Blog
Towards a post- Colonial Theory and Sociology
What is a reaction paper?
It can mean different things to different professors depending upon how you define it. Essentially a reaction paper is your response to a set of readings – how you respond is all important. So here is what you don’t do:
1)State simply that you like or dislike a reading without evidence
2) Talk about something else other than what you have read.3) Try to bluff your way through and do it an hour before class without doing the reading.
4) Use vague terminology that is not defined and large words without any context.Now, how can you do an excellent reaction paper that avoids these pitfalls?Here is how:1) Read the articles required noting the major and minor points of the author.
2) Think about how these points are related to points made by other authors you also read for the week.
3) Link these points together with your commentary. Here is where your thinking becomes essential – how you link these points will reveal the depth or shallowness of your reading. It is okay to draw in material from other courses as long as you stay focused on the readings for the week.
4) Do ALL of the readings – not just the ones that appeal to you. You must refer to all of the authors in your reaction paper. This means having to digest quite a bit of material to find the main points. This is also why it cannot be done an hour before class. So, how should I write this up? You can use any format you wish, Chicago Manual of Style, MLA or whatever, your choice. The key is in demonstrating to your professor that you have in fact read and understood the material to the best of your ability. Here is a sample of what a response might look like:“Sternheimer’s (2003) point about imitative violence is important because it shows that we should not take virtual violence as literal violence.
The response of Salamon (2005) in discussing the rating systems for games shows that many people still assume that game violence is literal proving Sternheimer’s point. I think given the evidence that the case for media violence causing real violence is thin at best, many people play games and they are not axe murderers.” If you get in the habit of writing like this (of asking the why question at every paragraph of the author’s paper) you will find that essay exams will be a snap.