Genre Overview: 

A reading response isn’t really a genre. Instead it’s a type of writing that you will engage with in the composition classroom. Similar to creative writing, it is a style of writing that includes many sub-genres, the most common being literary analysis. For that reason, this chapter focuses on literary analysis, but the suggestions offered here are equally useful for reading response reports, rhetorical analysis, critical analysis, or a comparative analysis of a text.

A reading response is a type of academic writing in which you will express your personal reactions, interpretations, and analyses of a given text. This genre allows you to engage critically with the material, reflect on your understanding, and articulate your thoughts and feelings about the reading.

Driven by analysis, synthesis, and direct engagement with quotes and examples from the text, a reading response as a genre analyzes the text, considering its themes, characters, plot, and literary techniques. In a reading response, you will evaluate the effectiveness of the author's arguments, style, and overall impact and include support through specific examples and quotations from the text.

Genre in Action: 

Reading response is the examination and interpretation of a piece of literature to understand its deeper meanings, themes, and implications.

This type of analysis can be simply summarizing the plot, responding to a specific prompt, reviewing a text, or close reading of the text to provide a thoughtful, critical evaluation of its various elements. A reading response has many purposes. Reading analysis can: deepen understanding to help readers delve into the complexities of a text, uncovering its multiple layers of meaning and significance; develop critical thinking skills to evaluate and interpret information rigorously and thoughtfully; enhance appreciation through detailed examination to foster a greater appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship of literary works; and contribute to scholarly discussion to add to the broader conversation about literature, offering new interpretations and insights that contribute to academic discourse.

There are a few ways to start a reading response, but first you need to deeply read and understand the text or piece at hand. 

Before you start writing, you will want to engage in the following pre-writing activities: 

1. Read and Annotate the Text. Carefully read the text you plan to analyze. If possible, read it multiple times to fully understand its themes, characters, and nuances. As you read, annotate the text by highlighting important passages, making notes in the margins, and marking any elements that stand out to you (such as recurring symbols, significant dialogues, or notable stylistic choices).

2. Determine the central themes of the text. What are the main messages or ideas the author is trying to convey? Analyze the main characters. Consider their motivations, relationships, development, and significance within the text. Identify the literary devices the author uses, such as imagery, symbolism, metaphors, irony, or foreshadowing. How do these devices enhance the text? Examine the structure of the text. How is it organized, and how does this organization affect the overall meaning?

3. Develop a Thesis Statement. Based on your observations, develop a clear, concise thesis statement that presents your main argument. Your thesis should answer a specific question about the text and provide a roadmap for your analysis.

4. Gather Evidence. Choose specific quotes, passages, and examples from the text that support your thesis. Make sure each piece of evidence is relevant and directly supports your argument. Organize your evidence logically. You might group it by theme, character, or literary device, depending on what best supports your thesis.

5. Outline Your Analysis. Draft an outline that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of your argument and include textual evidence and analysis.

Reading response is a dynamic process that enhances our understanding and appreciation of literature by uncovering its deeper meanings and exploring its artistic techniques. By engaging in close reading, thematic analysis, and the evaluation of literary devices, you will develop critical thinking skills and deepen your insights into the complexities of literary works

Remember--reading response is a wide genre. Sometimes your instructor will ask you to conduct a literary analysis. Sometimes your instructor will ask you to respond to a specific question or prompt about a text. Sometimes the text you are analyzing will be multimodal or in a different medium, and if it is, you must also take into consideration the medium and design elements of the piece. 

Genre in Practice:

Free Write

1. After reading this text, what is the most impactful, memorable, and meaningful moments from this text? What do I still remember and why?

2. What perspective do I bring to literature based on my background and experience? What is the lens that I read texts through? How is my perspective on literature unique and why? 

3. Identify a key theme in the literary work and free write about how it is developed throughout the text. Consider different scenes, characters, and symbols that contribute to this theme.

4. Select a significant symbol or image from the text and free write about its meaning and its impact on the overall narrative or message of the work.

5. Compare and contrast two characters, themes, or symbols from the text. Free write about their similarities, differences, and the insights gained from this comparison.

Mini Activity: Concept Maps

During this activity, you will begin to think about the text as a whole. The purpose of this activity is to begin to analyze a text’s characters and themes through relation instead of as independent constructions.

Step 1: In 10 minutes, free write about the following questions.  What your expectations when you picked this book up? What did you think the book was about, and how did you categorize the genre of the text? How were your expectations met or subverted? Now, after reading the first section, how do you categorize the genre of the text?

Step 2:  Pair-share your answers and prepare to discuss the genre and categorization of the chosen text.

Step 3:  Have three sections on the board: 1) Genre 2) Characters 3) Major Themes/Myths

Ask students to define the genre of the chosen text then transition into a conversation about characters. What characters are present in this text? What are their names/characteristics? Are any of the characters ever described? Why is this important? How does this text introduce characters uniquely or differently from other novels or poems they have read?

Step 4:  Concepts Maps. Break up students into four groups. Ask each group to develop a concept map on each board generating ideas about the connections between characters (identifying their characteristics) and mythos. Write page numbers from formative sections in the text as needed. Have 2 people from each group explain/present each board. 

Step 5: As a class (if there is time) discuss differences and similarities between the concept maps.

Questions to Ask AI

1. What are the features of a strong and argumentative thesis statement for a literary analysis? 

2. What is the uneven u theory for academic writing? 

3. How can I integrate quotes into my writing? 

4. What are examples of strong critical verbs that I can use to introduce quotes and evidence in my academic writing? 

5. What are the conventions of academic writing? 

6. Can you help me improve the structure of my literary analysis

7. Can you provide feedback on my literary analysis? 

8. What is the difference between a reading response and a literary analysis? 

9. How can I ensure my argument for my literary analysis is unique? 

10. What is an example of a strong literary argument?