how to write a response paper thesis

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

A faster, more affordable way to improve your paper

Scribbr’s new AI Proofreader checks your document and corrects spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes with near-human accuracy and the efficiency of AI!

Proofread my paper

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 27, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples, how to write topic sentences | 4 steps, examples & purpose, academic paragraph structure | step-by-step guide & examples, what is your plagiarism score.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements.

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• EDIT Edit this Article
• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes New
• This Or That Game New
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Studying Literature

How to Write a Response Paper

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 References

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 77,918 times. Learn more...

For a response paper, you must read a text, understand the point of the text, and determine what your own response to that point is. The response paper is more analytical than argumentative. Moreover, even though you need to write about your personal response, that response must be credible and not emotional. Keep reading to learn more about how to go about writing a response paper.

Understanding the Text

• Highlighting draws your attention to words and passages you found significant in the text you read, but it does not allow you to record your initial thoughts regarding those passages.
• Take notes on a separate piece of paper. Include paraphrases and quotes taken from the passage as well as your own thoughts about the information you write down.

• What is the main issue that the author or creator is attempting to address?
• What stance does the author take on this issue? What is the author's main claim or point?
• Are there any assumptions the author makes in forming his or her claim? Are these assumptions valid or biased?
• What sort of evidence does the author offer in support of his or her point?
• What points of the argument are strong?
• What points of the argument are weak?
• What are some possible counterarguments to the claims or arguments made by the author?
• What, if anything, makes the main issue or author's main claim important?

• How does this work relate to others within a collection of works on the same topic, or with regards to another work on a similar topic written by a different author?
• Do the authors of comparable works agree or disagree?
• Do the authors of comparable works address the same part of the same issue or different aspects of it? Do they view the matter being discussed in a similar or different way?
• Does the author who wrote the piece you're responding to have past works that address the same topic? How has that author's views become stronger or weaker in comparison to past works?
• Does the information from one text strengthen or weaken the text you're responding to, and if so, how?

• Even if you think your ideas would benefit from simmering for a little while before performing a thorough analysis, you should still take the time to write down your initial reaction while it is fresh. In many ways, your initial reaction is the most honest. You can talk yourself into another reaction as time passes, and that other reaction may seem more “intellectual,” but your initial response was your true reaction to the text and should be kept in mind.

• How does the text relate to you personally, whether in the past, present, or future? How does the text relate to the human experience as a whole?
• Does the text agree or disagree with your worldview and sense of ethics?
• Did the text help you to learn about the topic or understand an opposing view? Were your opinions or previous assumptions challenged or confirmed?
• Does the text directly address topics that you care about or consider important?
• Was the text enjoyable or admirable for its genre? In other words, if the text was fictional, was it enjoyable as entertainment or art? If it was historical, was it admirable from the perspective of a historian? If it was philosophical, was it adequately logical?
• What is your overall reaction? Would you recommend the work to another person?
• As you progress through these questions, write your answers down. In addition to writing down your answers and reactions, also provide evidence from the text to support these answers. Evidence can be in the form of direct quotations and paraphrasing.

• Re-examining your notes
• Recording new ideas as they come
• Using pro/con analysis
• Raising questions about your reactions and using your notes from the text to answer them
• Comparing your reactions directly to your notes and determining which topics have the most overlap

• Depending on the requirements of the assignment, you may need to come up with one organizing argument or multiple arguments to discuss. Even when you have multiple points to bring up, however, they should still be somewhat connected to each other.
• A key difference between a traditional thesis and an organizing argument is that a thesis usually exists to prove a point, fact, or thought. An organizing argument demands that the writer analyze the reading in an ongoing manner. [6] X Research source

Block Response Format

• For a four to five page paper, your introduction can extend to one or two paragraphs. For a shorter paper, though, restrict it to a short paragraph made up of three to five sentences.
• Introduce the work by describing how the work to which you are responding fits in within the broader topic it addresses.
• You could also introduce the work by explaining your own beliefs or assumptions about the topic the work agrees with before explaining how the work challenges or supports your beliefs.

• For a four to five page paper, this section should only take up about two to three paragraphs.
• Describe the content of the work and present the author's main arguments, especially as they affect your response.
• The summary should be somewhat analytical in nature instead of a strict retelling. As you present the details of the author's work and argument, you should use an analytical tone and discuss how well the author managed to get those points across.

• Note that this response format is best to use when you are focusing on a single major theme or argument in a work. It does not work as well if you are discussing multiple ideas presented by a work.
• Back up your analysis with quotes and paraphrases. Make sure that each example is properly cited.
• If you took the time to find textual evidence to support your responses during the prewriting stage, this portion of your paper should be fairly easy. All you really need to do is arrange your argument in a coherent manner and write in the details of the support you have already gathered.

• Even for a four to five page paper, you only need one standard paragraph to accomplish this. For a shorter paper, make this paragraph only three to five sentences long.
• State how this work has a broader effect on you and to the genre or community in which it is a part.

Mixed Response Format

• Your introduction can span one to two paragraphs for a four to five page paper, but for a short one to two page paper, keep the introduction down to a single short paragraph.
• You can either introduce the work by describing how it fits into the topic it addresses as a whole or by explaining how it impacts your own beliefs on the topic.
• By the end of the introduction, you should have mentioned your "thesis" or organizing argument.

• Note that this mixed response format is a better option when you have many loosely connected themes or ideas you want to react to instead of a single overarching one.
• This method allows you to weave your summary and analysis together more naturally and more cohesively. As you bring up a point or example from the text, address your own interpretation of that point directly following your mention of it.

• Continue on as you did with your first point. As you summarize a point or argument from the original text, immediately follow it with your own intellectual response to the argument.

• For a four to five page paper, your conclusion should be a standard size paragraph. For a shorter paper, keep this paragraph down to about three sentences.
• When appropriate, explain how the work has a widespread effect on the genre or community it fits into.
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-response-paper
• ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Response-or-Reaction-Paper
• ↑ https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/file-attachments/response-paper.original.pdf
• ↑ https://www.awelu.lu.se/genres/student-writing-genres/response-paper/
• ↑ http://faculty.washington.edu/momara/Reader%20Response.pdf
• ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-strong-response-essay.html
• ↑ https://writing.colostate.edu/comparchive/rst/resource9.cfm
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-reaction-paper
• ↑ http://writing.colostate.edu/comparchive/rst/resource9.cfm
• ↑ http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Response-or-Reaction-Paper

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

About This Article

If you need to write a response paper, read through the original texts, and take thorough notes, including paraphrases and quotes as well as your own thoughts. As soon as you finish reading the text, start drafting your ideas, since the thoughts will still be fresh in your mind. Open the paper with an introduction stating the major theme in the work you’re responding to, along with an overview of your reaction to it. Include a section briefly summarizing the original text, then go into detail about whether you agree or disagree with the work. Conclude by restating and defending the significance of your stance. For tips on writing a response to a work with multiple themes, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Did this article help you?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

Introduction

Goals and Goal Setting

Goals Common to All RST Writers

Other Goals to Consider

Defining My Own Goals

Advice about Assignments

Getting Started: Listing Topics to Write about in the Tutorial

Narrative One: Personal Piece on a Significant Experience

Narrative Two: Academic Piece on a Significant Experience

Summary/Response One

Summary/Response Two

Tutorial Evaluation Postscript

On Using the Resources for Writers

Generating and Developing Ideas

Finding/Expressing Main Ideas

Showing v. Telling Sentences

Focusing Topic Sentences

Thesis Statements

Reading Strategies

Assessing Your Reading Strategies

Summarizing

Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays

Discourse Analysis Worksheet

Trade Magazines

Selecting Readings

A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. "Damon argues that ..." or "Goodman also points out that ... "). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized.

The Response:

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.

Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:

1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:

Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion

Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory.

2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.

Intro/thesis Summary point one; agree/disagree Summary point two; agree/disagree Summary point three; agree/disagree Conclusion

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Make a Gift

Research and Writing Guides

Writing a paper? Don't get lost.

How to write a thesis statement + examples

• What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is the main argument of your paper or thesis.

The thesis statement is one of the most important elements of any piece of academic writing . It is a brief statement of your paper’s main argument. Essentially, you are stating what you will be writing about.

You can see your thesis statement as an answer to a question. While it also contains the question, it should really give an answer to the question with new information and not just restate or reiterate it.

Your thesis statement is part of your introduction. Learn more about how to write a good thesis introduction in our introduction guide .

• Is a thesis statement a question?

A thesis statement is not a question. A statement must be arguable and provable through evidence and analysis. While your thesis might stem from a research question, it should be in the form of a statement.

Tip: A thesis statement is typically 1-2 sentences. For a longer project like a thesis, the statement may be several sentences or a paragraph.

