Overview
Each Reading Response should be at least 500 words in length, not counting the heading at the
top of the page, the title, quoted language, and any redundancies (like writing out the full, long title of a text over and over needlessly, or repeating the same point in different words again and again). • Each Reading Response should follow MLA style. • Each Reading Response should include a Work(s) Cited with entries in MLA format. • Each Reading Response should include at least one direct quotation from the assigned reading, with proper in-text citation. • Each Reading Response should be edited and proofread thoroughly There are four parts to a Reading Response: 1) an argumentative topic sentence 2) evidence in the form of quotations or paraphrases for the argument you are making 3) interpretation of your evidence in relation to the argument 4) a strong concluding statement. Do not write a plot summary. Analyze, interpret, and make an argument about the reading. 1. The Argumentative Thesis Statement You can think of your Reading Response as a mini-essay with an introductory paragraph; your topic sentence is usually the first sentence. Your thesis statement is the last sentence in the introduction. You should include the author’s name and the title of the text you are writing about in the first sentence, and you must state precisely and concisely what you are going to argue, prove, or analyze about the text in the thesis statement. Creating a strong argumentative thesis statement is perhaps the most crucial step in writing a good Reading Response. A strong thesis statement gives you something to say; it helps ensure that the response you write proves, argues, illustrates, interprets, or explains something. The most common mistakes students make when writing a Reading Response are to write a weak thesis statement or a thesis statement that is a statement of fact; a weak thesis statement leads to an unfocused, rambling response, and a factual statement leads to a summary of the text. If, after writing your response, you find that many of your sentences say the same thing or that you have actually summarized all or part of a text, then you probably have not created a strong thesis statement