Response Paper

A response or reaction paper is a bit of a twist on a formal review of a book, artwork, or article, because response papers are written from the first person point of view, which simply means that you can and should use phrases? like “I thought” and “I believe” when reviewing.?

1. Read and Respond

Copyright Grace Fleming

In a response paper, you do assess the item you’ve been assigned to observe, but you add your personal reaction and impressions to the report.

The steps for completing a reaction or response paper are:

• Observe or read the piece for an initial understanding
• Re-read the piece and stop to reflect often
• Record your thoughts and impressions in notes
• Develop a thesis
• Write an outline
• Construct your essay

2. The First Paragraph

Copyright Grace Fleming

Once you have established an outline for your paper, you'll need to craft an essay using the basic elements of every strong essay, including a strong introductory sentence.

In the case of a reaction paper, the first senetence should contain the title of the object to which you are responding, and the name of the author.

The last sentence of your introductory papragraph should contain a thesis statement.

3. Stating Your Opinion

Copyright Grace Fleming

There's no need to feel shy about expressing your own opinion in a position paper, even though it may seem strange to write "I feel" or "I believe" in an essay. The instructor is actually looking for this.

In the sample here, the writer does a good job of analyzing and comparing the plays, but also manages to express personal reactions.

4. Sample Statements

A response paper could address any type of work, from a piece of art or a film to a book. When writing a response paper, you can include statements like the following:

• I felt that
• In my opinion
• The reader can conclude that
• The author seems to
• I did not like
• The images seemed to
• The author was [was not] successful in making me feel
• I was especially moved by
• I didn't get the connection between
• It was clear that the artist was trying to
• The sound track seemed too
• My favorite part was...because

You can think of a response paper as a review that is part analysis and part opinion.

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How to Study Spanish

Some Spanish words sound just like other words, and they're spelled pretty much the same, too. The only difference is that an accent distinguishes one from the other. The image above shows a list of these words. To memorize them, just print up a list of words without accents.

Then, write in your own accent marks in freehand, as you say the meaning out loud. This is a good combination of visual, auditory, and tactile learning.

More Spanish Homework Tips:

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Why Math Is Difficult

In 2005, Gallup conducted a poll that asked students to name the school subject that they considered to be the most difficult. Not surprisingly, mathematics came out on top of the difficulty chart. So what is it about math that makes it difficult? Have you ever wondered?

Dictionary.com defines the word difficult as “not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully.”

This definition gets to the crux of the problem when it comes to math—specifically the statement that a difficult task is one that is not “readily” done. The thing that makes math difficult for many students is that it takes patience and persistence. For many students, math is not something that comes intuitively or automatically, with little effort. It is a subject that sometimes requires students to devote lots and lots of time and energy. This means, for many, the problem has little to do with brain power; it is mostly a matter of staying power.

And in this world of instant gratification, when we can quickly find answers to our deepest questions and solutions to our most vexing problems with a fast Google search, patience is a big problem.

Math and Brain Types

But there is also an element of brain power in the big picture, according to many scientists. There will always be opposing views on any topic, and the process of human learning is subject to debate, just like any other topic. But many theorists believe that some people are wired with better math skills than other students. According to some brain science scholars, logical, left-brain thinkers tend to have stronger math ability than artistic, intuitive, right-brainers. So left-brain dominant students may grasp concepts quickly while right-brain dominant students don’t.

But in a culture where students are already short on patients and persistence—extra time just isn’t going to happen. So we move on, ready or not.

Math as a Cumulative Discipline

Math know-how is cumulative, which means it works much like a stack of building blocks. You have to gain understanding in one area before you can effectively go on to “build upon” another area. Our first mathematical building blocks are established in primary school, when we learn rules for addition and multiplication, and those first concepts comprise our foundation.

The next building blocks come in middle school, when students first learn about formulas and operations. This information has to sink in and become “firm” before students can move on to enlarge this framework of knowledge.

