Reader Response Essay “Get a knife”
Description
Reader Response Essay Prompt: Compose a one-plus page (at least 250 words) response to one of the readings that have been assigned in the course so far from The Norton Reader. Specifications: • Be titled • Include a thesis statement • Include the title of the piece and the name of the author in the text • focus on one aspect of the writing of the piece • begin with a concise (very brief) summary of the piece • include examples and textual evidence (quotations from the text) • Includes analysis and explanation of your evidence • utilizes effective transitions • follow the conventions of standard written English • Be MLA formatted with a Works Cited page • Be at least 250 words Directions for Reading and Responding Read through the assigned reading to gain an overall understanding of the material, making notes as you go (either in the text or in a notebook). Note passages of importance (this is particularly helpful in finding evidence for your arguments later) and make initial comments and observations. Write a response based on your reading, looking over the assigned reading and your notes as you work. Consider your general impressions and move toward more specific observations and analysis. You might use the following questions as a guideline (you do not have to answer them specifically; they are merely meant to help you focus): What are your overall impressions of the reading? What particular passages or details stand out to you? Why do you think they might be important? How does this reading relate to the themes we have been discussing in this unit? The themes of other units? The themes of the course as a whole? How might your personal experiences or background relate to the reading? What questions do you have about the reading? What passages or ideas were difficult to understand? Why? A response on a single reading should run a page or two. Write until you are satisfied that you have tackled at least one key idea or element of the writing. You don’t have to cover everything. Find some central aspect of the reading and focus in on it. You become the expert. Then you can teach the rest of us what you know.
