Reader’s Response Essay

Reader’s Response essay : “Freewriting Exercises” by Peter Elbow

Elbow, Peter. “Freewriting Exercises.” Writing without Teachers.
New York: Oxford UP, 1973. 3-11.

Essay #1: Summary and Response

1) Read the article “Freewriting Exercises” by Peter Elbow—link provided in eCampus.

Requirements:

· Include an MLA Works Cited with Elbow’s bibliographic information.

· Your essay must be between 1.5 and 2 pages long (works cited not included).

·

Important: Your essay must be completed in 2 paragraphs

· Summarize “Freewriting Exercises” in one paragraph.

· Give your response (also known as the reflection) in a second paragraph.

The Summary:

· Refer to the “Guidelines for Summary Writing.” Remember to write in the literary present.

· Write the summary in your own words, remembering to be aware of your bias, giving the argument its own space to breathe, while still shaping it so that you can easily respond to the parts that were most interesting to you.

· Do not use quotes.

The Reaction:

· The response section of your essay is the place for opinion and can take many forms: agreeing, disagreeing or a bit of both.

· You can also identify how your life reflects or does not connect to the arguments in Elbow’s article.

· Some questions to consider:

· What did you know before reading the article and what does the new information do for you?

· Did you learn something? What is your newly synthesized knowledge?

· Was there something that you needed more information on that wasn’t available in the article?

· Did you agree with the author? Why or why not?

· How does the information matter to the average reader?

· How can someone relate to this article?

· Why is the information presented important?

*Note: these questions are to help guide your reaction/reflection. It is in your best interest not to answer these questions as “matter of fact” or to fill in the blank. Again, use these questions as a guide to help you form a response that is unique to your experiences.