Write a 3-5 page double-spaced Response Paper that responds to ONE of the reading assignments by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Margaret Atwood, or Angela Carter. Give a creative title and use the same formatting as for your other papers. No cover sheet, works cited page or footnotes are necessary. Keep it lively and focused!!
THE COVERED WORKS ARE LISTED BELOW:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), “The Yellow Wallpaper,” NALW, Vol. 1, 1388-1404
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), “Sweat,” and “How it Feels to Be Colored Me,” NALW, Vol. 2, 347-360
Toni Morrison (1931-), Introduction and “Recitatif,” NALW, Vol. 2, 994-1009
Sandra Cisneros (1954-), “Woman Hollering Creek,” NALW, Vol. 2, 1399-1408
Margaret Atwood (1939-)：“There Was Once;” “The Little Red Hen Tells All,” NALW, Vol. 2, 1217-1220，“Rape Fantasies,” NALW, Vol. 2, 1203-1204, 1210-1217
Angela Carter (1940-1992): Carter, “The Company of Wolves,” NALW, Vol. 2, 1220-1228，
For those of you who prefer to write a creative response/adaptation to one of the stories we have read, please include a one-page (double-spaced) report and place it at the end of your creative adaptation/response. This should be a CRITICAL EVALUATION or ASSESSMENT of your creative response. Questions to consider: How does your adaptation engage with the themes and narrative style of the story? What did you learn in the process of composition? Give a creative title for your creative adaptation/response and use the same formatting as for your other papers.
Papers are due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 4/26. You must also upload your paper to Turnitin before you come to class.
************************************************************************************What is a Response Paper?
- A response paper allows you the freedom to use the first person, or “I,” to respond to what you have read; it also allows you the space to experiment with placing your topic in various contexts.
A response paper asks you to locate a passage, detail, character or situation/issue in the assigned readings you think is particularly interesting, revealing or important, and why. It then asks you to analyze what you have found. You can talk about your initial reaction to the text but you are also expected to explain HOW you found a way to think about and understand what you are writing about. In other words, it is not asking you for your gut-level judgment. If you write, “The Awakening was irritating,” this response is too broad and too dismissive. It is not analytical and it does not trace the reaction back to what triggered it.
- So if you find yourself writing a list of what you like and agree with or what you don’t like or agree with, this does not satisfy the challenge of this paper. A response paper is not an invitation to assert your points of view without reflecting on them, and it is not the place to substitute your own experiences for those you have read.
To write an effective response essay that is also analytical, keep in mind the following guidelines:
- When you’re preparing your essay, take careful notes on the text(s). Highlighting is not a good way to take notes. You should write on a separate piece of paper not only what the narrator of the story is doing but how you are responding to it. What are your thoughts about what you are reading?
- Then when you write your paper, focus on either a key detail, specific textual passage, author’s use of language, an interesting moment, issue, or conflict that you find compelling and want to talk about throughout your paper.
- Do not spend time summarizing the plot. Assume your reader already knows the story or stories but needs precise reminders.
- Go right to the heart of your response and always trace your response back to the cause.
- Be specific at all times. Avoid all generalizations that do not give your reader a clear idea of what you are responding to. Focus on specific details that led you to react in the way that you do.
- Feel free to include personal experiences/thoughts/anecdotes if and when they are relevant to the text you are responding to.
- Ask questions, even if you are not sure of the answers. Questions can lead to interesting points that need explaining.
- Be creative! Let your mind stretch and think about things you have not thought about before.
