How to write a reader response paper

SUMMARIZING, ANALYZING, AND SYNTHESIZING

Summary

Academic BusinessCritique papers Policy Briefs

Synthesis papers

Business Plans

Analysis papers

Memos, Letters

Research Papers

Reports

Literature Reviews

Proposals

Argumentative Papers

White Paper

1. Read the text2. Annotate (take notes on) the

text3. Only summarize the

important elements4. Put the author’s important

points in your own words5. Use APA citation at the end of

the paragraph

Steps to summarizing:

Analysis

When and what do you analyze?

Academic ExaminationsEssaysText BooksLectures

PracticeSituationsPeopleInformationProducts

Synthesis

When and Where Everything you do in business requires synthesis• Marketing• Accounting• Production• Information systems• Economics• Human Capital• Logistics

The Working Poor: Writing Assignment

(All Options): Analyze your beliefs AND

(Option 1) Summarize and respond to a current event topic article OR

(Option 2) Attend, summarize, and respond to one of the presentations

OR

(Option 3) Read, summarize, and respond to the book

Analyze your beliefs (Section 1 – All Options)

This is the introduction and you may begin this introduction by the following:

My father has always instilled in me the value of hard work. He and my mother both worked hard, and they instilled into my sister and me that hard work is the key to success. While I have known poor people in my life, I have always thought that they were poor because they didn’t work hard or that they were not able to manage their money. I believe that in order to be successful, you must study hard in school and then work hard at the job that you get and that will insure your success and keep you from being poor.

Current Event (Section 2 – Option 1)While I have strong opinions about how people succeed, I was shocked by what one journalists, John Doe, from the NYT reported. In his article, “Professional People on Skid Row.” Doe claims that 32% of people on skid row are there because of their jobs being outsourced. Once these men and women lost their jobs, they were unable to get new ones because of the economy. Many lost their homes, their cars, and in some cases their children. What surprised me the most is that many have been on skid row for over ten years, which means they are not likely to find an employer who will take a risk on them after being out of the work force for so long. Doe suggested that more social programs gear their efforts toward assisting the long-term-unemployed in resume writing skills, providing interview clothes for him or her to wear, and maybe the government could provide tax incentives to companies that hire long term unemployed. I haven’t thought that people who are unemployed are not unemployed by choice. Jobs are scarce and the tables are stacked against minority groups, long term unemployed, and people who are really, really old. Sometimes the government has to step in and do something.

Presentation (Section 2 – Option 2) I have never considered that finding work involved more than a good resume and an education, so when I attended the presentation, “Re-entering the Job Market,” by Dr. Smith, I found that there are circumstances that make job searching difficult for some. Smith’s purpose was to educate everyone about the plight of the long-term-unemployed. He explained that there are thousands of people who were laid off because of various reasons such as outsourcing, plants closing, sickness, and many other reasons. Evans wants everyone to get involved in our communities so that we can not only provide services like resume writing to the unemployed, but that we should put pressure on our local and state governments to provide incentives to businesses that hire long-term-unemployed. After attending the presentation, I realize that there are numerous reasons for being unemployed and sometimes you can be a really hard worker and unforeseen occurrences like outsourcing and a bad economy can put you in a situation that becomes almost impossible for you to get out of without government and community intervention. I realize it can happen to anyone.

The Book (Section 2 – Option 3)The third option is for you to match your own “world view” with what the author writes in

his book. You might begin your second paragraph with the following:

In David Shipler’s book, The Working Poor, I learned that people who work hard are still poor. This is antithetical to what I believe. I realize that there are certain jobs that…

Responding to a Text•What was the response—usually emotional

1. Sadness2. Fear3. Empathy4. Disbelief5. Happiness6. Relief

How to create a foot noteTo insert a foot note, follow the instructions:• Click on the word where the foot note will

be used (even if the foot note is for the entire sentence, you will click on the last word

• Click on References

Footnote• After you click on References, you will see Insert Footnote, click

Type the information in footnoted space at the bottom of the page.

First you must

• Read

Next you must

• Annotate

~Paraphrase~Summary

~Quotation

SummaryAn overview of a larger work, encompasses main ideas, but does not go into detail.

•What is the thesis of The Working Poor?•What are the main arguments to back that up?•Are there any major examples without which the text would fall apart? •What is the final conclusion?

ParaphraseExplaing ideas and evidence from another source in your own words.

1. Read 2. Restate in your own words

3.Compare

•

Quotations

~Copying material word-for-word.~Always use quotation marks around a direct quotation

“The migrants, so essential to America,

journey along its edge, touching its

wealth as a tangent touches a circle,

never penetrating, never looking out

from inside.” (Shipler, p.120).

TransitionsMove through the evidence by using

transitions:

For example In addition to Moreover Also

First

Walton College Writing Center