Write an essay that develops a focused thesis with meaningful and relevant body paragraphs.

Introduction

This assignment allows you to demonstrate that you have met the following learning objectives for this unit:

Apply reading strategies, such as annotation and reflection, to fiction
Apply reader-response theory to relate ideas, information, and “gaps” in a text to personal experience, knowledge, and/or other texts
Write an essay that develops a focused thesis with meaningful and relevant body paragraphs
Write in your own authentic voice and with an awareness of tone, word choice, and clarity
Background

Reader-response theory focuses the reading experience on the act of creation, the meaning that readers create as their individual experiences and knowledge interact with the stream of words on the page. For this reason, reader-response theory functions under the reality that no one will have the same reading of a text as another. Reader-response theory asks writers to explore how their experiences and knowledge shape their understanding of a text. Writers do this with an awareness of their particular process of reading and thinking and how their experience of reading shapes their thoughts and interpretations from the beginning to the middle and to the end. They pay attention to the “gaps” in the story, what is not stated, and how their experiences and imagination “fill in” what does not necessarily appear in the text but are very much a part of the story.

You have read and annotated the novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor with an awareness of the reading strategies reader-response theory offer, which informed your annotations of the novella and your reflections in the discussion board assignments. Now is the time to develop your reflections into a cohesive essay that applies reader-response theory to Binti.

Essay Prompt

Write an essay with an introduction, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion that applies reader-response theory to your reading of Binti by Nnedi Okorafor.

Writing a reader-response essay is not like writing other response essays because, unlike a general response paper, a reader-response essay pays particular attention to the personalized act and experience of reading a certain text. It does this in many ways, but for the most part it focuses on how the assumptions, thoughts, and mindset of the reader (meaning you) evolved while reading the text from beginning to end. It illustrates this process by identifying and discussing the “gaps” in the story, the unexplained details or missing parts of the story that require the reader to draw on their own knowledge, experience, and imagination to “fill in” the details and parts of the story that go unstated. It also illustrates this process through relating how the reader’s experiences and knowledge helped to visualize or come to a unique understanding of a complex concept, scene, descriiption, or any other problematic or intricate aspect or element of the story. It should also be noted that reader-response papers pay close attention to the authenticity of language; given the emphasis on reader experience, there is an expectation to express this experience through a personalized language that achieves clarity of expression through tone and word choice that is true to the reader’s identities.

Watch the video below for further discussion and explanation of the essay prompt:

Requirements

Your paper must include:

an opening that gets the reader interested in the author’s overall essay idea or concept, provides background information or basic context (such as a brief summary of the story), and a thesis statement that reflects the idea(s) that the body of the paper will develop.
Four well-organized and developed body paragraphs that provide clear topic sentences, accurate context, descriiption, and/or details from the story, and thoughtful discussion that incorporates the reader’s experience, knowledge, and insight.
integration of quotes and/or paraphrases from Binti–with page number(s) cited at the end of the sentence, like this (49).
a conclusion that sums up the ideas discussed in your essay and offers the reader something interesting to reflect on
Your paper must be:

in MLA format.
free of any major grammatical and topographical errors.
A current example of completely your own work for this class and assignment
Around 1500 words (about 4 pages)
Length & Grading

This essay must be around 1500 words (about 4 pages) and is worth 135 points.

Citing Sources

Citing sources in academic work is a skill that may take time to master. As you are using a source (Binti), you may have many questions about when you should cite your source, and how that source should be cited. I’ll work hard to help you learn how to cite your sources, and in return, I ask that you work hard to note your sources–we’ll work on the format together. Please be sure to always note where your ideas came from.

Length & Grading

This essay must be around 1500 words (about 4 pages) and is worth 135 points.

Disclaimer

Papers with content generated by ChatGPT or other AI content generator, all or in part, can not receive credit. Neither can papers that contain plagiarized material from Google or other online or print sources including another student’s work, whether this material is paraphrased or directly copied. See the LPC Academic IntegrityLinks to an external site. Statement and resources, as well as our course syllabus, for further information.

Success Resources

Reading and Writing (RAW) Center: Tutoring by LPC English and ESL Professors!
RAW Self-Paced Tutorials: Reading, Writing, and Preventing Plagiarism!
Smart Shops: Weekly LPC workshops focused on discreet college success skills (not available during summer semester)
LPC Library Databases & Research Tutorials: Conduct research, get help with citations, and more!
Purdue Online Writing Lab: Documentation Style Guide
Disability Resource Center: Make sure your learning accommodations are in place!

This unit focuses on the elements of fiction and applying the concepts of reader-response theory to the novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Applying reader-response theory supports the development of critical thinking and confidence in reading, thinking, and writing, as it centers analysis on the reader experience, eliminating pressures to “seek out correct answers” or read and interpret a text in a particular, fixed way. By anchoring our interpretation of a story in our own knowledge and experiences we are led to an original, in-depth, and insightful analysis. When applied with intention, reader-response theory can reveal underlining and real-world perspectives and experiences that speak to larger events and social phenomenon that would not otherwise be shared or taken note of.