The big problem starts to appear sometime between middle school and high school, because students very often move on to a new grade or new subject before they’re really ready. Students who earn a “C” in middle school have absorbed and understood about half of what they should, but they move on anyway. They move on or are moved on, because

1. they think a C is good enough;
2. parents don’t realize that moving on without a full understanding poses a big problem for high school and college;
3. teachers don’t have time and energy enough to ensure that every single student understands every single concept.

So students move to the next level with a really shaky foundation. And the outcome of any shaky foundation is that there will be a serious limitation when it comes to building—and real potential for complete failure at some point.

Making Math Less Difficult

We have established a few things when it comes to math and difficulty:

• Math seems difficult because it takes time and energy.
• Many people aren’t patient enough to give math time and energy, and they become satisfied “just getting by.”
• Many move on to study more complex concepts with a shaky foundation.
• We often end up with a weak structure that is doomed to collapse at some point.

Although this may sound like bad news, it is really good news. The fix is pretty easy—if we’re patient enough!

No matter where you are in your math studies, you can excel if you backtrack far enough to reinforce your foundation. You must fill in the holes with a deep understanding of the basic concepts you encountered in middle school math.

• If you’re in middle school right now, do not attempt to move on until you understand pre-algebra concepts fully. Get a tutor if necessary.
• If you’re in high school and struggling with math, download a middle school math syllabus or hire a tutor. Make sure you understand every single concept and activity that is covered in middle grades.
• If you’re in college, backtrack all the way to basic math and work forward. This won’t take as long as it sounds. You can work forward through years of math in a week or two.

No matter where you start and where you struggle, you must make sure you acknowledge any weak spots in your foundation and fill, fill, fill the holes with practice and understanding!

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Nominate Your School for a $50,000 Grant

Would you like to win a $50,000 grant for your school? The Clorox Company is hosting the Power A Bright Future program, which will enable students to do just that.

Students are invited to nominate a school and explain how it could use $50,000 for improvement. You have a few more weeks to nominate before voting begins in October.

This is a great opportunity for you and your school!

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5 Bad Study Habits

Have you ever wondered how you can bomb a test after studying for hours? A poor test result after many hours of faithful studying is a real confidence buster!

If this happens to you, it’s possible that your current study habits are failing you! But you can turn it around.

The process of learning is still a little mysterious, but studies do show that the most effective process for studying involves highly active behavior over a period of time. In other words, to study effectively, you must read, draw, compare, memorize, and test yourself over time.

The following study habits are least helpful when used alone.

1. Taking linear notes

Linear notes are lecture notes that students take when they attempt to write down every word of a lecture. Linear notes occur when a student tries to write every word a lecturer says in sequence, like writing a rambling essay with no paragraphs.

You may be wondering: How can it be bad to capture every word of a lecture?

It’s not bad to capture every word of a lecture, but it is bad to think you’re studying effectively if you don’t mess with your linear notes in some way. You must revisit your linear notes and make relationships from one section to another. You should draw arrows from one related word or concept to another, and make a lot of notes and examples in the margins.

Solution: To reinforce information and to make it sink in, you must also recreate all your class notes in another form. You have to revisit the information and put it all into a chart or shrinking?outline.

Right before every ?new lecture, you should review your notes from days past and predict the next day’s material. You should reflect and make relationships between key concepts before you sit down for? a new lecture.

You should prepare for your exams by creating a fill-in-the-blank test from your notes.?

2. Highlighting the book

Are you guilty of highlighter abuse? Reckless highlighting is the root cause for many bad test grades!

Bright colors on a page make a big visual impact, so it seems like a lot of good studying is going on when you read and highlight.

Highlighting does make important information stand out on a page, but that doesn’t do you? much good if you don’t do something active with that information. Reading highlighted words again and again is not active enough.

Solution: Use the information you highlight to create a practice exam. Put highlighted words onto flashcards and practice until you know every term and concept. Identify key concepts and use them to create practice essay questions.

You should also develop a color-coded highlighting strategy. Highlight new words in one color and new concepts in another, for example. You could also highlight separate topics according to a color code for more impact.