• How do you write a good thesis statement?

A good thesis statement needs to do the following:

• Condense the main idea of your thesis into one or two sentences.
• Answer your project’s main research question.
• Clearly state your position in relation to the topic .
• Make an argument that requires support or evidence.
• How do I know if my thesis statement is good?

Once you have written down a thesis statement, check if it fulfills the following criteria:

• Your statement needs to be provable by evidence. As an argument, a thesis statement needs to be debatable.
• Your statement needs to be precise. Do not give away too much information in the thesis statement and do not load it with unnecessary information.
• Your statement cannot say that one solution is simply right or simply wrong as a matter of fact. You should draw upon verified facts to persuade the reader of your solution, but you cannot just declare something as right or wrong.
• Examples of thesis statements

As previously mentioned, your thesis statement should answer a question.

If the question is:

What do you think the City of New York should do to reduce traffic congestion?

A good thesis statement restates the question and answers it:

In this paper, I will argue that the City of New York should focus on providing exclusive lanes for public transport and adaptive traffic signals to reduce traffic congestion by the year 2035.

Here is another example. If the question is:

How can we end poverty?

A good thesis statement should give more than one solution to the problem in question:

In this paper, I will argue that introducing universal basic income can help reduce poverty and positively impact the way we work.

• Helpful resources on how to write a thesis statement
• The Writing Center of the University of North Carolina has a list of questions to ask to see if your thesis is strong .
• Frequently Asked Questions about writing a thesis statement

A thesis statement is part of the introduction of your paper. It is usually found in the first or second paragraph to let the reader know your research purpose from the beginning.

In general, a thesis statement should have one or two sentences. But the length really depends on the overall length of your project. Take a look at our guide about the length of thesis statements for more insight on this topic.

Here is a list of Thesis Statement Examples that will help you understand better how to write them.

Every good essay should include a thesis statement as part of its introduction, no matter the academic level. Of course, if you are a high school student you are not expected to have the same type of thesis as a PhD student.

Here is a great YouTube tutorial showing How To Write An Essay: Thesis Statements .

• Related Articles

• Utility Menu

26158766f7f76c0d163cbc4d15ae3f59

• Questions about Expos?
• Writing Support for Instructors

Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore needs your careful analysis of the evidence to understand how you arrived at this claim. You arrive at your thesis by examining and analyzing the evidence available to you, which might be text or other types of source material.

A thesis will generally respond to an analytical question or pose a solution to a problem that you have framed for your readers (and for yourself). When you frame that question or problem for your readers, you are telling them what is at stake in your argument—why your question matters and why they should care about the answer . If you can explain to your readers why a question or problem is worth addressing, then they will understand why it’s worth reading an essay that develops your thesis—and you will understand why it’s worth writing that essay.

A strong thesis will be arguable rather than descriptive , and it will be the right scope for the essay you are writing. If your thesis is descriptive, then you will not need to convince your readers of anything—you will be naming or summarizing something your readers can already see for themselves. If your thesis is too narrow, you won’t be able to explore your topic in enough depth to say something interesting about it. If your thesis is too broad, you may not be able to support it with evidence from the available sources.

When you are writing an essay for a course assignment, you should make sure you understand what type of claim you are being asked to make. Many of your assignments will be asking you to make analytical claims , which are based on interpretation of facts, data, or sources.

Some of your assignments may ask you to make normative claims. Normative claims are claims of value or evaluation rather than fact—claims about how things should be rather than how they are. A normative claim makes the case for the importance of something, the action that should be taken, or the way the world should be. When you are asked to write a policy memo, a proposal, or an essay based on your own opinion, you will be making normative claims.

Here are some examples of possible thesis statements for a student's analysis of the article “The Case Against Perfection” by Professor Michael Sandel.  

Descriptive thesis (not arguable)  

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence)  

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim  

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim  

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis  

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt
• Asking Analytical Questions
• Introductions
• What Do Introductions Across the Disciplines Have in Common?
• Anatomy of a Body Paragraph
• Transitions
• Tips for Organizing Your Essay
• Counterargument
• Conclusions
• Strategies for Essay Writing: Downloadable PDFs
• Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines

Quick Links

• Schedule an Appointment
• English Grammar and Language Tutor
• Harvard Guide to Using Sources
• Departmental Writing Fellows
• Writing Advice: The Harvard Writing Tutor Blog

How to Write a Response Paper

• Writing Essays
• Writing Research Papers
• English Grammar
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Most of the time when you are tasked with an essay about a book or article you've read for a class, you will be expected to write in a professional and impersonal voice. But the regular rules change a bit when you write a response paper.

A response (or reaction) paper differs from the formal review primarily in that it is written in the first person . Unlike in more formal writing, the use of phrases like "I thought" and "I believe" is encouraged in a response paper. 

You'll still have a thesis and will need to back up your opinion with evidence from the work, but this type of paper spotlights your individual reaction as a reader or viewer.

Read and Respond

Grace Fleming

For a response paper, you still need to write a formal assessment of the work you're observing (this could be anything created, such as a film, a work of art, a piece of music, a speech, a marketing campaign, or a written work), but you will also add your own personal reaction and impressions to the report.

The steps for completing a reaction or response paper are:

• Observe or read the piece for an initial understanding.
• Mark interesting pages with a sticky flag or take notes on the piece to capture your first impressions.
• Reread the marked pieces and your notes and stop to reflect often.
• Record your thoughts.
• Develop a thesis.
• Write an outline.
• Construct your essay.

It may be helpful to imagine yourself watching a movie review as you're preparing your outline. You will use the same framework for your response paper: a summary of the work with several of your own thoughts and assessments mixed in.

The First Paragraph

After you have established an outline for your paper, you need to craft the first draft of the essay using all the basic elements found in any strong paper, including a strong introductory sentence .

In the case of a reaction essay, the first sentence should contain both the title of the work to which you are responding and the name of the author.

The last sentence of your introductory paragraph should contain a thesis statement . That statement will make your overall opinion very clear.

Stating Your Opinion

There's no need to feel shy about expressing your own opinion in a position paper, even though it may seem strange to write "I feel" or "I believe" in an essay. 

In the sample here, the writer analyzes and compares the plays but also manages to express personal reactions. There's a balance struck between discussing and critiquing the work (and its successful or unsuccessful execution) and expressing a reaction to it.

Sample Statements

When writing a response essay, you can include statements like the following:

• I felt that
• In my opinion
• The reader can conclude that
• The author seems to
• I did not like
• This aspect didn't work for me because
• The images seemed to
• The author was [was not] successful in making me feel
• I was especially moved by
• I didn't understand the connection between
• It was clear that the artist was trying to
• The soundtrack seemed too
• My favorite part was...because

Tip : A common mistake in personal essays it to resort to insulting comments with no clear explanation or analysis. It's OK to critique the work you are responding to, but you still need to back up your feelings, thoughts, opinions, and reactions with concrete evidence and examples from the work. What prompted the reaction in you, how, and why? What didn't reach you and why?

• How To Write an Essay
• How to Write a Solid Thesis Statement
• Writing an Opinion Essay
• 6 Steps to Writing the Perfect Personal Essay
• 5 Steps to Writing a Position Paper
• How to Write a Great Process Essay
• How to Write a Persuasive Essay
• 10 Steps to Writing a Successful Book Report
• Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
• How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech
• How to Write a Critical Essay
• How To Write a Top-Scoring ACT Essay for the Enhanced Writing Test
• How to Write a Good Thesis Statement
• Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Sentence for an Essay
• How to Write a News Article That's Effective
• How to Write a Great Book Report

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

How to Write a Response Paper: Understanding the Basics

Writing a response paper is an important task for students. It allows them to critically analyze a text, express their thoughts and opinions, and improve their writing skills. In this comprehensive guide, our ‘ write my essay ’ experts will explore the basics of how to write a response paper, pre-writing steps, and crafting a winning introduction, body, and conclusion. So, let's dive in and discover a flawless response paper at the end!

Defining What is a Response Paper

A response paper is a written assignment that requires the student to read a text and respond to it by expressing their views on the topic. It can be a stand-alone assignment or part of a larger project. When writing a response paper, it is important to remember the audience you are writing for. Are you writing for your professor, classmates, or a broader audience? This will help you tailor your writing style and tone accordingly.

Moreover, this kind of academic assignment should not only summarize the text but also provide a critical analysis of its main arguments and ideas. It should demonstrate your understanding of the text and your ability to engage with it in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

Purpose of Crafting a Response Paper

Writing response papers aims to demonstrate your understanding of the text, give your opinions and thoughts, and provide evidence to support your claims. In addition, this type of paper can help you develop critical reading skills and formulate coherent arguments. By engaging with the text, you can identify its strengths and weaknesses, evaluate its claims, and form your own opinions about the topic.

