also be given to films, lectures, field trips, labs, or even class discussions.

A reaction paper is not a summary of the text. It also does not state, "I liked this book because it was interesting" or "I hated this because it was boring."

Figure out what the assignment is asking. Before beginning your paper, you must figure out exactly what your teacher or professor is looking for. Some teachers want you to react by analyzing or evaluating the reading. Other teachers want a personal response. Make sure you understand which kind of reaction the assignment calls for.

If you are unsure, ask the teacher to clarify what they expect from the assignment.

You may be asked to react to the text in light of another text. If this is the case, you will want to use quotations from both texts in your writing.

You may be asked to react to the text in the light of the class themes. For example, if you read a book in a Sociology of Gender Roles class, you will want to read, annotate, and react based on how gender roles are described in the book.

You may be asked to react personally to the text. This is less common, but occasionally the teacher simply wants to know if you have read the text and thought about it. In this case, you should focus on your opinions of the book.

Read the text you are assigned right after it is assigned. To complete a reaction paper, you don't just read, give your opinion, and turn in the paper. A reaction paper synthesizes the texts, which means you take the information you read and bring it together so you can analyze and evaluate. You have to give yourself time to do the readings, but more importantly, to digest what you've read so you can put the ideas together.

One of the biggest mistakes that students make is waiting until the last minute to read and react. A reaction is a thoughtful consideration after reading and rereading several times.

You may need to reread the text multiple times. First, to read and familiarize yourself with the text, then again to start thinking about the assignment and your reactions.

Write down your initial reactions. After you read through the first time, jot down your initial reactions to the text. Do the same thing on any subsequent readings.

Try completing some of the following sentences after you read: I think that..., I see that..., I feel that..., It seems that..., or In my opinion...

Annotate the text as you read. As you read through the text again, annotate it. Annotating in the margins of the text allows you to easily locate quotations, plot lines, character development, or reactions to the text. If you fail to annotate thoroughly, it will be more difficult to create a cohesive reaction paper.

Question as you read. As you read the text, you have to start questioning the text. This is where your evaluation of the material and your reaction begins. Some questions to consider include:

What issues or problems does the author address?

What is the author's main point?

What points or assumptions does the author make, and how does she back that up?

What are strengths and weaknesses? Where are problems with the argument?

How do the texts relate? (if multiple texts)

How do these ideas connect to the overall ideas of the class/unit/etc?

The original source: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Reaction-Paper

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