WR 115 / Winter 2016
Essay #2: Response Paper
For this paper, you will choose an essay from Models for Writers on a topicthat interests you. After critically reading this essay and carefully thinking about the ideas it presents, you will write a thoughtful, well-developed 3-4 page paper that responds to that essay and presents your own argument about the essay’s topic.
The main goal with this paper is to clearly state your point of view on your chosen topic, and then back up that point of view with evidence. But because no intellectual conversation exists in a vacuum, you willbe responding to the essay and showing that you have understood and carefully considered the ideas it presents about your topic. This assignment also gives you a chance to show off your skills integrating, summarizing, and responding to sources.
Requirements
Choose athesis(argument)to focus your paper around. This thesis states your own opinion about the topic and responds to the main idea of the essay. It should be stated clearly early in the paper and returned to continually throughout.
Back up your thesis. To support your thesis, you may use your own personal experience, specific examples, your own reasoning, and/or information from the essay.
Make sure you effectively and accurately summarize the essay for your reader. Include key points from the essay; you are encouraged to use direct quotes from the essay, but most of the summary should be in your own words. Assume that your reader has not read the essay and that you need to get them up to speed. Then, show how the ideas in that essay connect to your own ideas.
Tips for Success
- Write about a topic you care about. Models for Writers includes essays on a wide variety of topics; you should be able to find something in there that interests you.
- If you’re not sure where to start when picking an essay, skim the “Thematic Contents” section in the beginning ofModels for Writers. This may help you narrow down a particular subject (and essay) you are interested in.
- First, identify the essay’s main point (thesis). Then, think about whether you agree or disagree with that thesis (or whether your response falls somewhere in the middle).
- Your thesis should both respond to the essay you have chosen and also clearly state your own opinion about the topic.
- Think of your paper as being in conversation with the essay you are responding to—you are part of an ongoing debate about the topic at hand.
Due Dates
First draftThursday, Feb. 18 for in-class peer workshop
Second (revised) draft Tuesday, Feb. 23 for one-on-one conference
Final draft Tuesday, March 1(email to me by midnight as Microsoft Word document or PDF)