Furthermore, crafting response paper examples can be a valuable exercise in self-reflection. It allows you to articulate your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic and can help you better understand your values and beliefs.

Types of Response Papers

There are various types of response papers, each with its own unique characteristics and requirements. These include:

• Personal response : Here, you express your personal opinions, thoughts, and emotions about the text. This type of paper allows you to engage with the text more personally and explore your reactions to it.
• Critical response : Involves analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting the text to provide a critique. This type of paper requires you to engage with the text more objectively and analytically, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses and providing evidence to support your claims.
• Research-based response : Research-based response paper examples involve using external sources to support your claims. This type of paper requires you to engage with the text and supplement your analysis with evidence from other sources, such as scholarly articles, books, or interviews.

Too Overwhelmed with Academic Assignments?

Let our professional writers take the burden off your shoulders, order an essay and rest easy knowing that your assignment is in capable hands!

How to Write a Response Paper: Pre-Writing Steps

Before diving into the writing process, laying a strong foundation through effective pre-writing steps is crucial. These initial stages not only provide clarity and structure but also enhance the overall quality of your response. And if you aren’t sure how to write a reaction paper , these steps can also be employed for your assignment.

Carefully Read and Analyze the Text

The first step in response paper creation is to carefully read and analyze the text. This involves more than just reading the words on the page; it requires critical thinking and analysis. As you read, pay attention to the author's tone, style, and use of language. Highlight important points, take notes, and identify the author's main argument and themes. Consider the context in which the text was written and how it relates to contemporary issues.

For example, if you are reading a historical document, think about how it reflects the social and political climate of the time. If you are reading a work of fiction, consider how the characters and plot relate to larger themes and ideas. By carefully analyzing the text, you will be better equipped to write a thoughtful and insightful response.

Take Notes and Highlight Key Points

Another important step is to take notes while reading, as it helps you organize your thoughts and ideas. As you read through the text, jot down your reactions, questions, and observations. Highlight key points, evidence, and quotes that support the author's argument. This will make it easier to refer back to specific parts of the text when you are writing your response.

Additionally, taking notes can help you identify patterns and connections between different parts of the text. This can be especially helpful when you are trying to develop your thesis statement and outline.

Develop a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a central argument that you will be making in your paper. It should be clear and concise and provide direction for your essay. Your thesis statement should be based on your analysis of the text and should reflect your own perspective.

When developing your thesis statement, consider the main argument of the text and how you agree or disagree with it. Think about the evidence and examples that the author uses to support their argument and how you might use those same examples to support your own argument. Your thesis statement should be specific and focused and should guide the rest of your essay.

Create an Outline

If you want to unlock the most important tip on how to ace a response paper perfection, it lies in creating a well-organized outline. Identify key points, evidence, and arguments that you want to discuss and organize them into a well-written paper format. Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Start by introducing the text and your thesis statement. In the body paragraphs, discuss your main points and provide evidence from the text to support your argument. Use quotes and examples to illustrate your points. In conclusion, summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement. In the following paragraphs, we'll delve deeper into writing each section with more details.

Actual Writing Process with a Response Paper Format

Now that you have completed the essential pre-writing steps, it's time to delve into the actual writing process of your paper. In this section of our comprehensive guide, we will explore how to start a response paper along with developing insightful body paragraphs and culminating in a powerful conclusion.

Engage the Reader In Your Introduction

The introduction is the first impression that your reader will have of your paper. It is important to make a good first impression, so you want to engage them right from the start. There are several ways to do this, such as providing context, using a hook, or starting with a rhetorical question.

For example, if you are writing a paper about the effects of social media on mental health, you might start with a hook like:

'Did you know that the average person spends over two hours a day on social media? That's more time than they spend exercising or socializing in person.' 

When working with your paper, this hook immediately grabs the reader's attention and makes them interested in learning more about your topic.

Provide Context and Background Information

Once you have engaged the reader, it's important to provide context for the text you are analyzing. This includes information like the author's name, the title of the work, and the publication date. This information helps the reader understand the context of the text and why it is important.

For example, if you are analyzing a poem by Maya Angelou, you would want to provide some background information about her life and work. You might mention that she was a civil rights activist and a prolific writer and that the poem you are analyzing was written in 1969, during a time of great social and political upheaval in the United States.

Present Your Thesis Statement

Finally, it's important to present your thesis statement in the introduction. The thesis statement is the main argument of your paper, and it should be presented clearly and concisely so that the reader knows exactly what your paper is about.

For instance, if you are crafting a response paper example about the effects of social media on mental health, your thesis statement might be something like:

'This paper argues that excessive use of social media can have negative effects on mental health, including increased anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation.'

By presenting your thesis statement in the introduction, you are setting up the rest of your paper and giving the reader a roadmap for what to expect. This helps them stay focused and engaged throughout your paper.

Meanwhile, you can find out more about how to write an essay format and set the right referencing style for your assignment!

Crafting the Body

One key aspect of ensuring a well-structured and articulate paper is to utilize your typical response paper outline as a reliable roadmap. By following it, you can maintain focus, coherence, and logical flow throughout your response. Moreover, keep the following points in mind as you proceed with crafting the body of your response paper:

• Use evidence and examples from the text:
• Incorporate relevant quotes, statistics, or other evidence that supports your opinions and arguments.
• By using evidence from the text, you can strengthen your argument and demonstrate a deep understanding of the material.
• Analyze and interpret the text:
• Demonstrate your critical thinking skills by thoroughly analyzing and interpreting the text.
• Explain how the text relates to your thesis statement and overall argument.
• Provide a clear and concise response that showcases your knowledge and understanding of the material.
• Address counterarguments and alternative perspectives:
• Acknowledge and address opposing viewpoints to demonstrate your ability to consider different perspectives.
• Explain why your argument is stronger than the opposing viewpoint.
• Provide evidence to support your claim and solidify your stance.

Concluding Your Paper

In the conclusion of your response paper example, it is essential to consolidate your reactions, ideas, and arguments regarding the text. Summarize the key points discussed throughout your paper, drawing inferences whenever applicable. 

When uncertain about ​​ how to write a conclusion for a research paper , the first important rule is to refrain from introducing new ideas or reiterating information already presented in the introduction of your paper. Instead, provide a concise and coherent summary that encapsulates the essence of your response, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

Response Paper Example

To show you how to write a response paper effectively, our essay writer has provided an amazing example below. It will inspire you and help you on your own learning journey. Get ready to explore new ideas and expand your knowledge with our response paper sample.

As we conclude this comprehensive guide on how to write a response paper, you have acquired the essential tools and knowledge to embark on your writing journey with confidence. With a firm grasp of pre-writing strategies, the art of crafting an engaging introduction, organizing a well-structured body, and understanding the significance of supporting arguments and addressing counter arguments with a good response paper example, you are poised to leave a lasting impression.

And if you ever find yourself struggling to find inspiration or facing challenges with any aspect of your essays, order essay online and take advantage of the opportunity to seek assistance from our professional writing service team. By trusting us with your college essays and ordering a response paper, you can confidently navigate your academic journey!

Take the Stress Out of Writing Response Essays!

Our expert writers are ready to craft a tailored, insightful response essay example that meets your requirements.

Related Articles

Custom Essay, Term Paper & Research paper writing services

• testimonials

Toll Free: +1 (888) 354-4744

Email: [email protected]

Writing custom essays & research papers since 2008

How to write a response paper: guide to succeed.

Many students want to know how to write a response paper after their educators ask them to respond to a book, an article, a film, music, or an artistic masterpiece. In some cases, teachers require learners to respond to a marketing or promotional campaign in this paper. Unfortunately, not every learner has the necessary skills to write this essay and impress their teacher. This article explains what a response paper is and the best way to write it. It also includes tips and guides to help you write your paper quickly and score the top grade.

What is a Response Paper?

A response essay or paper is a writing assignment requiring learners to communicate and explain their viewpoints and understanding of a specific idea in writing. A student might write something relating to a research paper, an essay, a newspaper article, or a book they are discussing.

Many high school, college, and university students confuse a response or reaction paper with a formal review of an article, a book, a movie, or an event. When writing a review, you express your thoughts, personal opinion, and views about something you’ve studied and analyzed.

A reaction paper is different from a review because you speak your values, ideas, and visions in the work you’re responding to in the essay. Thus, you must connect your discussion subject with personal experience. For this reason, you must study the work to gain an in-depth understanding of its primary points. Also, you must be analytical and master critical thinking skills to provide a detailed, relevant, and satisfactory response.

In every response, the teacher expects you to approach the work in question as an artist. Thus, you must take time, think, and analyze the author’s original position before telling the audience what you’ve been through when studying it. The educator expects you to change the content of a book, an article, a movie, or a poem into a meaningful experience that the audience will relate to when reading your reaction paper.

