How to Write a Reading Response for History

Virginia has been a university English teacher for over 20 years. She specializes in helping people write essays faster and easier.

The Reader Response Essay: Where the Reader Meets the Text

Reading Response Essays

Summarizes what you read.

Gives your reaction to the text.

five Responses

Your reaction will be one or more than of the following:

1. Agreement/disagreement with the ideas in the text.
2. Reaction to how the ideas in the text chronicle to your own feel.
3. Reaction to how ideas in the text relate to other things you've read.
4. Your analysis of the author and audition.
5. Your evaluation of how this text tries to convince the reader and whether it is effective.

Your response to a piece of writing is your opinion. It is usually fine to employ "I" in your essay.

PublicDomainPictures, C0 via Pixabay

How to Write Your Introduction

Your introduction will be 1-3 paragraphs. For this essay, because you want to give both information about the subject and as well briefly summarize the commodity you are responding to, you probably need at least two paragraphs. In all introductions, you want to:

• Go the reader'south attention.
• Depict your subject.
• Give your thesis.

For a responsive reading essay, you also need to:

• Mention the writer and title of the commodity you lot are discussing.
• Give a brief summary of the commodity or the part of the article that you are responding to.

Introduction Ideas

Paragraph 1 . Get the reader'due south attention by describing the bailiwick in 1 of the following ways:

• Employ a startling statistic.
• Cite an interesting fact.
• Pose an appropriate quotation.
• Tell an chestnut.
• Draw a scenario.
• Write a chat.
• Tell a story.
• Put forth a question your essay will answer.
• Requite an example.
• Explain general information about the topic.

Using a Frame for Your Introduction and Conclusion

One of my favorite techniques is to utilize a "frame" story or conversation for the opening and the decision. The way this works is that you tell half of a story or conversation in the introduction and so tell the rest of the story in the conclusion. Or you lot could open with a dilemma or problem and so close with a solution. Another approach is to retell the aforementioned story in the conclusion with a dissimilar (normally better) catastrophe. Examples:

• In an essay about cell phone employ in cars, you lot could open with a scenario showing a person getting a call while driving and thinking about what to do. In the conclusion, you could tell the end of the scenario—maybe the driver pulls over to have the call or decides to let voicemail take it.
• In an essay about dealing with a family member with Alzheimer's, yous could open with a chat between family members trying to figure out what to exercise and conclude with a conversation between the same people afterwards they have decided to identify that person in a nursing home.
• In an essay virtually oil drilling in the Gulf, you could open up by describing vividly the oil-soaked coastline and the dying wild fauna. You could conclude with what that coastline looks like now.
• On any topic which you take personal experience, you can open with part of your story, and and then conclude with the ending of your story.

Sample Essays

How to Go a Republican. My analysis of a Harvard study that reported that watching fourth of July parades makes people vote Republican.

Reading Response Example Paper: A reader response virtually Chris Adrian'due south commodity "Under My Pare" from the New York Times.

Read More From Owlcation

Rea der Response to "Let'southward Stop Scaring Ourselves" past Michael Crichton.

Reading Response to "Why We Crave Horror Movies" by Stephan King

Introduction and Decision Ideas

Introduction	Conclusion
frame story: start a story (personal or from reading)	terminate the story
expectations fulfilled: tell what you lot expected or thought before reading the article	tell how the reading met your expectations
expectations unfulfilled: describe your expectations	tell how these were overturned or changed
questions: ask ane or more questions about topic	answers to questions
startling statistic or fact	how article helps us understand or interpret this fact or statistics
bright description of discipline with sensory images	tell how commodity helps u.s. empathise description
scenario: bear witness a typical scene or conversation relating to topic (real or made up)	finish scene or conversation or echo it with a different ending
what we all know well-nigh topic (statements most people believe)	what is really true
quote or famous proverb	how quote explains your thesis

Writing Your Thesis Statement

Paragraph ii : Afterwards your introduction, transition by explaining what the writer of the commodity you have written has to say about this topic. Briefly explain the main points of the commodity that y'all want to talk about. And then you volition give your thesis.

Example: Co-ordinate to Mary Johnson in "Prison cell Phones are Dangerous," we should not use our phones while driving and should brainwash others not to use them either. Johnson gives statistics showing that talking on a cell phone is as dangerous every bit driving drunkard. Moreover, she points out the increasing number of accidents caused by prison cell phone utilise. Her conclusion is that nosotros need to personally decide non to apply a cell phone while driving and that we need to educate our friends and family to give up cell phones while driving, too.