Thesis Statement Examples

To get you started with deciding on the focus of your essay and generating ideas, I’ve provided a list of example thesis statements below, which were crafted by students in previous semesters. Please note that these examples apply reader-response theory to a different novel than what you have read for this class.

Example 1
Student Essay Title: A Personal Journey through Time
Student Thesis: The way the novel Adua interweaves the themes of time, trauma, and generational perspectives forces the reader to reflect on how their own experiences shape who they are today and also how their behaviors can affect other people.
Example 2

Student Essay Title: The Reader’s Imagination Tells a Story All On Its Own
Student Thesis: The novel Adua intentionally leaves out information and memories of its main characters so that readers have the opportunity to imagine how they could have felt or what they could have gone through to get where they are at. Sometimes the imagination is more powerful than words.
Example 3

Title: Literature Through the Lens of a Reader: How Text is Dynamic
Thesis: As the story progresses, the reader’s perception and interpretation of the character Zoppe changes drastically and demonstrates that the active-reading phenomenon is psychologically unique to the reader.
Important Resources

Essay 1 Prompt
Reader-Response Student Essay Example
Reader-Response Theories
Additional Resources

MLA Formatting Guide from the Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab: MLA formatting guide with a sample paper formatted in MLA!
Reading and Writing (RAW) Center: (Links to an external site.) Reading and writing tutoring by LPC English and ESL Professors!
RAW Self-Paced Tutorials: (Links to an external site.)(Check out “Reading Help” tutorials)
Smart Shops: (Links to an external site.) Weekly LPC workshops focused on discreet college success skills (check out the “Silent Reading” workshop)
Disability Resource Center (Links to an external site.): Make sure your learning accommodations are in place!

Review & Reflect

Once you have a rough idea for your thesis, you can begin to investigate it by reviewing your annotations, notes, and the story to determine the scenes, details, quotes (“golden lines”), and “gaps’ in the story necessary to explore your thesis idea. You should also review your reflections on the discussion board assignments for Binti, as well as any feedback you got from other students. Looking up unfamiliar details referenced in the story and reflecting on their significance to the story and how your perspective possibly changes as a result is also a good strategy. Ultimately, taking some time to also reflect in writing on how the content you identified adds to your reading process and the evolving insight and ideas that result is a necessary preliminary step to take before you move on to actively visualize how to organize this information and insight into a writing plan.

Organize your Ideas and Support into a Writing Plan

Consider the ideas you generated through reviewing and reflecting on the story and your work thus far. Follow up on your work by organizing your ideas and support into a writing plan or outline. By taking the time to organize what you have already produced for your essay, you will be more equipped to know what more you need to add and/or refine.

You can create your writing plan in any manner that fits your purposes and individual writing process–a traditional outline, a graphic organizer or other visual representation of the parts of your essay, a mix of drafting and bullet-listed information or simply organized notes on the book and your essay ideas. However you choose to plan your essay, be sure that you include a tentative thesis statement, the main points or topics for your body paragraphs, and your ideas for support and discussion for each body paragraph. Below are some important tips for your writing plan:

Make sure your thesis and main points align with the focus of the essay prompt; for this paper, you are applying reader-response theory to your reading of Binti. See Reading Task: Reader-Response Theories as well as Reading Task: Essay 1 Focus and Thesis Examples
Plan to write four body paragraphs and include ideas for both support and discussion for each body paragraph
Noting the page numbers for the quotes (“golden lines”) you use from the story will save you time down the line so you don’t have to look them up later when actually writing your paper
Your writing plan does not need to be perfect. Consider it as a form of a “first draft.” Once you have it done, you can add, change, reorganize as you actually start drafting your paper.
You should create your writing plan in a way that best accommodates your learning style to help you think deeply about and visualize the organization and content of your essay.
Again, you can plan your essay as you like and in any way that is most beneficial to you. However, below is an outline template that you can use, which many students find helpful; keep in mind that the template offers a generic format for your paper and that you can alter this format to fit the needs of your specific paper.

Outline Worksheet for Reader-Response Paper in Word
Outline Worksheet for Reader-Response Paper in PDF
Important Resources

Essay 1 Prompt
Reader-Response Student Essay Example
Reader-Response Theories
Additional Resources

Discussions can only have one due date in Canvas. I picked Thursday as the Canvas due date for this assignment. Please make sure to complete and post your working plan by then. Please complete your two peer reviews no later than Saturday.

You have been assigned to a group for this discussion. Click “reply” below to participate as you normally would. Group discussions take you to a Canvas area that is specific to your group. You are no longer in our class shell. To get back to our class, use the “Courses” tab in the menu.