What’s more, you write a reaction paper in the first person. For instance, your paper can include sentences with phrases like, “I liked how the author approaches the issue.” But a response or reaction paper is not a summary. Instead, this paper tells the audience deep thoughts about different concepts and what you’ve learned or understood from the work in question. Thus, this paper should be a profound letter in which you tell the author or artist about the part that inspired or influenced you the most.

Response Paper Format

A response or reaction paper is somewhat informal. However, your paper should have a structure similar to that of the other pieces of academic writing, making the first step of the writing process the creation of a response paper outline with an introduction, body, and conclusion. But isn’t this the format of any college essay?

A reaction paper’s format differs from a typical college essay in terms of what you write and the writing tone. The introduction of a reaction paper should grab the reader’s attention by stating the subject or purpose of the essay. In the next section, you express your views or opinion. And you don’t have to shy away from feeling a certain way and expressing your opinion in this paper.

For instance, you do this using phrases like, “In my view,” “I think,” and “I believe.” However, you need evidence to support your opinion. That’s why writing this paper requires critical thinking and analysis. You can agree or refute, compare or critique, depending on your view.

A response or reaction paper can be about the persuasiveness of artistic work. Nevertheless, strike a balance between discussing and critiquing the work. You must go through the thought process after studying and analyzing the work in question. That way, you can present your reaction.

The final section of your paper should feature your concluding remarks. Also, make sure that the conclusion ties the response to your thesis statement.

Here’s a breakdown of the format for a response or reaction paper:

• Introduction: The introduction of a reaction paper should include all identifying and basic information. For instance, the first sentence can have the author’s name, title, date, position, and information about the original publication. The other lines can feature a summary of the original work and introduce the primary ideas.
• Body: The body part should provide details of the work in question. It should also feature evidence to back up your position. You can even use supporting quotes where possible. For example, you can start with the vision of the author followed by yours about it. Alternatively, write about the author’s opinion and then tell your readers why it contrasts yours.
• Conclusion: The conclusion should have a summary of the paper in two to three sentences. Also, state your outcome and support your main idea. Reflect on the work, what you’ve learned, and how the author’s work influences or inspires you in your final sentences.

How to Start a Response Essay

Once you have an outline for your reaction paper, start working on its first draft. In the introduction, use every critical element to capture the reader’s attention. Aim to grab your audience’s attention and then connect with them in this section.

For instance, you can use a solid introductory sentence to tell readers about your reaction essay’s direction. For example, tell the readers that you’re writing a lecture response at the beginning. After that, mention the professor and what the lecture was about or the title of the lesson. You can end your introduction with a thesis statement that gives the readers insight into your essay and a view of the work in question.

The introduction should have one or two paragraphs. It should also serve as a powerful hook for grabbing the readers’ interest and attention. Also, tell the readers about the author’s vision while inspiring to compel the audiences to read further.

How to Write a Response Paper in the Body Section

In the body part of the paper, focus on explaining and supporting your reactions. This section can have several paragraphs. Here, you write about the book or article you’re responding to in several paragraphs. At the same time, support your reaction with evidence. For instance, you can use quotes from an article or book to back up your response.

Tell your readers whether you disagree or agree with the author’s opinions. The final paragraph of the body section should tell the readers whether you support a specific idea or refute it. You can also confirm what the author says and why their work convinces or persuades you. Ideally, tell your readers what makes the piece powerful.

How to Write a Critical Response Paper Conclusion

The final section of this paper should be the result of your thoughts. This section should be the most meaningful and influential section of the essay. Here, you write one or two paragraphs, depending on the length of your paper. State your last points and what the work has taught you. Tell your readers how the author inspired you using the introduction and thesis to back up your words.

You can even show the audiences how the author’s view and yours intertwine. You can also include conflicting remarks in this section. If the author changed your perspective, tell the readers what happened. But don’t forget to reaffirm your thesis statement in conclusion.

How to Write a Response Paper in College – The Dos and Don’ts

Before embarking on the reaction paper writing process, study the theoretical material. Here are helpful response paper guidelines that should help you complete this task faster.

• In my opinion
• I strongly believe
• It seems to me
• This notion is persuasive/baseless
• I was surprised/shocked/amazed by the author’s
• I agree or disagree with the author
• This movie/book makes me feel
• Provide Arguments Apart from sharing your opinion, provide evidence to support your viewpoint. Nobody can claim they know how to write a response if they can’t develop an effective argumentation strategy. Therefore, use real-life comparisons, examples, quotations, and statistics to enforce and support your thesis statement.
• Examine the Work You don’t know what the original work’s creator went through when creating it. However, you can imagine their circumstances by examining the work. Therefore, analyze the social and historical contexts of the work. Also, check the biographical work of the original work’s creator. Perhaps, this knowledge can help you understand their idea better.
• Express Emotions Don’t fear sharing your emotions when writing a reaction paper. However, don’t use exclamation marks excessively. Also, don’t ignore any chance to tell your readers how the work has influenced or inspired you.
• Share Personal Connections Whether you’re writing a book, article, movie, or poem response, take it as a chance to utilize your imagination. Ideally, assume you’re having a conversation with the characters of the authors. What would you ask them, and what answers would they provide? That way, you can analyze the work from different viewpoints.

The Dont’s

And here are things you should avoid when writing a response paper. If you don’t want to fail, you should not do the following things!

• Don’t Skim You can’t understand the author’s thoughts if you skim their work. Therefore, be attentive and take the time to study and analyze their work. Ideally, don’t rush to finish the task and miss the compelling argument.
• Don’t Review Perhaps, you can only claim that you know how to write a good response paper if you don’t turn it into a review. Don’t evaluate the acting, editing, or language when writing a reaction paper. These are essential factors for a book or movie review, not a reaction paper. In this paper, focus on expressing your opinion about the main ideas of a particular movie or book and the author’s viewpoint.
• Don’t Summarize Again, a reaction paper isn’t a summary. Your audience should understand your feelings towards a movie or a book. Thus, they don’t want to read an overview of the original work. While you can share brief information about the book, film, article, or poem in the first paragraph, it doesn’t exceed four sentences in your summary.
• Don’t Sound Baseless Don’t share personal opinions with phrases like “I don’t like” or “I like” without a strong argument. That way, you will sound baseless to your readers.

Practical Tips on How to Write a Reading Response Paper

This section comprises valuable tips for writing a reaction paper. By following these applicable guidelines, you can simplify the process of writing this paper.

• Study the original work: Whether you’re writing a reaction paper for an article, a book, or a movie, take the time to study it. For instance, take notes of the main ideas while thinking about the feelings and thoughts when reviewing the work. Also, decide whether you disagree or agree with the original work’s creator. Have you had similar experiences related to the ideas and events that the author describes? Have you heard, seen, or read something similar? Does the book, movie, or article provide adequate supporting facts and evidence?
• Read a response paper example: If writing a reaction paper first, start by reading a good sample essay. Make sure that the sample relates to what you want to write. For instance, read an article response example if you’re going to write an article reaction paper. The internet has many sites with all kinds of sample papers. Thus, you won’t struggle to find a good response paper sample.
• Plan and organize your reaction paper: Start by studying the format of this paper and then draft an outline. That way, you can decide where to place your thesis statement and the main ideas of your paper. Also, decide on the original work’s examples, references, and quotes to support your arguments. Ensure the logical flow of your work using topic sentences. Decide on the content of every part of the paper, including the introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Differentiate critiques and insults: Some students use insulting comments without analysis or explanation. Critiquing the work you’re reacting to is okay. However, back up your thoughts, reactions, opinions, and feelings with examples and evidence from work.

Use a Professional Writing Service

Perhaps, you don’t have the time to study this guide on how to write a response paper to a short story, yet the educator has assigned you this task with a tight deadline. Maybe you’re not confident in your skills and ability to write a high-quality paper. You might have even found this article online after searching for a phrase like, “can I pay someone to write my paper?” Regardless of your predicament, we have ENL writers read to help you with this paper. These are professionals with vast experience in providing quick writing assistance to learners at different study levels. Whether the educator sets a tight deadline or has a complex topic, our crew will help you write an amazing paper.

After placing an order with us, we pick the most competent native speaker to write it for you. And this is an English native speaker and an expert that will write a 100% unique paper that will impress your educator. Contact us to complete your reaction paper using the most professional and trustworthy writing service!

• Plagiarism checker Do The Check
• Academic editing Ask For Help
• Samples database View Samples Base

How to Write a Thesis for a Research Paper

09 Nov 2021

Quick Navigation

Thesis statement for a research paper, guidelines for writing a thesis statement, thesis statement example.

