THE READING RESPONSE
WHAT IS A READING RESPONSE?
A reading response is a specific kind of essay that asks you as a reader to engage critically with an assigned
text. It is not asking you to state whether you like or dislike the text in question—instead, a reading
response should:
• Demonstrate to the instructor that you have both read and understood the text
• Identify the main argument and the purpose of the text
• Engage critically with the text by using evidence from the text to support your perspective about
the work
Although the length of a reading response may vary based on the assignment or on the text to which you
are responding, but nonetheless, the reading response is still a kind of essay; as such, it should have a
working thesis statement that guides your argument about the text as well as a clear organizational
scheme that makes it easy for the reader to understand.
Ultimately, the reading response is more about your argument regarding the strengths and weaknesses of
the text in question. You are making a claim about the text, and that claim needs to be supported with
evidence from the text—whether you are agreeing or disagreeing, you need to include the pertinent text.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN COMPOSING A READING RESPONSE:
The following are some questions that might help you clarify your reaction to the text and help you collect
the textual evidence to support your claims:
• What are the most significant points in the text? Is it arguing for something in particular? If so,
what?
• What can you leave out? What ideas are less important to the response you are composing?
• Is there anything important that the text has excluded or left out? If so, what, and why would
including more information be important?
• Does the text have any relevance within the community, the nation, or the world? Does it address
any historical or contemporary social concerns?
• Can you connect this text to other texts you have read before (either in your current class, or
outside it)?
• What is the ethos of the text or the author? Is the work convincing, compelling, and credible?
• What parts of the text will act as the best evidence to illustrate the points you want to discuss?
ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES:
The organization will depend on the required length for your response and what your main points will be,
but generally, a good organizational approach is to include an introduction that identifies the text to
which you are responding and provides some brief context about the work, as well as including your
thesis statement; a body paragraph that summarizes the text as a whole, focusing on the main idea or
ideas; a body paragraph that contains your response to the text itself, including evidence from the text
