Response paper
A response paper (sometimes called a reaction paper) is a short essay which conveys the writer's reaction to one or several texts. This kind of assignment is usually given to students after they have read a number of articles or a work of fiction.
Although the key words here are response and reaction, you are usually not expected to share your personal or emotional response but rather to provide a critical response to the text(s) you have been assigned to read.
Note that response papers are not reviews; you will usually not be expected to evaluate the text(s) that you write about. Instead, the response paper is a kind of critical reading of a specific aspect of one or several texts. Response papers may or may not require the use of additional sources.
Structure of response paper
A response paper is often structured according to the three-part essay model:
| Introductory part | Here you introduce the text(s) that you have read and state what you will focus on. Make sure you know if you are expected to provide a short summary of the text(s) you discuss or not. |
| Body part | Here you bring up the specific issue(s) you have chosen to respond to. Depending on the format, the body part can be structured thematically or in some other way. |
| Concluding part | Here you sum up the argument (the 'response' to the text(s) that you have read). |
For more info about three-part essay structure, see
Hands-on advice on how to write a response paper
For step-by-step instructions on how to write a response paper, see