If you write a research paper, you should remember to create a thesis statement. This is a special part of the essay where you write the main objective of your work. It should not be your opinion or just a fact. The thesis consists of a statement and common arguments. First, you should look through the information you have found about the topic, and an opinion should be placed within the introduction. The best way to compose a hypothesis is in the last two or three sentences of the introduction. Moreover, all of these causes should be used as evidence of your opinion and be explained within the body of your research paper.

Stuck with finding the right title?

Get plenty of fresh and catchy topic ideas and pick the perfect one with PapersOwl Title Generator.

You should remember that the hypothesis is the part of an essay when the reader decides if he or she will read the essay. This is not a problem if you cannot compose a hypothesis the first time. If you have some trouble with writing a hypothesis statement, you should follow a few steps to make it easier. You should convince the reader that your essay is worth for reading because it provides new information and fresh ideas. Therefore, the statement should be reliable, and the arguments should be brief and engaging. When you compose a research paper, you should concentrate on the results of your work and the reasons for the research. The common scheme for an online thesis statement generator looks like the following:

This is something, because of the first argument, the second argument, and the third argument.

Need help with writing a research paper?

Get your paper written by a professional writer

Substantial empirical data will allow you to make evidence-based conclusions. With these conclusions, you'll be able to determine the causes and reasons related to your hypothesis. The utmost important part of the research paper is a well-written thesis statement within the introduction. You should write down all your thoughts which come to your mind as some of them could be pertinent to your paper, and you weren't to risk losing them. There is a rule of thumb to place a hypothesis statement, and the reader waits to see the opinion in the introduction section .

In conclusion, you should follow these steps while writing a research paper hypothesis statement:

• Review all information.
• Formulate the facts and reasons which caused it.
• Rewrite the hypothesis in as many ways as you need to get the best results.
• Focus on the results which you have obtained after conducting research.
• Write about the reasons which you can use as evidence to support your opinion.
• Place a thesis statement within the introduction.

To create a well-crafted and well-researched thesis for your research paper, many students choose to seek help from an essay writing service . With the assistance of experienced writers, you can save time and energy in the process of crafting a thesis statement. These professionals can provide guidance on how to structure your research paper  and can help ensure that it is effective in conveying your research objectives.

This simple guide will help you to compose the best thesis statement. Following these few steps, you will be able to develop writing an opinion faster. You should compose it in a few ways, try to make your hypothesis better, and rewrite it. This way will help you get the best result.

Is writing essays your hobby?

Participate in our "Independence Day of the United States" essay writing competition and get a 12-month Quizlet subscription.

• Deadline: July 24, 2023
• Topic: Declaration of Independence
• Language: English
• Length: 1000-5000 words
• Font size: 11 or 12

 If you still have some doubts about how to compose a thesis statement you can find an example here:

After graduating from high school, students need a gap year because this leads to better socialization, and students become better informed of what they want to do in life.

The sentence about high school and students is just a fact and the rest of the sentence after states the reasons. In such a situation, the writer should explain in the body of the research paper why this leads to socialization and awareness.

The thesis statement is arguably the most important part of any research paper, even though it is just one sentence. In order to write a proper statement, you need to understand what you are writing about and what you are aiming at with your paper. Basically, the thesis statement is where you tell your audience what is the core idea of your paper and make the readers understand why it is important.

• General Guidelines

When writing a research paper, a thesis should not be the first thing you need to care about. To begin with, you need to start your research, collect data, analyze the information you have, and actually write your research paper; you can find more here . Only after you’ve compiled all the information, you can move to create a powerful statement.

• Place it Right

Ideally, your thesis has to be no longer than one sentence. If it is longer, it means you did not craft a proper statement and that it needs some improvement. It has to be precise and completely on point so that when your readers see it, they know exactly what is going on and what you are about to prove.

To craft a proper thesis statement, you need to understand what you are going to argue in your research paper. It is best to write a statement only after you’ve finished your initial research and have all the information gathered. That is how you can make your thesis really strong and all-encompassing.

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback.

Prof. Linda Mia

I’ve worked for the past eight years as a content editor, creative writer, and professional essay writer. Every day, I work hard to make sure my clients are satisfied with the projects and papers I write for them. My areas of expertise are wide, ranging from Psychology and Sociology to Political Science and World History.

Readers also enjoyed

Feminist research topics for students.

Research Paper Writing Guides 11 likes

Food Research Topics

Research Paper Writing Guides 13 likes

Sports Research Paper Topics and Ideas

Research Paper Writing Guides 14 likes

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Simply fill out the form, click the button, and have no worries!

How to Write a Response (Reaction) Paper?

14 August, 2020

11 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

A response (reflective) essay is used in different university and college programs. It is assigned by professors, so you need to study thoroughly what you feel about a specific topic. This type of writing takes time because you need it for interpretation and analysis. Generally, creating a response paper does not differ from creating any other academic assignment. The only difference is that you should look back at what you learned and reflect this on paper. If you want to find out more about a response essay and learn how to write it correctly, just keep reading the information below.

What is a Reaction Paper?

A reaction paper is a form of essay in which you reveal your thoughts about a play, book, article, or any other literary work. This kind of academic writing has many parallels with a reaction paper because it contains your reaction to the reviewed work. While giving a written response to something, feel free to include your personal perspective and overall understanding of the subject matter. To make your statements and arguments sound reasonable, support them with sufficient evidence and examples. A reaction paper should be written in a concise and clear language, so it can be easily understood by the reader. This kind of assignment is evaluated based on the writer’s competence in writing and only then on the original content. Similar to most academic essays, a reaction paper consists of introduction, body, and conclusion, which should not exceed 2-3 pages.

It is understandable that most writers are scared of writing this kind of essay. Thus, it is highly recommended to use some guidelines throughout the writing process. And here is the right place to get some of them.

How to Start a Response Paper?

When you start the creative process, you may wonder how to write a reaction paper accurately. The main thing you should think about is your feeling about the intentions of the analyzed work. You should also understand and distinguish the major intentions of the author and their feelings about it. To start your paper properly, you need to represent a topic first by providing the primary information. By explaining every detail of the analyzed book, movie, article, or speech, you introduce the topic for further discussions. To attract your audience’s attention, you need to highlight the significance of your opinion and its practical importance. That’s where you should mention the main objectives of an analyzed work. Don’t forget to include a thesis statement into the introduction to specify the main focus of your reaction paper.

Reaction Paper Outline & Format

When you work with a reaction paper on a book, movie, article or speech, you need to highlight every point of it. You need to identify the main topic and distinguish its major subjects and objects. Once you have watched or read the particular work, you need to provide your reaction to the main story and express your own opinions on it. At the same time, you have to stick to your professor’s instructions and requirements. Depending on the initial assignment, you might be asked to write a reaction paper about the whole work or its particular section.

A response paper format should be based on personal opinions about a particular topic in the book or movie. You should use your personal experience and knowledge to express those opinions on paper. In some cases, you can be also asked to create a paper about the author’s opinions, so you will have to react to the author’s thoughts expressed in the work. When you need to analyze your reaction to the author’s thoughts, you are not expected to address the topic.

When it comes to the actual writing process, you should be as specific as possible. Thus, it is important to develop an outline and use it as your working plan. It will help you structure your future paper by including all the significant sections in your paper. So, what should a response paper include? In general, a reaction paper consists of the introduction, body, conclusion, and citation list. Here are some more details to know:

• Introduction: This is a crucial part of a reaction paper that turns out to be the face of the writing piece of work. To make it effective, you should fill it out with numerous hook sentences. Generally, it should include a clear thesis statement and a small description of the main ideas.
• Body: This part contains the main ideas, arguments, and evidence. You should start every paragraph with a clear topic sentence reflecting the main idea. Don’t forget to use only relevant and up-to-date sources to make your paper look credible.
• Conclusions: This part aims to connect a thesis statement and summary of main ideas. You need to wrap up your major points and clarify your opinions in the summary.
• Citation list: This part should contain relevant and up-to-date sources to be used throughout the paper. Thus, you should use only credible sources to persuade your target reader.

Response Papers Examples

If you want to improve your writing competence, you can look through various examples on the Internet. You can check multiple reaction papers on movies and books to come up with the individual writing technique. By encountering high-quality samples, you will take your knowledge and writing skills to the totally new level.