So add a thesis statement like one of the post-obit examples:

(Concord) I agree with Johnson because I take observed many people driving dangerously while talking on jail cell phones and have fifty-fifty been in an accident myself while talking on the telephone.

(Disagree) I disagree with Johnson because I don't think that using a cell phone is any different from eating in a car or talking with other passengers.

Then reflect and expand:

(Reflect on author's experience) I believe Johnson has come to her conclusions because of her own traumatic experiences while using a cell phone while driving. (Optional: you could add together an extension, like "but personal experiences are not a good footing for public policy.")

(Expand on an assertion made in the essay) I agree with Johnson'due south assertion that cell phones are dangerous, merely I'd go even further than she does considering I think we cannot control this problem past merely educating the public. Nosotros demand to accept laws prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving.

Writing Your Response

Hither are 6 unlike ways to respond to an essay:

1. You lot can concord with the article and explain iii or more than reasons why y'all hold.
2. You lot can disagree with the article and explicate three or more reasons why.
3. Yous can agree with some parts of the article and disagree with other parts and explicate why.
4. Y'all can analyze the rhetorical situation (occasion, purpose, audience, and context) of this article and explicate why the writer'southward personal experience causes them to write this piece.
5. You can take one part of the essay, agreeing or disagreeing with it, and expand on that thought, giving reasons for your reader to agree with you.
6. Y'all tin explicate your reaction to the article and so clarify how the writer's mode, tone, word choice, and examples made you feel that way.

Recollect that all essays have iii primary parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. At that place are many ways to write a good essay, simply I volition give you a general guide to follow which will help you to organize your ideas.

How to Write the Body

Here y'all will debate your thesis and give support for your ideas from your personal feel and your own thinking and reading. You can also use evidence from the commodity you read but don't just repeat the ideas in the article.

• The body of your paper should accept three or more paragraphs.
• Each paragraph should take a topic judgement which communicates 1 response idea yous have near the paper such equally, "I concord with Jones that _________" or "My personal experience makes me relate to _____ considering _______".
• The residue of the paragraph should give details to support that point. Y'all can use examples from the reading, your own life, something else yous take read, or common experiences we all accept. You can too utilise reasoning to bear witness your points. Explain why y'all think this fashion.
• Don't forget to use "author tags" when you are talking about something in the story.
• The all-time essays do refer back to the text and explain why and how the reader's response relates to the article.

The showtime fourth dimension you talk nearly the commodity, y'all should give the full name of the author and the championship of the commodity in parenthesis: John Jones in his article, "Taking Back Our Lives," states _________."

• After that, you need to ever tell when you are paraphrasing the commodity instead of giving your ain view.
• Employ "writer tags" to testify you are talking about something in the article and not your own ideas.
• Author tags employ the last name of the writer and a verb. Try these variations:

Jones argues
Jones explains
Jones warns
Jones suggests
Jones advises
Jones contends
Jones investigates
Jones asks

For more on using Writer Tags, see my commodity Other Words for Said. A sample list is below.

Other Words for "Said"

said	concludes	defines
explains	elucidates	repeats
tells us	reports	argues
deduces	analyzes	suggests
warns	advises	investigates
asks	points out	comments
agrees	inimated	implies
hints	proposes	informs
quips	questions	denies
reassures us	demands	declares
remarks	relates	mentions
cautions	reveals	objects
insists	chides	pleads

How to Write Your Conclusion

Opposite to what you may accept learned in previous writing classes, you lot should non repeat or summarize your arguments in the conclusion. That is sometimes advisable for in-class essays when you are not sure you've been clear about your main points, but it is non advisable for higher writing.

Instead, yous need to actually conclude your arguments. You tin oft utilize the same type of technique that y'all use in an introduction. You tin as well:

• call attention to larger issues
• telephone call for a change in action or attitude
• conclude with a vivid image
• appeal to the reader to concord with you
• or link back to your introduction past finishing the story/scenario, revising it, or explaining how it proves your betoken

Should jail cell phone use be banned while driving?

VirginiaLynne, CC-BY, via HubPages

Sample Student Essay: Cell Phones are Dangerous

This is a sample reading response essay to an article titled "Prison cell Phones are Dangerous" by Mary Johnson, agreeing with the article and extending one of the ideas.