Introduction

Peer Review is an essential component of this course. It is an opportunity for you to demonstrate and apply your critical reading skills in a constructive way, helping your peers improve their writing and reasoning while gaining insight into the expectations of the assignment. The goal for reviewing outlines is to evaluate organization, development, and focus early in the writing process, and to give and receive constructive commentary that will work to improve these key components. In this way, we hope to feel more confident when it comes to drafting our essays and save time and effort down the line when it comes to revising our papers.

Instructions

Initial Post with Outline

Consider the ideas you generated through reviewing and reflecting on the story and your work thus far. Follow up on your work by organizing your ideas and support into a writing plan.

You can create your writing plan in any manner that fits your purposes and individual writing process–a traditional outline, a graphic organizer or other visual representation of the parts of your essay, a mix of drafting and bullet-listed information or simply organized notes on the book and your essay ideas. However you chose to plan your essay, be sure that you include a tentative thesis statement, the main points or topics for your body paragraphs, and your ideas for support and discussion for each body paragraph.

When you have completed your writing plan, submit it by replying to this discussion board as you normally would. You can copy and paste it into your reply, or you can link in your document. If you link in your essay draft, make sure that it is in PDF so that everyone can open it on their devices. If you decide to link in your Google Doc, make sure that you have allowed access for others to view it by clicking the “Share” button and, in the General Access section, selecting “anyone with the link.”

Below are some important tips for your writing plan:

Make sure your thesis and main points align with the focus of the essay prompt; for this paper, you are applying reader-response theory to your reading of Binti. See Reading Task: Reader-Response Theories as well as Reading Task: Essay 1 Focus and Thesis Examples
Plan to write four body paragraphs and include ideas for both support and discussion for each body paragraph
Noting the page numbers for the quotes (“golden lines”) you use from the story will save you time down the line so you don’t have to look them up later when actually writing your paper
Your writing plan does not need to be perfect. Consider it as a form of a “first draft.” Once you have it done, you can add, change, reorganize as you actually start drafting your paper.
You should create your writing plan in a way that best accommodates your learning style to help you think deeply about and visualize the organization and content of your essay.
Again, you can plan your essay as you like and in any way that is most beneficial for your purposes. However, below is an outline template that you can use, which many students find helpful; keep in mind that the template offers a generic format for your paper and that you can alter this format to fit the needs of your specific paper.

Outline Worksheet for Reader-Response Paper in Word
Outline Worksheet for Reader-Response Paper in PDF
Two Peer Reviews

Review 2 writing plans, selecting first those without comments yet, and offer your evaluation points by responding to the criteria below. Please note the questions that follow the criteria are intended to give you some ideas to address and do not represent an exhaustive list.

the focus of the thesis statement: Does the thesis reflect an understanding of the essay task (i.e. is it evident that the writer is applying reader-response theory by focusing on the “gaps” of the story, personal experience, and/or reader perspective?
the focus of the body paragraphs: Are the body paragraph topics reflected in the thesis statement? Are the quotes or other support and ideas within the body paragraphs related to the topic of the body paragraph? Do they match up?
the scope of the body paragraphs: Is there a paragraph that is too broad and should actually be split into two body paragraphs? Is there a paragraph that is too narrow and should be edited out or could it be of use as an example in another paragraph?
the development of the essay and paragraphs: Are there four body paragraphs represented? If not, can you suggest a body paragraph topic or two? Is there sufficient support and ideas in the existing body paragraphs? Can you suggest a quote, idea, or additional piece of information that would be helpful?
the logical order of the body paragraphs: Are the paragraphs ordered in a logical way that illustrates the flow of the author’s reasoning? Or should the paragraphs be switched around. What order to the body paragraphs would you give and why?
Grading

This activity is worth 20 points. The attached rubric will be used to grade this assignment. To view the rubric, select the gear icon. If you’re using a mobile device, the rubrics can be found in the course navigation menu.

Helpful Canvas Guides

If you are new to Canvas, or would like to know more about the Discussion tool in Canvas, you may find the following tutorials helpful:

How do I reply to a discussion as a student?
How do I attach a file to a discussion reply as a student?
How do I embed an image in a discussion reply as a student?
How do I link to a YouTube video in a discussion reply as a student?
How do I edit or delete discussion replies as a student?

Introduction

Throughout the process of creating your outline you reflected on the content of your paper, the scope of your ideas, and certain passages or scenes from the story to use for support, as well as the personal knowledge and experiences that is relevant to discuss. Now is the time to pause and refine your initial work in order to improve its organization and content before jumping to the drafting stage of your essay.