20 Reaction Paper Topics

If you want to submit a response paper, reaction paper, or a mix of two, you should definitely think of creative topics. Here are some examples that you can use for yourself:

• Square Enix’ Kingdom Hearts as a child-centered online content.
• Assumptions of children’s literature as seen in Tumble Tower.
• Your analysis of a Harvard study that reported that watching 4th of July parades makes people support Republican.
• Resisting interpellation of Beauty and the Beast.
• Your response to Chris Adrian’s article Under My Skin from the New York Times.
• The backside of the fashion industry in the movie The Devil Wears Prada.
• Reader response to Let’s Stop Scaring Ourselves by Michael Crichton.
• Response to Sticks by George Saunders.
• Reaction paper on Maslow’s Theory.
• Reading response to why we crave horror movies by Stephan King.
• Reaction paper for City Ordinance City Dog Pound and Appropriating Funds.
• Reaction paper on Food, Inc . – a Robert Kenner movie.
• Reaction to Hitchcock’s Birds movie.
• Fighting for love in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• The cultural and historical context of Boccaccio’s Decameron .
• Pick a book which you did not like and describe why you did not.
• Is Julius Caesar’ death in Shakespeare’s play worth it?
• Ernest Hemingway. How did the author’s life influence his works?
• Your reaction to the tragedy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth .
• Choose your favorite novel and describe it and your impressions in detail.

Useful Tips for Response Paper

Writing a reaction paper can be a complex task that requires much time and effort. Therefore, you may use some high-quality samples to learn more about this type of academic writing. Here are some tips that can help you in creating a decent response paper:

• Keep the knowledge of the addressed work on which you are writing your response or reaction paper. While reading a book or watching a movie, make a note of the areas that encourage you towards writing. Specify the main ideas that you want to discuss.
• Show your point of view and support it with additional information where you feel it’s necessary. Support the analyzed piece of work with sufficient examples.
• Conduct thorough research and find resources that can prove your arguments and statements.
• Submit a draft in order to minimize the most common errors. Of course, it will take extra time to write a draft and then transform it into a well-structured essay. In your draft, you should not express the same thoughts again. The reader won’t be interested in reading the whole story again and again. Instead, they expect you to thoroughly analyze the information you receive and read. If you don’t know how to do it, you can always use some online samples or templates.

These are some simple and useful tricks that can help you master the response paper writing process. You should also know the most common mistakes that reduce the quality of your response paper. First, you should not place the summary of the analyzed work in the very beginning. The reader will lose interest in your paper immediately. And you will lose a chance of expanding the depth of the book or movie. First, you should develop and express your own opinions, not the overview or basic layout. Second, you should not make a statement without providing any supporting information. Producing examples that are hardly related to the topic also won’t do any good for your paper. With all the above-mentioned information in mind, you will be able to create an excellent piece of work!

Write an Excellent Reaction Paper with HandmadeWriting

If you want to get high-quality response papers online, you can rely on the professional team of writers who will help you deal with the task. When you are looking for a professional writing service, it means that you want to get rid of your academic burden and have some time for yourself. With the help of HandmadeWriting , you can get an excellent-quality response paper example at an affordable price.

The essay writers of this service have already created multiple academic papers on various topics and of different kinds. They have also developed a huge clientele since they have proved to be reliable and hard-working in their attitude to work.

When you start cooperation with HandmadeWriting, be sure that you will get papers of impeccable quality. Moreover, they provide response papers samples so that you could know how well this company’s writers can handle the academic writing task. It’s no wonder that HandmadeWriting is rated as one of the leading writing services on the Internet.

Best Essay Writing Services 2023

Student life can often be quite challenging because students have to deal with challenging college essay writing assignments. To facilitate the learning process, many services help you complete written work and get high scores. Now we will tell you about the best services that you can turn to and get high-quality papers. Essay Writing Service […]

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

• Essay Guides
• Main Academic Essays
• How to Write a Response Paper: Outline, Steps & Examples

How to Write a Response Paper: Outline, Steps & Examples

Table of contents

Response essays are a frequent assignment in many academic courses. Professors often ask students to share their thoughts and feelings about a variety of materials, such as books, articles, films, songs, or poems. To write an effective response paper, you should follow a specific structure to ensure that your ideas are well-organized and presented in a logical manner.

In this blog post, we will explore how to write a good outline and how it is used to develop a quality reaction essay. You will also come across a response paper example to help you better understand steps involved in writing a response essay.  Continue reading to explore writing tips from professional paper writers that you can use to improve your skills.

What Is a Response Paper?

It is vital to understand the meaning of a response essay before you start writing. Often, learners confuse this type of academic work with reviews of books, articles, events, or movies, which is not correct, although they seem similar.  A response paper gives you a platform to express your point of view, feelings, and understanding of a given subject or idea through writing. Unlike other review works, you are also required to give your idea, vision, and values contained in literal materials. In other words, while a response paper is written in a subjective way, a review paper is written in a more objective manner.  A good reaction paper links the idea in discussion with your personal opinion or experience. Response essays are written to express your deep reflections on materials, what you have understood, and how the author's work has impacted you.

Purpose of a Response Essay

Understanding reasons for writing a reaction paper will help you prepare better work. The purpose of a response essay will be:

• To summarize author's primary ideas and opinions: you need to give a summary of materials and messages the author wants you to understand.
• Providing a reflection on the subject: as a writer, you also need to express how you relate to authors' ideas and positions.
• To express how the subject affects your personal life: when writing a response paper, you are also required to provide your personal outcome and lesson learned from interacting with the material.

Response Essay Outline

You should adhere to a specific response paper outline when working on an essay. Following a recommended format ensures that you have a smooth flow of ideas. A good response paper template will make it easier for a reader to separate your point of view from author's opinion. The essay is often divided into these sections: introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.  Below is an example of a response essay outline template:

• Briefly introduce the topic of the response paper
• State your thesis statement or main argument
• Provide a brief summary of the source material you are responding to
• Include key details or arguments from the source
• Analyze the source material and identify strengths and weaknesses
• Evaluate the author's arguments and evidence
• Provide your own perspective on the source material
• Respond to the source material and critique its arguments
• Offer your own ideas and counterarguments
• Support your response with evidence and examples
• Summarize your main points and restate your thesis
• Provide final thoughts on the source material and its implications
• Offer suggestions for further research or inquiry

Save time and effort with our high-quality academic paper assistance. Buy college papers from experts and get an A+ with ease!

Response Paper Introduction

The success of response papers is partly dependent on how well you write the introductory paragraph. As with any academic paper, the introduction paragraph welcomes targeted readers and states the primary idea.  Below is a guideline on how to start a response essay:

• Provide a compelling hook to capture the attention of your target audience.
• Provide background information about the material, including the name and author of the work.
• Provide a brief summary of main points to bring readers who are unfamiliar with the work up to task and enable them to follow up on your subsequent analysis.
• Write a thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph to inform readers about the purpose and argument you are trying to relay.

Response Essay Thesis Statement

A thesis statement summarizes a paper's content within a sentence or two. A response essay thesis statement is not any different! The final sentence of the introductory paragraph of a reaction paper should give readers an idea of the message that will be discussed in your paper.  Do you know how to write a thesis statement for a response essay? If you follow the steps below, you should be able to write one:

• Review the material you are responding to, and pinpoint main points expressed by authors.
• Determine points of view or opinions you are going to discuss in the essay.
• Develop your thesis statement. It should express a summary of what will be covered in your reaction. The sentence should also consider logical flow of ideas in your writing.
• Thesis statement should be easy to spot. You should preferably place it at the end of your introductory paragraph.

Response Paper Body Paragraph

In most instances, the body section has between 1 and 3 paragraphs or more. You should first provide a summary of the article, book, or any other literature work you are responding to.  To write a response essay body paragraph that will capture the attention of readers, you must begin by providing key ideas presented in the story from the authors' point of view. In the subsequent paragraph, you should tell your audience whether you agree or disagree with these ideas as presented in the text. In the final section, you should provide an in-depth explanation of your stand and discuss various impacts of the material.

Response Paper Conclusion

In this section of a response paper, you should provide a summary of your ideas. You may provide key takeaways from your thoughts and pinpoint meaningful parts of the response. Like any other academic work, you wind up your response essay writing by giving a summary of what was discussed throughout the paper.  You should avoid introducing new evidence, ideas, or repeat contents that are included in body paragraphs in the conclusion section. After stating your final points, lessons learned, and how the work inspires you, you can wrap it up with your thesis statement.

How to Write a Response Paper?

In this section, we will provide you with tips on how to write a good response paper. To prepare a powerful reaction essay, you need to consider a two-step approach. First, you must read and analyze original sources properly. Subsequently, you also need to organize and plan the essay writing part effectively to be able to produce good reaction work. Various steps are outlined and discussed below to help you better understand how to write a response essay.

1. Pick a Topic for Your Response Essay

Picking a topic for response essay topics can be affected either by the scope of your assignment as provided by your college professor or by your preference. Irrespective of your reason, the guideline below should help you brainstorm topic ideas for your reaction:

• Start from your paper's end goal: consider what outcomes you wish to attain from writing your reaction.
• Prepare a list of all potential ideas that can help you attain your preferred result.
• Sort out topics that interest you from your list.
• Critique your final list and settle on a topic that will be comfortable to work on.