Intro:

Paragraph 1: Dramatic re-telling of a personal story of picking upwardly my cell phone and so realizing that I am going to crash into another car. Stop the story right earlier the crash.

Paragraph ii: Like nearly people, I thought I was a good enough driver to handle using a prison cell phone while driving. I found out I was wrong. Information technology turns out I'chiliad not unusual. In her article "Cell Phones are Dangerous," Mary Johnson argues that as statistics of cell phone use while driving goes up, then do accidents. Co-ordinate to Johnson, we should not use our phones while driving and should educate others not to use them either. Johnson cites statistics showing that talking on a cell phone is as unsafe equally driving drunkard. Moreover, she points out the increasing number of accidents caused by cell phone use. Her determination is that we need to personally decide not to apply a cell phone while driving and that nosotros need to educate our friends and family unit to surrender using cell phones while driving too. I agree with Jones that cell phones are dangerous and that we should personally choose to non use i while driving; even so, I'd become farther than Jones past adding that nosotros need to have laws that prohibit anyone from using cell phones in cars.

Body:

Each of these statements would be the topic judgement of one of the body paragraphs. For the kickoff 1, I also give examples of the type of arguments and back up I would employ to write that paragraph and prove my point.

i. Laws make people realize that cell phone driving is dangerous. (Below is an example of some support I could use to back up this idea—you can apply ideas from the article but do not repeat the commodity.)

• support with an anecdote of friends or family unit thinking a call is more important than driving
• use statistics from article
• argue some people volition be convinced by being educated, but not anybody
• use example of seatbelt laws saving lives
• argue that using a prison cell phone endangers others and not merely yourself

2. New engineering requires changes in public policy.

three. People in my generation feel obligated to take a call, just if it is illegal to call while driving, they won't feel that pressure.

4. Using easily-free headsets won't piece of work considering it is the call which is distracting, not holding the phone.

5. This law will salve a lot of lives.

Conclusion:

I would return to my personal story and pick information technology up where I left off. I do crash and there is a lot of damage to my car, but no ane is hurt. I can explain my groovy relief that my cell phone use did not finish more than tragically, and my personal decision to put my jail cell phone where I can't reach it while driving. End with an entreatment to the reader to do the aforementioned, just to likewise support legislation to prohibit cell phone utilise while driving.

Link to Original Essay

• Should Prison cell Phone Use by Drivers Exist Illegal?
  

Reader Response vs. Evaluation Essays

You formulate an evaluation any fourth dimension y'all answer someone'southward question, "What did you recall of that volume (article, movie, class, or news study)? Responding personally to an article is usually the start of any analysis of writing, so it is a good first paper blazon to write. All the same, unlike a review or evaluation newspaper, your purpose in a response paper is not to tell someone else whether or not they should read this article. Instead, your purpose is to explain your reaction and to give reasons (this will exist the body of your paper) why you reacted that way. Doing an evaluation paper would take the reading response a step farther and is probably one of the papers you lot will practice adjacent in your grade.

Questions & Answers

Question: My reading response paper is virtually a short story that we read in our grade. Our assignment is to write a response to the story and limited our opinion, Tin can you explain how to do this?

Answer: I'm glad you lot've asked whether a reading response paper can be about a slice of literature. You lot can actually employ many of the same techniques in writing virtually a short story every bit you do in writing nearly non-fiction manufactures. Here is a stride-by-step:

1. Begin your paper with a cursory description of the story, using the writer and full championship of the story to commencement. Here is an case:

In the short story, "I'm Afraid of Bears" by Jon Junko, a young homo in college named Ben goes on a camping trip with friends to overcome his fright of existence outside which started when he was bit in the head by a bear while sleeping in a tent with his parents when he was eight. Ben's journey on this camping trip parallels his journeying through his fears to overcome them and includes...

2. Cease this paragraph with a thesis sentence which tells your main response and stance about the story. Here is an case:

Junko'southward story is engaging, and his character of Ben is believable, authentic and relatable; moreover, I found the story suspenseful and was moved to think about how I needed to confront and overcome my fears.

3. In this "roadmap thesis," you can give yourself (and your reader) an outline of everything you lot will be talking about in the paper. So plough these ideas into topic sentences. Example:

Junko's story is engaging

The character of Ben is well described and believable.

The story is suspenseful.

