Responsive & Critical WRITING

RESPONSIVE WRITING: CONNECTING LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

This interaction between text and Writer depends on the writer as reader. That interaction is complex .

Studying literature is understanding literature as art.

REVIEW What is a “thesis”?

A thesis is a proposition. A proposition is not true, false or obvious. It is a “main idea” or argument that the author will try to prove in an essay, article or book.   “Orange is a color” is too obvious to be a thesis. It is part of “general knowledge,” and does not need to be proven. “Professor Gray is a linebacker for the Patriots” would be impossible to prove. To turn these statements into “theses” (note the spelling of the plural form of the word), you would have to qualify them.  Examples would be, “Orange is a soothing color,” or “Professor Gray wants to be a linebacker for the Patriots.”

book or speech If you are responding to a book or speech, you must also identify the author/speaker’s thesis or main idea.  This is usually stated in the introduction or first chapter.   Your paper, should then demonstrate whether the author/speaker has proved his/her thesis.  Your statements about the author’s thesis become your thesis.

Structuring argument How to structure an argument:   The papers you write should have a “thesis” or main idea which you will attempt to prove. Methods of proof include: •Evidence •Sources •Logic •Analysis •Statistics •Precedent •Examples •Anecdotes

proving your thesis Techniques to use when you are proving your thesis include:   Examining the usefulness, applicability and reliability of your sources or evidence Gather and analyze statistics related to your topic Demonstrate to your reader the logical steps you took as you drew your conclusions (how you got from “point A” to “point B”) Provide examples which prove your thesis.  Examine those which don’t, and explain to the reader why those examples (or evidence, or sources) do not apply in this case Show that something has happened before, and explain why you believe the same thing happened a second time (precedent) Citing the experience and credibility of the individuals you use as sources

Writing a Reaction or Response Essay Reaction or response papers are usually requested by teachers so that you'll consider carefully what you think or feel about something you've read. The following guidelines are intended to be used for reacting to a reading although they could easily be used for reactions to films too. Read whatever you've been asked to respond to, and while reading, think about the following questions. How do you feel about what you are reading? What do you agree or disagree with? Can you identify with the situation? What would be the best way to evaluate the story? Keeping your responses to these questions in mind, follow the following prewriting steps.

Prewriting for Your Reaction Paper The following statements could be used in a reaction/response paper. Complete as many statements as possible, from the list , about what you just read:

Complete as many statements as possible, from the list below, about what you just read. My Reaction to What I Just Read Is That . . . I think that I see that I feel that It seems that In my opinion, Because A good quote is In addition, For example, Moreover, However, Consequently, Finally, In conclusion,

What you've done in completing these statements is written a very rough reaction/response paper. Now it needs to be organized. Move ahead to the next section.

This sentence should give the title, author, and publication you read. Organizing Your Reaction Paper A reaction/response paper has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Sentence 1: This sentence should give the title, author, and publication you read. Sentences 2, 3, and sometimes 4: These sentences give a brief summary of what you read (nutshell). Sentence 5: This sentence is your thesis statement: You agree, disagree, identify, or evaluate.

thesis Your introduction should include a concise, one sentence, focused thesis. This is the focused statement of your reaction/response.

BODY The body should contain paragraphs that provide support for your thesis. Each paragraph should contain one idea. Topic sentences should support the thesis, and the final sentence of each paragraph should lead into the next paragraph. Topic Sentences = detail -- example --quotation --detail -- example -- quotation -- detail -- example -- quotation -- detail -- example --quotation Summary Sentence

You can structure your paragraphs in two ways: 1. Author + You OR 2. in contrast to

The conclusion The conclusion can be a restatement of what you said in your paper. It also be a comment which focuses your overall reaction. Finally, it can be a prediction of the effects of what you're reacting to. Note: your conclusion should include no new information.