Below are some examples of good topics for response essay to get you started:

• Analyzing ideas in an article about effects of body shaming on mental health .
• Reaction paper on new theories in today's business environment.
• Movies I can watch again and again.
• A response essay on a documentary.
• Did the 9/11 terror attacks contribute to issues of religious intolerance?

2. Plan Your Thoughts and Reactions

To better plan your thoughts and reactions, you need to read the original material thoroughly to understand messages contained therein. You must understand author's line of thinking, beliefs, and values to be able to react to their content. Next, note down ideas and aspects that are important and draw any strong reactions.  Think through these ideas and record potential sequences they will take in your response paper. You should also support your opinions and reactions with quotes and texts from credible sources. This will help you write a response essay for the college level that will stand out.

3. Write a Detailed Response Paper Outline

Preparing a detailed response paper outline will exponentially improve the outcome of your writing. An essay outline will act as a benchmark that will guide you when working on each section of the paper. Sorting your ideas into sections will not only help you attain a better flow of communication in your responsive essay but also simplify your writing process.  You are encouraged to adopt the standard response essay outline provided in the sample above. By splitting your paper into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs, you will be able to effectively introduce your readers to ideas that will be discussed and separate your thoughts from authors' messages.

4. Write a Material Summary

For your audience to understand your reaction to certain materials, you should at first provide a brief summary of authors' points of view. This short overview should include author's name and work title.  When writing a response essay, you should dedicate a section to give an informative summary that clearly details primary points and vital supporting arguments. You must thoroughly understand the literature to be able to complete this section.  For important ideas, you can add direct quotes from the original sources in question. Writers may sometimes make a mistake of summarizing general ideas by providing detailed information about every single aspect of the material. Instead of addressing all ideas in detail, focus on key aspects.  Although you rely on your personal opinion and experience to write a response paper, you must remain objective and factual in this section. Your subjective opinion will take center stage in the personal reaction part of the essay.

Example of a Response Summary

Below is a sample summary response essays example to help you better understand how to write one. A Summary of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

The classic film The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938), as directed by Michael Curtis and William Keighley, stars an infamous outlaw, Robin Hood, who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor''. The charismatic and charming Saxon lord, Robin Hood (Flynn), becomes an outlaw and seeks justice for poor people by fighting Sir Guy of Gisborne (Rathbone), Sheriff of Nottingham (Copper), and Prince John (Rains), who were oppressing people. After assembling an outlaw group, Robin defies the excessive taxes imposed on poor people by stealing from wealthy individuals and redistributing wealth to the destitute in society. Robin Hood is eventually lured into an archery tournament and gets arrested, but survives an execution. He later helps King Richard to regain his lost throne and banish Prince John.

5. Share Your Reaction

After summarizing the original material, the second part of a response paper involves writing your opinion about author’s point of view. After a thorough review of the material, you should be able to express your perspective on the subject.  In this section, you are expected to detail how the material made you feel and how it relates to your personal life, experience, and values. Within the short response essay, you may also be required to state whether you agree or disagree with author's line of thinking. How does the material relate to current issues, or in what way does it impact your understanding of a given subject? Does it change your opinion on the subject in any way? Your reaction should answer these questions.  In addition, you may also be required to outline potential advantages and shortcomings of the material in your reaction. Finally, you should also indicate whether or not you would endorse the literal work to others.

Reaction in Response Body Paragraph Example

Below is a reaction in a response essay body paragraph sample to help you improve your skills in writing the response body paragraph: Reaction Paragraph Example

My main takeaway from watching The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938) is that society should prioritize good and justice over laws if the set rules oppress people. Prince John, Sir Guy, and Sheriff Cooper were cruel and petty and used existing laws to oppress and exploit poor people. In response, Robin Hood employed unorthodox means and tried to help oppressed people in society. I agree with his way of thinking. Laws are made to protect people in society and ensure justice is served. Therefore, when legislation fails to serve its purpose, it becomes redundant. Even in current society, we have seen democratic governments funding coups when presidents start oppressing their people. Such coups are supported despite the fact that presidency is protected by law. Although Robin Hood's actions might encourage unlawfulness if taken out of context, I would still recommend this film because its main message is advocating for justice in the community.

6. Conclude Your Response Essay

Do you know how to write a response paper conclusion? It should be the icing on the cake. Irrespective of how good previous sections were, your reaction essay will not be considered to be exceptional if you fail to provide a sum up of your reaction, ideas, and arguments in the right manner.  When writing a response essay conclusion , you should strive to summarize the outcome of your thoughts. After stating your final point, tell readers what you have learned and how that material inspired or impacted you. You can also explain how your perspective and the author's point of view intertwine with each other.  Never introduce new ideas in the conclusion paragraph. Presenting new points will not only disrupt the flow of ideas in the paper but also confuse your readers because you may be unable to explain them comprehensively.  You are also expected to link up your discussions with the thesis statement. In other words, concluding comments and observations need to incorporate the reaffirmation of the thesis statement.

Example of Response Paper Conclusion

You can use the responsive essay conclusion sample below as a benchmark to guide you in writing your concluding remarks: Conclusion Example

There are a lot of similarities between the film's message and my opinion, values, and beliefs. Based on my personal principles, I believe the actions of the main character, Robin Hood, are justifiable and acceptable. Several people in modern society would also agree with my perspective. The movie has provided me with multiple lessons and inspirations. The main lesson acquired is that laws are not ultimate and that we should analyze how they affect people rather than adhere to them blindly. Unless legislation protects people and serves justices, it should be considered irrelevant. Also, morality outweighs legislation. From the movie, I gathered that morality should be the foundation for all laws, and at any time, morality and greater good should be prioritized above laws. The main inspiration relates to being brave in going against some legislation since the end justifies the means sometimes. My point of view and that of the movie creators intertwine. We both advocate for human decency and justice. The argument discussed supports the idea that good and justice is greater than law.

Proofread Your Response Paper

It is important to proofread your response paper before submitting it for examination. Has your essay met all instructional requirements? Have you corrected every grammatical error in your paper? These are common questions you should be asking yourself.  Proofreading your work will ensure that you have eliminated mistakes made when working on your academic work. Besides, you also get the opportunity to improve your logical flow of ideas in your paper by proofreading.  If you review your work thoroughly before submitting it for marking, you are more likely to score more marks! Use our Paper Rater , it is a tool that can help you pinpoint errors, which makes going through your work even simpler.

Response Essay Examples

If you have never written this type of academic paper before, responsive essay examples should help you grasp the primary concepts better. These response paper samples not only help you to familiarize yourself with paper's features but also help you to get an idea of how you should tackle such an assignment. Review at least one written response essay example from the compilation below to give you the confidence to tackle a reaction paper. Response essay example: Book

Response paper example: Poem

Response paper sample: Movie

Example of a response paper: Article

Sample response essay: Issue

Response Paper Format

It is important to follow a recommended response essay format in order to adhere to academic writing standards needed for your assignment. Formats depend on your institution or the discipline.  A reaction paper can be written in many different academic writing styles, including APA, MLA, and Chicago, with each demanding a slightly different format.  The outlook of the paper and referencing varies from one writing style to another. Despite the format for a response paper, you must include introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.

Response Essay Writing Tips

Below are some of the best tips you can use to improve your response papers writing skills:

• Review your assignment instructions and clarify any inquiries before you start a response paper.
• Once you have selected topics for response essay, reviewed your original materials, and came up with your thesis statement, use topic sentences to facilitate logical flow in your paper.
• Always ensure that you format your work as per the standard structure to ensure that you adhere to set academic requirements. Depending on the academic writing style you will be using, ensure that you have done your in-text citation as per the paper format.
• If you have never worked on this kind of academic paper, you should review examples and samples to help you familiarize yourself with this type of work. You should, however, never plagiarize your work.
• You can use a first-person perspective to better stress your opinion or feelings about a subject. This tip is particularly crucial for reaction part of your work.
• Finally, before submitting your work, proofread your work.

Bottom Line on Response Paper Writing

As discussed in this blog post, preparing a response paper follows a two-step approach. To successfully work on these sections, you need to plan properly to ensure a smooth transition from the reading and analyzing the original material to writing your reaction. In addition, you can review previous works to improve your writing skills.  So, what is a response essay that will immediately capture the attention of your instructor? Well, it should have a captivating introduction, evidence backed reaction, and a powerful conclusion. If you follow various tips outlined above and sum up your work with thorough proofreading, there is no chance that you can fail this type of assignment.

Order a response essay from our academic writing platform! Send us a ‘ write my college paper ’ message and our experienced writers will provide you with a top-notch essay according to your instructions. 