While reading, I was moved to think most how I need to confront and overcome my fears.

4. Conclude your paper with why you liked or did not like the story and possibly what you will continue to think about or do later having read the story. If the class discussion also influenced you, you lot tin talk near that equally well.

Question: Where should a response-to-literature essay place the author and title of the literary work being discussed?

Respond: You demand to place the author and title of the literary work equally shortly as you start talking about them in your essay, which is unremarkably in the introduction. Generally, you lot will also tell the master point of the literature at the same fourth dimension, so you might want to put this at the end of the starting time paragraph or the offset of the 2d paragraph. You can put it in the very first judgement if it is a curt essay, only mostly, y'all may want to get-go with a bit more than of an interesting introduction. For more than assistance, you might want to look at my "How to write a Visual Essay": https://hubpages.com/humanities/How-to-Write-a-Vis...

Question: What is the discussion count required of a Reader Response essay?

Reply: There is no particular word count required for this sort of newspaper. Your instructor will probably have this information for y'all. However, I usually assign at least a 3-4 folio essay to make sure the students do a thorough job.

Gloria on June 09, 2020:

This is very helpful. Thank you.

Maribel Gibbs from Paoli, Pennsylvania on May 13, 2019:

Wow! Amazing guide for the response essay. Incredibly helpful.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on November 27, 2018:

Howdy Dae--what you are describing is a personal experience essay. You tin find my instructions on that by Googling that title and my proper name.

dae on November 27, 2018:

I'm writing a personal response to any story nosotros've read in class, and and so I have to relate to our real life events or how we relate to this graphic symbol. Is it the same process as the one demonstrated above?

sai on September 28, 2018:

First-class mail service!!!. The strategy you have posted on this technology helped me to go into the adjacent level and had lot of data in information technology.

sofian on Baronial 22, 2018:

cheers a million

Virginia Kearney (writer) from Usa on May 21, 2018:

Yous should start by identifying the book and author and giving one sentence which tells your main reaction. Ideally, that sentence volition tell 2 unlike ideas so yous can do one in the starting time paragraph and the other in the 2d paragraph. You tin tell what you liked and what you disliked, ii things you lot liked, how yous felt about the plot and how you felt about the way information technology was written, or two other aspects of the story. Here is an example: I actually enjoyed Anthony Trollope's novel Can You lot Forgive Her? because of the interesting female characters and the description of the life of the upper classes in 19th century England.

Then the residue of the kickoff paragraph who talk virtually why I liked the female characters and what I liked about them. The 2d paragraph would explicate why fifty liked learning about 19th century England. It would help to conclude with what you learned from the volume or how it changed your way of thinking about something.

Annotation: You should underline or italicize the title of a novel only I can't do that in the question widget.

Annoymus on May xix, 2018:

My chore is to write a response to our favourite volume in 2 paragraphs could you delight help with that

Saif on November 30, 2017:

Hello Ms. Virginia Thanks very much for this wonderful explanations. it is actually helpful for my assignment. It is one of my favorite topics that has been explained clearly. I once once again capeesh your efforts.

Tank you

Virginia Kearney (writer) from United States on October 31, 2017:

Hi Daisy, I'one thousand very glad this is helping you and I hope you will look at my other articles for assist on your assignments.

Daisy on October 31, 2017:

how-do-you-do,Ms.virginia thanks soo much for this ..i didnt know how to start my consignment but after reading from this hub, i know the way forward..i really appreciate y'all. thank you

Lisa Combs on September 24, 2017:

Coming into my assignment, I was very nervous. I've never written a reader-response paper. The information I plant on your site gives me the confidence to move forward! Thank you then much!

Carmel Therese C. Crauz on August 21, 2017:

Hi Ms. Virginia, thanks a lot for a very helpful article. Been searching for a while on how to write a synopsis on our assignment.

Thank Y'all SOOOO MUCH! GOD Anoint YOU!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on Oct 22, 2015:

Maria, I'thou so glad that you institute this article helpful to y'all. Writing responses to things you read is such a fundamental part of many higher tasks that mastering this ability makes yous a much better student overall.