Review and Adjust Your Outline

As you prepare to begin drafting your paper, first review and refine your outline. Begin by considering which body paragraphs you want the reader to read first, second, third, and fourth. Too often we can simply list our paragraphs in the order that they come to mind, so it’s important that you consider a logic for ordering your body paragraphs. Next, consider the content of your body paragraphs. Do you need to add support? Refine your idea? Reconsider the passage from the text you are discussing? Reread the text to find additional or more accurate or insightful support? Look up unfamiliar words or some details that reference the setting or culture? Or do you need to generate an idea for a new body paragraph? (A minimum of four body paragraphs are required).

Once you have reviewed, questioned, and reconsidered your outline, revamp it to more accurately represent your vision of your paper at this stage of the process.

Introduction

Once you have revised and updated your outline to more accurately reflect the scope and organization of your ideas and support at this stage of the process, begin drafting your paper. I recommend that you take your time to focus on drafting paragraphs (instead of the whole essay at one time). Start with the introduction, but don’t dwell too much on getting it perfect. You will have time to return to your introduction and revise and develop it further later on. Some writers will even prefer to write a very brief introduction just to get them started writing their essay; other writers prefer to write a thorough introduction at the beginning because it helps them to think through through ideas and how they want to set up their paper. Trust your process, and draft your introduction in the manner that best accommodates your time and how you write best. Review the key components of writing an introduction below as you being drafting.

Key Components of an Introduction

Below are some strategies to help you include all the key elements of an introduction into your draft:

(1) Begin by creating a connection between the reader (a wide range of people) to the overall concept of your essay

The introduction should start off with a “lead-in” to introduce the overall concept your paper will discuss. This concept should be broad so as to identify with common experiences and attract a wide range of readers. This “lead-in” can be one or several sentences and is commonly referred to as a “hook,” and it should engage readers and generate interest to even those who may know little or nothing about the issue and/or text you paper focuses on.

(2) Move on to give the reader basic context or background information on the story

The introduction should include basic contextual information to set up the essay, such as a summary of the story, article or issue that the essay responds to. You want to make sure readers who may not know much about the topic of your essay are informed. If focusing on a single text, you want to make sure to include the author’s name, the title, and a short summary (this usually takes about three lines).

(3) Angle the background information to lead into the main points your essay will discuss

The introduction should also convey the basic points or issues the essay will discuss to lead up to thesis statement. While you do not need or want to directly state what each and every body paragraph will talk about in turn, you do want to describe or at least allude to the ideas your paper will emphasize and in a manner that represents the flow or logic of your argument. This information serves as bridge from the basic contextual information to your particular perspective and sets up your thesis statement.

(4) End your introduction with your thesis statement (one or two sentences that capture the focus and point of your essay)

The thesis statement establishes the driving point of your essay. It can be one, two, or even three sentences. If you completed your outline, you have already drafted your thesis as a part of this essay planning task, and can simply copy it into your introduction. However, you may have also added some ideas or rethought your essay concept since writing your outline; if this is the case, you should include a revised version of your thesis statement, one which most accurately reflects your essay ideas and syncs up with your introduction draft. Keep in mind that it is best practice to return to your thesis statement and revise or refine it after you finish drafting your full paper, so if you can’t find the exact words to fully express your essay idea now, just do your best and move on to drafting your body paragraphs.

The thesis statement should accurately convey the focus and scope of the essay while revealing the writer’s driving point.
The thesis statement should be refined throughout the writing process.
Now that you have reviewed and revamped your outline, draft the introduction to your paper. Then, click “next” for information on writing successful body paragraphs.

Body Paragraph Tips

In addition to drafting your introduction, you can also begin drafting your body paragraphs. My suggestion is to focus on one paragraph at a time. Pace yourself; consider writing a couple paragraphs every day instead of everything at one time. Below offers instruction on writing body paragraphs. If you want to see an example paragraph for this type of paper, make sure to check out our “reader-response student essay example” below under “Important Resources.” The next page will also offer you further tips on integrating quotations into body paragraphs.

Body Paragraph Components

If you used the “outline template” for your outline, you have most of the components in place for your body paragraphs. Here’s how a typical body paragraph breaks down:

Topic Sentence(s): A topic sentence can actually be one, two, or even three sentences long. It not only identifies the topic of your paragraph, but more importantly articulates the overall point that you want to illustrate in the paragraph, which, as I said, may take more than one sentence. Also, a good point to remember is that the topic sentence is a key element of your paragraph that you should go back to and refine when you are finished writing your paragraph. After all, we usually arrive at our concluding point at the end of the paragraph; once you get there, go back to the beginning to make sure the topic sentence syncs up with it.
Support: this consists of the details, quotes, and examples that you present to help you discuss your ideas. Keep in mind that the reader is not inside your head, and that it is your duty to communicate your thinking. This means that you will likely need to set up your support first, providing the context necessary for the reader to not only understand where the information is coming from but where you want to take it as well. Also, if you use a quote or paraphrase, make sure to provide an in-text citations: use “quotation marks” for word-for-word quotes you use and indicate where you got the quote from by noting the last name of the author and the page number (if there is one), like this (Okorafor 8). If you are paraphrasing information, and not taking it word-for-word, you do not need to use quotation marks, but you do still need to indicate where you got it from, like this (Okorafor 8). Note that this is called a parenthetical citation, and that it always comes at the end of the sentence even if the quote ends earlier.
Discussion, analysis, critical thinking: this typically follows up your support, examining it, discussing it, explaining just how you see it and how it illustrates the point you are making in the body paragraph. This is a crucial component to your paragraph as it illustrates your critical reading and thinking skills and advances the reasoning of your argument or idea.
Support #2: Often, only one piece of support is not sufficient to fully develop the paragraph idea, so the writer will draw on another example or quote to help advance and develop the paragraph idea.
Discussion, analysis, critical thinking #2: Each piece of support brought into a body paragraph should be follow up with an explanation and discussion of how the support illustrates the writer’s paragraph idea.
Closing: just like you opened your paragraph by introducing your point, you want to end your paragraph by concluding that point. Give the reader a sense of closure of the idea you presented, and you can also allude to the point you will make in the next paragraph.

A Note on Integrating Quotes from a Fictional Work

Integrating quotes from a fictional work is the same as integrating quotes from other works. The only detail that you need to pay more attention to is the speaker of the quote. For fiction, the speaker is either the character or the narrator (and not the author). So, your lead-in to a quote would do just that, and never identify the author. Here are some examples:

Gifty recalls that her mother held her hand as a young child in church “as our pastor whispered his prayer into my ear, inviting me to repeat after him” (Gyasi 9).
Ann tells Gifty that her and her mother “talk all the time” but that her mother “doesn’t know anything about” her (Gyasi 5).
The narrator explains that “This whole fingerprinting drive seemed to me like a big mistake, the senseless scribbling of an angry child. Why humiliate people like this?” (Scego 46).
Check Out These Reading and Writing Center Tutorials

Discussing Quotations
Paraphrasing

Due Sunday @ 11pm

Introduction

You have created a writing plan for your essay and collaborated with your peers to review and refine your plan. Now it is the time to start drafting your essay. You can begin drafting as you like; some prefer to draft the introduction first and others prefer to begin by drafting the body paragraphs. This assignment is designed to help you pace your writing process by pausing to submit your progress before moving on to complete a full essay draft.

Assignment Instructions

Begin drafting your paper and submit your progress. Draft three paragraphs or the first couple pages of your paper–your introduction and two body paragraphs or simply three body paragraphs, as you prefer.

Submission

Scroll down to “drag and drop” your file or use the Google Drive feature to upload and submit your work. Documents must be in Word, Google Docs, or PDF for Canvas to process them.

Continue to draft the body of your paper and then move on to draft your conclusion. Consider the information below as you draft your conclusion.

Writing Conclusions

Conclusions should simply recap your thesis statement and main points using different words. It should also end the paper with something interesting for the reader to reflect on. Here is a common strategy to end your conclusion:

Connected with the reader by looping back to the overall essay concept introduced in the “lead-in” or “hook” in the introductory paragraph. This is called “framing” your essay, and it is a powerful strategy.
Another strategy is called “call to action” in which the writer compels the reader to take action on the issues discussed in the essay
Another strategy asks the reader to continue the discussion. Social problems and issues are complex and rarely does one paper address all the nuances and aspects of those issues. The writer can acknowledge other conversations and studies that need to be done in order to compel the reader to “take up the task” to continue the conversation and work toward arriving at solutions to a complex issue.

Revamping Your Introduction

The process of writing your paper can at times lead you to new and fresh ideas that you initial did not intend to write about; this process of discovery is a natural part of the writing process. Even if your paper stuck to your planned outline of ideas, the process of writing also helped you to develop and refine a vocabulary for your ideas. With this in mind, you want to take a look at your introduction to make sure that it accurately reflects the scope and ideas of your essay and refine some of the wording so that it also syncs up nicely with your conclusion. Remember, introductions fulfill the following goals:

Engage A Wide Range of Readers
Communicate Necessary Context
Introduce Ideas Emphasized in the Body of the Paper
State Thesis or Driving Point of Essay

Original Essay Titles

Now that you have completed your draft, make sure that you title your essay in a way that is specific to your take on the topic or issue. Remember, this is your essay, and no one else’s. You should avoid titles such as “Essay 3” or “Reader-Response Paper” or “Binti” as these are generic titles related to the topic of your paper, but not your own title related to the point of your essay. Instead, take a look at your thesis statement and topic sentences to reveal your attitude and take on the topic, and craft your title to reflect your ideas. Be creative and have fun with creating your essay title!

Example titles from student essays

A Personal Journey through Time
The Reader’s Imagination Tells a Story All On Its Own
Literature Through the Lens of a Reader: How Text is Dynamic
Click “Next” to view a “Peer Review Guide” before you submit your essay draft for peer review.

