Research Guides: COM 1010: Composition and Critical Thinking I: What is a Response? (2024)

Being able to read a source closely, analyze its content, and write a response is a common assignment throughout your college career.

A critical response essay (or interpretive essay or review) has two missions:

  • To summarize a source’s main idea
  • And to respond to the source’s main ideas with reactions based on your synthesis

But...what is a response?

Response is, basically, your reaction to what you read, meaning it too relies on focused, purposeful construction. This isn’t simply a matter of “liking/not liking” or “agreeing/disagreeing” what you read. These responses are required to include more than your personal preference. They will also include an assessment of how the essay’s design and strategies influence its overall goals.

A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.

Writing the Response

For your response to a reading, you will need to movebeyondthese initial feelings and develop acriticalresponse.You will want to practice creatingmeaning from the sourcerather than simply reading the material.

Ultimately in your college career, you will be asked to devise your own paper topics and make original academic arguments rather than responding to specific questions.The response paper will help you begin to see how to focus onand assess the types of issues that most interest you.

For your response, you will choose to respond to a specificpoint or points made by the author; the response must be critical, not simply a summary or a description of your personal feelings about the reading.You may choose to point out contradictions in the reading, you may assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument in the reading, etc—there are a number of possible approaches.Try to move beyond simply disagreeing or agreeing with arguments in the text.

  • Why do you disagree?
  • If you agree, why?
  • Is your point of view (argument) slightly different? How so?
Research Guides: COM 1010: Composition and Critical Thinking I: What is a Response? (2024)

FAQs

How do you answer a critical response question? ›

There are four parts to a critical response paragraph: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, and 4) a strong concluding statement.

What is a critical thinking response? ›

The object of a critical response is to provide a thorough explanation of your understanding of an essay or story. You do not necessarily have to find fault with an author's opinion, style, method, or expression, but you will likely find one or more aspects of a paper that are less to your liking than others.

How to do a response essay? ›

The structure of a response paper is standard for academic writing: there should be an introduction in which you present your source text and your response, body paragraphs in which you support and explain your response, and a conclusion that wraps up your paper and leaves your reader with something to think about.

What is a critical response to text essay? ›

A critical response essay is an essay that evaluates or analyzes an author's writing in terms of his or her writing technique as well as the content of his or her writing. A critical response essay can analyze a piece of nonfiction or fiction writing.

What makes a good response? ›

A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.

How do you respond to a critical thinking question? ›

Demonstrate Clear and Logical Thought Processes: Clearly outline the steps you took to analyze the situation, make decisions, and arrive at your conclusions. Use Specific Examples and Relevant Experiences: Draw from past experiences to provide concrete evidence of your critical thinking abilities.

What is an example of response? ›

Examples of response in a Sentence

He got a response to his letter. I am writing in response to your letter of July 17. When I told him my plan, I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic response. Her response to their decision was to threaten to quit her job.

How do you start a critical response essay? ›

Introduction

The introductory paragraph in a critical response essay consists of two primary sections: a summary of an article and a thesis statement. Firstly, a summary of an article consists of the text's central argument and the purpose of the presentation of the argument (Davies, 2022).

How many paragraphs should a response essay have? ›

A response essay consists of 5-7 paragraphs: an introduction- a summary paragraph of the article. a response- 3 or more body paragraphs responding to the author. a conclusion- a concluding paragraph summing up your thoughts.

How do you write a critical answer? ›

How to write critically
  1. analysing information to understand a problem or topic from more than one perspective;
  2. making logical connections between ideas;
  3. offering your own perspective on the topic based on your evaluation of the available evidence.

How do you answer critically evaluate questions? ›

Critical evaluation. An assignment question that asks you to critically evaluate something is seeking a balanced debate. Your answer should consider the positive aspects of the thesis alongside the negative aspects of the thesis. There is a specific rationale for asking you to consider both.

How to answer critical analysis questions? ›

Your answer should display how you were able to use logic and resourcefulness to come to a rational decision. When including an example in your response, focus on the thought process rather than the results.

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