How to write a response essay

How to write a response essay in easy steps?

What is a response essay?

Response essay is a type of essay which gives reaction or response to an object or a topic chosen. Also called as a reaction essay, it is a reaction to the summary of what you have read. It includes expressions of thoughts about a particular topic.

Responsive essay involves critical reading, critical thinking and reaction to a topic that is being written. For example, writing a summary of a television show that you have watched and writing a responsive essay about it.

Parts of a response essay:

To write a responsive essay, it must have two parts to it,

1.Summary of the topic- The topic must be researched well in order to write a summary on it.

2.Your reaction to the topic - Once a summary for the topic is prepared, it must then have your reaction towards it. This part of an essay is called response essay. 

Elements of a response essay

1.Introduction section:  The important element for a response essay is an introduction section. An introduction section must be written which should introduce an essay subtly. Care must be taken not to give in all the details of the topic as it should be discussed in the body section.

2.Thesis statement: A ship which is on the surface of the water is put to hold with the help of an anchor. An anchor helps in keeping it still.

The same way, an essay’s quality can be enhanced only when it has a strong and supportive thesis statement. A thesis statement is a focus on the idea of the topic which is written. It must be passed on in each section so that it builds a strong essay.

3.Hook statement: To develop for the readers to read an essay, they must be hooked onto it. To do this, an essay must include hook statements.

Hook statements help in grabbing reader’s attention inducing interest towards it.

4.Body section:  A body section is the heart of an essay. It must include all the necessary arguments to prove its credibility.

Generally, an essay will have 3 paragraphs to it, where each paragraph must have a response or a reaction to it. There must be transitional statements within the body section to have a greater quality essay.   

5.Conclusion section: A conclusion is very much important, it summarizes the whole essay that has been written. Conclusion to an essay must be synthesized and should be repeated as a thesis statement once again. 

5 simple steps to write a response essay

1.Brainstorm for ideas: To write any essay, a topic must be chosen. The best way to choose a topic is to brainstorm ideas for it. Here is a link on how to brainstorm for an essay.  

2.Organizing the essay: Once a topic is chosen to write, the next step towards writing a response essay is to organize it. As mentioned earlier, there are parts included while writing a response essay.

1.Write a summary on the topic

2.Write a reaction on the summary created

This helps in organizing an essay in a better manner.

3.Draft the essay: While drafting a response essay, it must always include three sections. They are an introduction section, a body section and a conclusion section.

4.Edit the essay which is written: After the completion of writing an essay, it must be edited. Editing is a skill which comes only by practice. Necessary things are added and discarded in this stage of essay writing.

5.Proofread the content: The last stage of essay writing is proofreading. Any grammatical errors, misplaced punctuation marks or misspelled words are given a check here.  

Things to be considered while writing

1.The reaction must be in terms of strong agreement or strong disagreement along with strong opinion created for it.

2.Evaluation of the analysis done to make it more effective.

3.The author’s name and title that is being discussed must be mentioned.

4.Summary of an article which is used to write a responsive essay.

5.Reflection on the topic that is read.

6.Signposting for response essay 

Example topics to write a response essay

Some of the example topics for a response essay are:

1.Responsibility of a student

2.Animal cruelty

3.Physical abuse

4.Impact of social networking sites

5.Single parenting