Overall Goal

When you review a draft, your overall goal is to give feedback that addresses “big picture” changes, such as:

adding more analysis and/or offering a different perspective to consider when discussing important material
evaluating effectiveness of support (quotes or paraphrases)
offering ideas for more support and/or a new paragraph
evaluating essay structure to make sure it’s set up effectively or if certain paragraphs need to be reorganized
considering if a paragraph is covering too much and should be broken down into two or more paragraphs
adding contextual information when necessary
identifying instances of plagiarism (such as using lines directly from the story or article without quoting them)
making sure basic requirements listed on the essay prompt are not missing
Read through the tabs below for specific guidance on the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essay.

Looking at the Title and Introduction
Looking at the Body Paragraphs
Looking at the Conclusion
Below is a list of questions to consider for commenting on the the title and introduction:

Check the title. Is it original? Does it reflect the topic of the paper and the author’s point of view?
Check to see if the essay starts with a “hook” to get the reader interested in the overall essay concept
Check to make sure the introduction includes basic contextual information to set up the essay, such as a summary of a short story, article, or issue
Check to make sure that the introduction leads up to and articulates a thesis statement that establishes the essay’s driving point.
Check to make sure the thesis statement does not need to be refined and/or expanded to accurately convey the focus and scope of the essay.
Below is a list of questions to consider for commenting on the body paragraphs:

Check the organization and development:

Check topic sentences so that they reflect the focus and scope of the body paragraph
Check the scope of the paragraph. Is the paragraph too broad? Should it be developed in two paragraphs instead of one?
Check to make sure the paragraph has sufficient support. Should another piece of support be added?
Check to make sure the paragraph provides accurate context.
Check to make sure the paragraph provides sufficient analysis.
Check the endings of paragraphs to determine whether or not you left anything unstated.
Check quote/paraphrase selection and integration:

Check to make sure that you provided context leading up to your quote, so the reader knows the speaker of the quote, any background context needed to understand the quote, and the idea that the quote will illustrate.
Check to make sure that you quoted only what you intend to discuss (if otherwise, consider paraphrasing part of the quote as a part of your lead-in)
Check to make sure the quote accurately supports the idea you are advancing in your paragraph (If not, can you think of a better quote that does?)
Check to make sure you placed quotation marks around the lines you have copied directly from the story and that you have stated the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like this (57). Note: include author’s last name in parenthesis too only if you did not mention it when introducing the quote, like this (Taylor 57). Note: not all sources have page numbers, especially websites; if no page number exists, you do not need to cite one.
Check to make sure there is consistent explanation and analysis to follow up quotes
Check the analysis and discussion of support:

Check to make sure that analysis is focused on the topic introduced in the paragraph and presented in the quote or other form of support
Check to make sure it accurately articulates the author’s idea. Is this idea fully explained? Should it be expanded? Should you rephrase certain phrases to convey your idea in a more clear and concise manner?
Check to make sure a discussion of an important point of view or perspective is not missing
Check to see if you recapped your thesis and main points
Check to see if you connected with the reader by looping back to the overall essay concept introduced in the “hook” or overall introductory paragraph and offering something interesting or insightful to reflect on.

Rough Draft and Two Peer Reviews due Thursday @ 11PM

Discussions can only have one due date in Canvas. I picked Thursday as the Canvas due date for this assignment. Please make sure to complete and post your rough draft by then. Please complete your two peer reviews no later than Saturday.

Introduction

Congratulations! You have made significant progress on your essay, generating ideas, creating a writing plan, and writing a rough draft. Your rough draft should include an introduction, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion, but it’s okay if you are “almost there.” If you still need to write a body paragraph, include a paragraph outline in its place so the reader knows your ideas; if you still need to write a conclusion, just note this in your post so the reader knows. Now is the time for you to give and receive feedback on your papers before you move on to revise and finalize your essay.

Peer Review is an essential component of this course. It is an opportunity for you to demonstrate and apply your critical reading skills in a constructive way, helping your peers improve their writing and reasoning while gaining insight into the expectations of the assignment. The goal for reviewing outlines is to evaluate key components and organization of academic essays early in the writing process, and to give and receive constructive commentary that will work to improve the focus, organization, and development of your essay.

Instructions

Initial Post with Rough Draft

When you have completed the rough draft of your essay, submit it by replying to this discussion board as you normally would. You can copy and paste your essay into your reply, or you can link in your document. If you link in your essay draft, make sure that it is in PDF so that everyone can open it on their devices. If you decide to link in your Google Doc, make sure that you have allowed access for others to view it by clicking the “Share” button and, in the General Access section, selecting “anyone with the link.”