3. Rewriting notes

Students rewrite notes under the assumption that repetition is good for memorization. Repetition is valuable as a first step, but it’s not that effective all alone.

You should rewrite your notes in the shrinking outline method, but follow up with self-testing methods.

Solution: Switch class notes with a classmate and create a practice exam from his/her notes. Exchange practice exams to test each other. Repeat this process a few times until you are comfortable with the material.

4. Rereading the chapter

Students are often encouraged to re-read a chapter on the night before an exam to reinforce what they’ve learned. Rereading is a good tactic as a last step.

Just like the other study habits mentioned above, rereading is only one part of a puzzle.

Solution: Make sure to use active steps like charts, shrinking outlines, and practice tests and follow up with rereading your chapter.

5. Memorizing definitions

Students spend a lot of time using flashcards to memorize definitions. This is a good study method, as long as it’s a first step in the process of learning. As students progress through the grade levels, they are expected to progress in cognitive skills.

Once you've exited middle school, you can't expect to do well on an exam by memorizing the definitions to terms. You must learn to memorize a definition and then define the significance of the new vocabulary terms you encounter. If you're in high school or college, you should be prepared to explain how terms are relevant in the subject, compare them to similar concepts, and explain why they matter at all.

Here's a real life example:

1. In middle school you might learn to memorize the definition of propaganda.
2. In high school you might encounter this as a term, but you'll need to memorize the definition and learn to recognize propaganda materials from World War II and other times.
3. In college you should be able to define propaganda, come up with examples from the past and from today, and explain how propaganda has affected different societies at different times.

Solution: Once you have memorized the definitions of your terms, give yourself a short essay practice test. Make sure you are able to define a term and explain why it is significant. Be able to compare and contrast your term to something or someone of similar significance.

The act of testing and retesting yourself somehow makes the information stick.

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Top Tips for Managing Time

Good time management skills can help students increase their grades and improve their overall school work performance. By learning to complete assignments on time every time, students will have a better classroom experience. Discover which tips are right for you.

1. Use a Task Diary

Do you find yourself rushing to complete your homework assignment at the last moment? Are you always starting your homework when you're supposed to be going to bed? The root of this common problem may be time management. This easy exercise will help you identify the tasks or habits that take time away from your studies and help you develop more healthy homework habits.

2. Use a Day Planner

"The assignment is due when? Tomorrow?"

We've all been there at some point. Somehow, that assignment due date just slipped right up on us without our noticing.

That is why organizational skills are so important to school performance. Who can afford to score a big fat "0" on a paper just because we got lazy and didn't pay attention to the due date? Who wants to get an "F" because we forgot to put our completed project in our book bag the night before it was due?

3. Send Yourself Reminders

If you have a Yahoo! account or another email system, you can use the free calendar feature to organize your homework. You will be able to enter each assignment as you receive it, make notes, and receive reminders as each due date approaches. It's easy to use and it's fun!

4. Understand Procrastination

Procrastination is like a little white lie we tell ourselves. We think we’ll feel better if we do something fun, like watch a TV show, instead of studying or reading. But when we give in to the urge we always feel worse in the long run, not better.

5. Try Backward Planning

If you're like many students, you sometimes have trouble getting started on a project, because the end result seems so far away and impossible to reach. Sometimes when you start out with an idea and a blank sheet of paper and look into the future, all you see is lots and lots of unfinished research, reading, planning, and work. Next time try starting at the end and looking backward!

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10 Great Study Habits

It is never too late to develop great study habits. If you're starting a new school year, or you just want to improve your grades and school performance, take a look at this list of good habits and start making some changes in your routine.

1. Write Down Every Assignment

The most logical place to write down your assignments is in a planner, but you might prefer to keep a to-do list in a simple notebook or in your cell phone note pad. It doesn't really matter what tool you use, but it is absolutely essential to your success to write down every single assignment, due date, test date, and task.