Summary Summary In summary, this handout has covered prewriting and organizing strategies for reaction/response papers. Prewriting Read the article and jot down ideas. How do you feel about what was said? Do you agree or disagree with the author? Have you had any applicable experience? Have you read or heard anything that applies to this what the writer said in the article or book? Does the evidence in the article support the statements the writer made? Organizing Write the thesis statement first. Decide on the key points that will focus your ideas. These will be your topic sentences. Develop your ideas by adding examples, quotations, and details to your paragraphs. Make sure the last sentence of each paragraph leads into the next paragraph. Check your thesis and make sure the topic sentence of each paragraph supports it.

The Critical Essay The word "critical" has positive as well as negative meanings. You can write a critical essay that agrees entirely with the reading. The word "critical" describes your attitude when you read the article. This attitude is best described as "detached evaluation," meaning that you weigh the coherence of the reading, the completeness of its data, and so on, before you accept or reject it.

Beginning a critical essay or review A critical essay or review begins with an analysis or exposition of the reading, article-by-article, book by book. Each analysis should include the following points: 1. A summary of the author's point of view, including a brief statement of the author's main idea (i.e., thesis or theme) an outline of the important "facts" and lines of reasoning the author used to support the main idea a summary of the author's explicit or implied values a presentation of the author's conclusion or suggestions for action 2. An evaluation of the author's work, including an assessment of the "facts" presented on the basis of correctness, relevance, and whether or not pertinent facts were omitted an evaluation or judgment of the logical consistency of the author's argument

Once the analysis is completed Once the analysis is completed, check your work! Ask yourself, "Have I read all the relevant (or assigned) material?" "Do I have complete citations?" If not, complete the work! The following steps are how this is done. Now you can start to write the first draft of your expository essay/literature review. Outline the conflicting arguments, if any; this will be part of the body of your expository essay/literature review.

Ask yourself, "Are there other possible positions on this matter?" If so, briefly outline them. Decide on your own position (it may agree with one of the competing arguments) and state explicitly the reason(s) why you hold that position by outlining the consistent facts and showing the relative insignificance of contrary facts. Coherently state your position by integrating your evaluations of the works you read. This becomes your conclusions section.

Rough draft Briefly state your position, state why the problem you are working on is important, and indicate the important questions that need to be answered; this is your "Introduction." Push quickly through this draft--don't worry about spelling, don't search for exactly the right word, don't hassle yourself with grammar, don't worry overmuch about sequence--that's why this is called a "rough draft." Deal with these during your revisions. The point of a rough draft is to get your ideas on paper. Once they are there, you can deal with the superficial (though very important) problems.

critical essay is informative The critical essay is informative; it emphasizes the literary work being studied rather than the feelings and opinions of the person writing about the literary work; in this kind of writing, all claims made about the work need to be backed up with evidence.

in biographies of the author, Criticism does not mean you have to attack the work or the author; it simply means you are thinking critically about it, exploring it and discussing your findings. The difference between feelings and facts is simple--it does not matter what you believe about a book or play or poem; what matters is what you can prove about it, drawing upon evidence found in the text itself, in biographies of the author, in critical discussions of the literary work, etc.

The literary essay The literary essay usually employs a serious and objective tone. (Sometimes, depending on your audience, it is all right to use a lighter or even humorous tone, but this is not usually the case). Use a "claims and evidence" approach. Be specific about the points you are making about the novel, play, poem, or essay you are discussing and back up those points with evidence that your audience will find credible and appropriate.

evidence Using evidence from the text itself is often your best option.

If you quote or summarize (and you should expect do this), be sure you follow an appropriate format (MLA format is the most common one when examining literature) , and be sure you provide a properly formatted list of works cited at the end of your essay.

Your introduction should include a concise, one sentence, focused thesis. This is the focused statement of your reaction/response. More information on thesis statements is available. The body should contain paragraphs that provide support for your thesis. Each paragraph should contain one idea. Topic sentences should support the thesis, and the final sentence of each paragraph should lead into the next paragraph.

REMINDER Document your Study Journal SPECIFICALLY, IN DETAIL: Date/activity (name of PP etc.) Amount of time

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!