In your post, please add a note letting the reader know any particular questions or concerns you have about your paper, or any particular parts you want readers to focus on and give you feedback. For example, you could say you want readers to give feedback on your thesis statement, your topic sentences, and/or a certain paragraph. If you need an idea for an additional body paragraph, you can mention this as well.

Two Peer Reviews

Review 2 rough drafts and offer feedback that will help the reader develop their ideas and improve the effectiveness of communicating them to the reader. When selecting drafts to review, make sure to give priority to those without any reviews yet, and ideally each student should get two reviews of their essay. Please participate in reaching this ideal.

When giving feedback, you should always point out both what the writer does well, and what the writer should work on to bring their essay to the next level. Focus on large scale comments that impact the organization, development, and/or critical thinking of the paper (not small things like proofreading and grammar). And make sure to offer feedback on:

The introduction and thesis statement
The topic sentences of each body paragraph
The use of support (examples and/or quotes) in each body paragraph
The discussion of the support and the writers ideas in each body paragraph
You can also suggest ideas for more body paragraphs (if one or more is missing). If you feel the writer’s focus is off to the extent that the essay is not responding to the essay prompt, it is important that you mention this so that the student has time to refocus the paper in time for the due date.

You can use the Peer Review Guide to Making Comments to help you read and comment on your peers’ drafts, and you can also use the attached scoring rubric as a guide (this rubric will be used to score the final version of this paper). Below are also some possible revision focuses for you to consider, which may help you focus or get ideas for your feedback.

adding more analysis and/or offering a different perspective to consider when discussing important material
evaluating effectiveness of support (quotes or paraphrases)
offering ideas for more support and/or a new paragraph
evaluating essay structure to make sure it’s set up effectively or if certain paragraphs need to be reorganized
considering if a paragraph is covering too much and should be broken down into two or more paragraphs
adding contextual information when necessary (especially in the introduction to set up the paper as well as when leading into quotes in the body paragraphs)
identifying instances of plagiarism (such as using lines directly from the story or article without quoting them)
making sure basic requirements listed on the essay prompt are not missing (such as writing four body paragraphs)
Grading & Rubric

This activity is worth 20 points. Students earn 10 points for submitting their essay draft and 10 points for offering constructive feedback on two of their peers’ papers. Partial points will be earned in proportion to the work completed.

The attached rubric will not be used to grade this assignment; it is there to offer you guidance on offering peer feedback. This same rubric will be used to score your final essay submission. To view the rubric, select the gear icon. If you’re using a mobile device, the rubrics can be found in the course navigation menu.

Helpful Canvas Guides

If you are new to Canvas, or would like to know more about the Discussion tool in Canvas, you may find the following tutorials helpful:

Revision

At this stage of the process, you want to focus on large scale changes to you paper, changes that impact the development, organization, and reasoning of your essay. Once you have done this and are satisfied with the content of you essay, then you can proofread to make smaller corrections in punctuation, phrasing, and formatting.

Using Peer Review Comments

When you revise your own paper, you are considering the same points that have driven in your peer review and also considering the feedback you received from your peers. Keep in mind that you will likely receive some useful comments and comments that you do not understand or that you question. Remember, you are the one in control of your paper, so it is up to you to determine what feedback you will apply and what you will discard. As you make these choices, and other choices about revising your work, always reference the Essay prompt, the peer review guide, and the essay rubric, which you can access on the Essay 1 submission page), to inform your decisions.

Important Resources

Essay 1 Prompt
Reader-Response Student Essay Example
Reader-Response Theories
Additional Resources

When you refine and finalize your paper, you are essentially refining the key elements that communicate your ideas to you reader and proofreading your essay for typos and errors in formatting and punctuation. Consider first the key structural components of your paper, and then move on to proofread for formatting and phrasing.

Check key structural elements

Title: Is your essay title original, and does it reflect your attitude or point of view on the subject?
Thesis Statement: Does the thesis statement the driving point of the essay as conveyed by the body paragraphs of the paper?
See the thesis statement tutorial for additional guidance
Topic Sentences: Do topic sentences accurately reflect the point and scope of the corresponding body paragraph?
Support: do paraphrases and quotes from the story offer basic context so the reader can place the scene within the story and do they include in-text citations? Paraphrases should indicate page numbers in parenthesis at the end of the sentence, like this (38). Direct wording should be “quoted” and the page number should also be indicated in parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Body Paragraph ends: Does the last line of each body paragraph signal that the writer is finished discussing the idea at hand?
Refining Phrasing: Eliminating Vague Words

Revise vague wording and replace with more specific terms.

Example

The stories “The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” have similar themes but are also different in ways too.

Revision

“The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” both center on the themes of time and a search for God which are developed with marked differences in tone and purpose.

Explanation

The vague phrases “similar themes” and “different in ways” are replaced with the specific phrases “themes of time and a search for God” and “differences in tone and purpose.”