Maria I Reyes on Oct 21, 2015:

Ms. Lynne thank you so much. This was extremely helpful. I like the fact that you added examples for a better understanding. I also added it as a favorite so that I tin can refer to it as often as possible. Thanks again!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on Feb 08, 2015:

ChocoMoco--all papers need to have a thesis sentence considering a thesis sentence is the main idea of the paper. All the same, non all thesis sentences are "roadmap" ones which tell everything you volition talk about. A thesis sentence for a Reading Response paper will say the main response y'all take to the what y'all've read. Here is a Reading Response paper with examples about a thesis:https://owlcation.com/humanities/Reading-Response-...

ChocoMoco on February 08, 2015:

For a responsive paper is it necessary to accept a thesis sentence?

Selina on November xvi, 2014:

Thank y'all this saved life!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United states of america on Oct 27, 2014:

Hullo Lex--I have several other sample papers that you can see if you merely search on HubPages for Reading Response sample essays.

Lex on October 27, 2014:

I actually like how yous requite your case , information technology sure assist me a lot . Please add more to assistance other people that need it!

Kristi Tipps-Deutsch from Colorado Springs on July 23, 2014:

I enjoyed this hub very much. It'south so helpful to take sample papers that students tin can try to recreate with their own content. I will happily rob you of this fabulous step by pace tutorial. Thank yous for taking such time and effort to make it and then accessible.

Abrar on January 27, 2014:

Thanks information technology was so helpful I had ii videos and the Dr. asked united states of america to write responds I did what have said thank you

Eric on January 01, 2014:

Thank you for your response examples.

.

dearest on October 14, 2013:

i was awesome i got lots of idea . thanks. : )

Virginia Kearney (author) from U.s.a. on August 21, 2012:

Glad that my Hub reassured you reniesaenz. I have been so happy to discover that many students both in my class and out have been able to write improve and faster when given articulate instructions.

reniesaenz on August xx, 2012:

To be honest I was a picayune nervous going into your class. After reading this hubpage I'thou actually not equally nervous because I know that following your hubpages will requite me the help I demand to right the essay's this semester.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on June 12, 2012:

Thanks then much for stopping past!

Thanks! information technology is really helpful on June 12, 2012:

Cheers! It is really helpful.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United states of america on Apr xx, 2012:

Thanks so much peytons for letting me know that this has helped you. I can't believe how many people are reading this hub, which I originallly put upwards by and large for my ain students to utilize. Finally, I Googled this topic and realized that at that place isn't much on the web explaining how to write reading responses, even though that is a very common essay topic in a lot of disciplines. In fact, I've specially noticed that my ESL students were required to practice these projects in their classes.

peytons on April 20, 2012:

Thanks for your hub, and I take learned a lot about the skills of writing a reading reponse.

You recommended means of introduction are uncommonly engaging and desirable.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on February 21, 2012:

Hi--the two samples in the blue block are reading response essays my students accept done. Good luck on your assignment! Check out some of my other hubs for other writing assistance.

Claudia Tello from United mexican states on Nov 19, 2011:

Thanks for taking the fourth dimension to answer my question. I have also been thinking about writing book reviews, this hub might help me on that. Cheers!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on Nov 18, 2011:

Thanks for your comments Claudia. I take written reading response hubs on Chinese books for kids and early readers. My "Stone Age" hub is actually a reading response too. Actually, I have a ton of hubs planned of this blazon but I oasis't gotten to them still. Reading Response is really a lot like a volume review, and so that is always fun!

Claudia Tello from Mexico on Nov xviii, 2011:

I used to write reading response essays for a literature grade I engaged in during my college years. I enjoy writing and analyzing my response to the things I read. It was quite fun in those days because the professor plainly chose books that where peculiarly thought provoking and that made it much more than interesting and easy too. Do you write many reading response hub-essays?

Virginia Kearney (author) from Us on November 03, 2011:

Thanks Carol3san--I've been very surprised at the number of people who have looked at my writing hubs and I'1000 always grateful for positive feedback. Thanks for stopping by!

Carolyn Sands from Hollywood Florida on November 03, 2011:

Thank you for the hub. Bang-up info. I voted you up.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on October 30, 2011:

Thank you somethingblue! I appreciate your annotate and the time you've taken to respond at length. Although my hubs on writing didactics don't always have a lot of comments, they have gotten more views than I expected. I know that many writing instructors don't take a lot of previous feel or teaching in education writing before they are put in a grade. Sometimes the books they employ aren't especially helpful at explaining the process. I attempt to accept the steps of writing these essays and break them downwardly so they are easier. Thank you again!

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Source: https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Reading-Response-Essay

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