FAQ About Response Paper

1. how long is a short response essay.

The length of a short response essay varies depending on topic and your familiarity with the subject. Depending on how long original sources are and how many responsive points you have, your reaction paper can range from a single paragraph of 150-400 words to multiple paragraphs of 250-500 words.

2. How to start a response body paragraph?

Use an argumentative topic sentence to start your responsive paper paragraph. Failing to begin a paragraph with an elaborate topic sentence will confuse your readers. Topic sentences give readers an idea of what is being discussed in the section. Write a responsive body paragraph for every new idea you add.

3. Is reaction paper similar to a response paper?

Yes. Reaction papers and response essays are used interchangeably. Responsive essays analyze author's point of view and compare them with your personal perspective. This type of academic writing gives you freedom to share your feelings and opinion about an idea. People also discuss how ideas, concepts, and literature material influence them in a response paper.

You may also like

AI Thesis Statement Generator

A better way to get ideas for your thesis statement, find inspiration in these thesis statement examples, frequently asked questions, what is a thesis statement, how long should a thesis statement be, how should i start a thesis statement, where does a thesis statement go, academic writing resources.

More AI Writing Assistance From Grammarly

Improve Your Writing With AI

Sample Thesis Statements

I agree strongly with Buckley�s theories.   I think that American people do not complain in situations where a complaint is needed.

As Richard Estrada pointed out, the names of the teams are very controversial in our society today.   In my opinion, the names of the teams are not meant to ridicule, exploit, and/or diminish the Native American in our society today.   Rather, the names are a symbol of pride and are only meant to bring positive outcomes to our society.

I can�t say that fast food jobs are made for everyone, but I don�t think they are as bad as Etzioni�s essay made them out to be.

In the essay, Etzioni shares his strong belief that working, especially at McDonald�s-type restaurants, is bad for teenagers.   I would agree that working is not a good thing for teenagers under some circumstances, but at other times it is good.

What kinds of jobs, then, would be useful for teens, and what jobs would help make good choices and decisions?   I believe that there are plenty of jobs that would be excellent life-long learning experiences for teens.

I believe the liberal arts curriculum, although expensive and time-consuming, is a vital part of a college education that can only shape who you are as a professional, but also who you are as a person.

On the whole, like King, I believe horror movies, and all other movies, are important, and we watch them for basically the same reasons.

King is right to a certain degree, but he should have used a different genre is his essay.   Science fiction makes people think.   Sci-fi stimulates the brain with intelligent stories, characters, and ideas.   The moral public should crave sci-fi movies rather than horror flicks to stay sane in this world.

On the whole, my opinion of King�s essay is that it is highly assuming and generalizing of society.

I partially agree with one of these points and disagree all together with the other.

Reflecting on these three arguments, I agree with King that there are both normal and not so normal reasons why we crave horror movies.

I, however, disagree that a solitary life is the best way to live, and I have some interesting information to support my beliefs.

While I agree with Zinsser that these four kinds of pressure exist, I also think that there are new and different pressures today.

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

How to use ChatGPT to do research for papers, presentations, studies, and more

ChatGPT is often thought of as a tool that will replace human work on tasks such as writing papers for students or professionals. But ChatGPT can also be used to support human work, and research is an excellent example. 

Whether you're working on a research paper for school or doing market research for your job, initiating the research process and finding the correct sources can be challenging and time-consuming. 

Also:  5 handy AI tools for school that students, teachers, and parents can use, too

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots can help by curtailing the amount of time spent finding sources, allowing you to jump more quickly to the actual reading and research portion of your work.

Picking the right chatbot 

Before we get started, it's important to understand the limitations of using ChatGPT . Because ChatGPT is not connected to the internet, it will not be able to give you access to information or resources after 2021, and it will also not be able to provide you with a direct link to the source of the information. 

Also :  The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other noteworthy alternatives

Being able to ask a chatbot to provide you with links for the topic you are interested in is very valuable. If you'd like to do that, I recommend using a chatbot connected to the internet, such as Bing Chat , Claude , ChatGPT Plus , or Perplexity . 

This how-to guide will use ChatGPT as an example of how prompts can be used, but the principles are the same for whichever chatbot you choose.

1. Brainstorm

When you're assigned research papers, the general topic area is generally assigned, but you'll be required to identify the exact topic you want to pick for your paper or research. ChatGPT can help with the brainstorming process by suggesting ideas or even tweaking your own. 

Also:  How ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) can help you write an essay

For this sample research paper, I will use the general topic of "Monumental technological inventions that caused pivotal changes in history." If I didn't have a specific idea to write about, I would tell ChatGPT the general theme of the assignment with as much detail as possible and ask it for some proposals. 

My prompt: I have to write a research paper on "Monumental technological inventions that caused pivotal changes in history." It needs to be ten pages long and source five different primary sources. Can you help me think of a specific topic? 

As seen by the screenshot (below), ChatGPT produced 10 viable topics, including "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge", "The Internet and the Digital Age", "The Telegraph and the Communication Revolution", and more. 

Also:  How to use the new Bing (and how it's different from ChatGPT)

You can then follow up with ChatGPT to ask for further information. You can even tweak these topics with an angle you like more, and continue the feedback loop until you have a topic you are settled on. 

2. Generate an outline

Once you have selected a topic, you can ask ChatGPT to generate an outline, including as much detail for your assignment as possible. For this example, I used the first topic that ChatGPT suggested in the previous step.

My prompt: Can you give me an outline for a research paper that is ten pages long and needs to use five primary sources on this topic, "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge"? 

ChatGPT generated a 13-point outline that carefully described the areas I should touch on in my paper, as seen in the photo (above). You can then use this outline to structure your paper and use the points to find sources, using ChatGPT as delineated below. 

3. Tell ChatGPT your topic and ask for sources

Now that you have a topic and outline established, you can ask ChatGPT about the topic of your project and ask it to deliver sources for you.

My prompt: Can you give me sources for a ten-page long paper on this topic, "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge"?

ChatGPT outputs a list of five primary and five secondary sources that you can include in your paper. Remember, because ChatGPT can't give you internet links, you will need to seek out the specific resources on your own, whether that's Googling or visiting your school library. 

Also:  How to use Stable Diffusion AI to create amazing images

When I asked Bing Chat the same question, it provided sources with clickable links that you can use to access the material you need quicker. For that reason, I would use Bing Chat for this step. 

4. Describe a specific idea and ask for sources

Instead of describing the whole topic, you can also use a chatbot to find sources for a specific aspect of your paper.

Also:  How (and why) to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus

For example, I asked ChatGPT for sources for a specific bullet in the paper outline that it generated above. 

My prompt: Can you give me sources for the social and intellectual climate of when the printing press was generated?

As in the prior example, ChatGPT generated five primary and five secondary resources for the topic. 

Using this feature for smaller chunks of your essay is a good alternative because it gives you more options on sources and provides tailored insight that you can use to carefully craft your piece. 

5. Ask for examples of a specific incident

I use this prompt a lot in my workflow because I can sometimes remember that something specific happened, but can't pinpoint what it was or when it happened. 

This tool can also be used when you need to find a specific example to support your topic. 

Also:  How to use ChatGPT to write an essay

In both cases, you can ask ChatGPT to help you identify a specific event or time period, and incorporate those details in your article. 

In our essay example, if I wanted to include a rebuttal and delineate a time when implementing technology had negative impacts, but couldn't think of an incident on my own, I could ask ChatGPT to help me identify one.

My prompt: What was a time in history when implementing technology backfired on society and had negative impacts?

Within seconds, ChatGPT generated 10 examples of incidents that I could weave into the research as a rebuttal. 

6. Generate citations

Creating a page of the works you cited, although valuable and necessary for integrity, is a pain. Now, you can ask ChatGPT to generate citations for you by simply dropping the link or the title of the work, and asking it to create a citation in the style of your paper. 

Also:  How to make ChatGPT provide sources and citations

I asked ChatGPT to generate a citation for this article for ZDNET. As seen by the photo (above), the tool asked me to include the access date and the style for the citation, and then quickly generated a complete citation for the piece.

ChatGPT generated: 

Great, here's the MLA citation for the web link "How to Use ChatGPT to Write an Essay" from ZDNET, accessed on September 15: "How to Use ChatGPT to Write an Essay." ZDNET, https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-use-chatgpt-to-write-an-essay/. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.

If you used something other than a website as a source, such as a book or textbook, you can still ask ChatGPT to provide a citation. The only difference is that you might have to input some information manually. 

Artificial Intelligence

How to use Google Bard: What to do and what not to do

How to use Opera's built-in AI chatbot (and why you should)

Back to school? How ChatGPT can help you with your essay writing