Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to help you begin responding in writing to texts and experiences different from your own. This essay is an informal reading response. A reading response is your reaction to something the author or character has said, done, or written. Once you understand the work, you can then begin to respond to it thoughtfully. This assignment prepares you to write the documented essay as well as other essays that invite you to participate in intellectual dialogue with others.

A reading response should respond specifically to a point the author has made. If you are responding to a character, then the response should respond to something the character has said or done. In either case, you may agree, disagree, or relate the author’s or character’s point to your own experience or use the author’s point as a launching pad for another issue. Because this is an informal response, you do not necessarily have to cite sources. It is important, however, that you refer to the author and the name of the article at the beginning of your response. Please check with your instructor to see what he or she prefers. A reading response consists of: 1. the statement or idea that you are responding to placed in its proper context--this may mean providing background information about the article itself; 2. your reaction to the statement or idea; 3. a connection between what you have read and experienced in your own life The following is a clear example of a student writer responding to the actions of a character in a work. This essay, written by Jill Matthews, appears in the 2005 issue Project Discovery.

Calvin Jefferson: All the Right Stuff by Jill Matthews

“B y changin’ my words? Thass nothin…nothin! I got to know them big ideas…and which way to git em down…” These words are spoken by Calvin