2. Remember to Bring Your Homework to School

It sounds simple enough, but many F's come from students forgetting to bring a perfectly good paper to school with them. Does your homework have a home? Is there a special place where you always put your paperwork each night? To avoid forgetting your homework, you must establish a strong homework routine with a special homework station where you work each night. Then you must get in the habit of putting your homework where it belongs right after you finish it, whether this is in a special folder on your desk or in your backpack.

3. Communicate With Your Teacher

Every successful relationship is built upon clear communication. A student-teacher relationship is no different. Miscommunication is another one of those factors that can cause bad grades, despite good efforts on your part. At the end of the day, make sure you understand every assignment that's expected of you. Imagine getting a bad grade on a 5-page paper because you didn't understand the difference between an expository essay and a personal essay.

Be sure to ask questions and find out what format you should use when you write a paper or what type of questions might appear on your history exam. The more questions you ask, the more prepared you'll be.

4. Organize With Color

Devise your own color-coding system to keep your assignments and your thoughts organized. You may select a single color for each class (like science or history) and use that color for your folder, your highlighters, your sticky notes, and your pens. You'll be surprised to discover how much strong organization skills can change your life!

Color-coding is also a tool to use when conducting research. For example, you should always keep several colors of sticky flags on hand when you're reading a book for school. Assign a specific color the every topic of interest. Place a flag on a page containing information you will need to study or to cite. It works like magic!

5. Establish a Study Zone at Home

Take the time to assess your individual style and your real needs and plan for the perfect study place. After all, if you can’t concentrate, you certainly can’t expect to learn very well. Students are different. Some need a completely quiet room free from interruptions when they study, but others actually study better listening to quiet music in the background or taking several breaks.

Find a place to study that fits your specific personality and learning style. Then stock your study space with school supplies that will help you avoid last-minute emergencies.

6. Prepare Yourself for Test Days

You know that it's important to study for test days, right? But there are other things you should consider in addition to the actual material that the test will cover. What if you show up for test day and the room is freezing cold? For many students, this would cause enough of a distraction to interrupt concentration. That leads to bad choices and bad answers. Plan ahead for heat or cold by layering your clothing.

And what happens when you spend so much time on one essay question that you don't have enough time to finish the exam? Another way to prepare for test day is to take a watch and be mindful of time management.

7. Know Your Dominant Learning Style

Many students will struggle in a subject without understanding why. Sometimes this is because students don't understand how to study in a way that matches their brain style.

Auditory learners are those who learn best through hearing things. Visual learners retain more information when they use visual aids, and tactile learners benefit by doing hands-on projects.

Every student should examine and evaluate their habits and their natural tendencies and decide how they might be able to improve their study habits by tapping into their personal strengths.

8. Take Fabulous Notes

There are a few tricks to taking fabulous notes that really help when it comes to studying. If you’re visual person, you should make as many doodles on your paper as you can. Useful doodles, that is. As soon as you realize that once topic relates to another, comes before another, is the opposite of another, or has any kind of connection to another—draw a picture that makes sense to you. Sometimes the information will not sink in until and unless you see it in an image.

There are also certain code words to look out for in a lecture that can indicate that your teacher is giving you the relevance or the context of an event. Learn to recognize key words and phrases that your teacher deems important.

9. Conquer Procrastination

When you put things off a lot, you end up putting things off until it's too late from time to time. It's that simple. When you procrastinate, you take the chance that nothing will go wrong at the last minute--but in the real world, things do go wrong.

So how can you battle the urge to put things off? Start with trying to recognize that a feisty little voice that lives inside every one of us. It tells us it would be more fun to play a game, eat, or watch TV when we know better. Don’t fall for it!

10. Take Care of Yourself

Some of your personal habits might be affecting your grades. Are you feeling tired, achy, or bored when it comes to homework time? You can change your grades by practicing a few healthy homework habits. Change the way you feel by taking better care of your mind and your body.

For example, between text messaging, Sony PlayStations, Xbox, Internet surfing, and computer writing, students are using their hand muscles in all new ways, and they're growing increasingly susceptible to the hazards of repetitive stress injury. Find out how to avoid pain in your hands and neck by changing the way you sit at your computer.

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