See the RAW Center’s tutorial on “Correcting Vague Language” (Links to an external site.) for more examples.

Check MLA formatting

The document is formatted for double spacing
Header is on the left with student name, instructor name, course name, and due date listed in that order
The title of the essay is centered and there are no additional spaces between the title and the body of the paper
In-text citations are present, referencing (at minimum) the last name of the author and page number. (When there is no author to the source, reference the title; if the source does not have page numbers, you do not need to cite one.)
See a sample essay formatted in MLA
Strategies and Resources for Proofreading

Dropped words, typos, and spelling: read your paper out load or have someone read it aloud for you. You will notice a lot of unintentional errors this way.
fragments
run-ons
coordination and subordination
sentence transitions/transition words
wordiness
Additional Resources

Check key structural elements

Revise vague wording and replace with more specific terms.

Example

The stories “The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” have similar themes but are also different in ways too.

Revision

“The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” both center on the themes of time and a search for God which are developed with marked differences in tone and purpose.

Explanation

The vague phrases “similar themes” and “different in ways” are replaced with the specific phrases “themes of time and a search for God” and “differences in tone and purpose.”

See the RAW Center’s tutorial on “Correcting Vague Language” (Links to an external site.) for more examples.

Check MLA formatting

222

Check key structural elements

Revise vague wording and replace with more specific terms.

Example

The stories “The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” have similar themes but are also different in ways too.

Revision

“The Library of Babel” and “Zaabalawi” both center on the themes of time and a search for God which are developed with marked differences in tone and purpose.

Explanation

The vague phrases “similar themes” and “different in ways” are replaced with the specific phrases “themes of time and a search for God” and “differences in tone and purpose.”

See the RAW Center’s tutorial on “Correcting Vague Language” (Links to an external site.) for more examples.

Check MLA formatting

Note: This is a soft deadline. If you feel you need additional time to produce an essay more representative of your critical thinking and writing ability, please feel free to take an extra day to refine your work.

Introduction

This assignment allows you to demonstrate that you have met the following learning objectives for this unit:

Apply reading strategies, such as annotation and reflection, to fiction
Apply reader-response theory to relate ideas and information in a text to personal experience, knowledge, and/or other texts
Write an essay that develops a focused thesis with meaningful and relevant body paragraphs
Write in your own authentic voice and with an awareness of tone, word choice, and clarity
Background

Reader-response theory focuses the reading experience on the act of creation, the meaning that readers create as their individual experiences and knowledge interact with the stream of words on the page. For this reason, reader-response theory functions under the reality that no one will have the same reading of a text as another, and that there are as many “books” as those created each time one endeavors to read. So, what do reader-response critics write about? They write about many things, but in particular about how their experiences and knowledge shape their understanding of a text. They focus on the process of reading, how the experience of reading shapes their thoughts and interpretations from the beginning to the middle and to the end. They focus on “gaps” in the story, what is not stated–how does their experiences and imagination “fill in” the images, stories, explanations that do not necessarily appear in the text but are very much a part of the story?

You have read and annotated the novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor and reader-response theory, as well as your understanding of the basic element of fiction, informed your annotations and reflections, as communicated in the discussion board assignments. Now is the time to develop your reflections into a cohesive reader-response essay.

Essay Prompt

Write an essay with an introduction, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion that applies reader-response theory to your reading of Binti by Nnedi Okorafor.

Writing a reader-response essay is just like writing any other response essay, except that it pays close attention to the personalized experience of reading a certain text. It does this in many ways, but for the most part it focuses on how the assumptions, thoughts, and mindset of the reader (meaning you) evolved while reading the text from beginning to end. It illustrates this process by identifying and discussing the “gaps” in the story, the unexplained details or missing parts of the story that require the reader to draw on their own knowledge, experience, and imagination to “fill in” the details and parts of the story that go unstated. It also illustrates this process through relating how the reader’s experiences and knowledge helped to visualize or come to a unique understanding of a complex concept, scene, descriiption, or any other problematic or intricate aspect or element of the story. It should also be noted that reader-response papers pay close attention to the authenticity of language; given the emphasis on reader experience, there is an expectation to express this experience through a personalized language that achieves clarity of expression through tone and word choice that is true to the reader’s identities.

Requirements

Your paper must include:

in MLA format.
free of any major grammatical and topographical errors.
A current example of completely your own work for this class and assignment
Around 1500 words (about 4 pages)
Citing Sources

Length & Grading

This essay must be around 1500 words (about 4 pages) and is worth 135 points. Scroll down to view the rubric that will be used to score your essay.

Disclaimer

Papers with content generated by ChatGPT or other AI content generator, all or in part, can not receive credit. Neither can papers that contain plagiarized material from Google or other online sources or print sources such as another student’s paper, whether directly copied or paraphrased. See the LPC Academic IntegrityLinks to an external site. Statement and resources, as well as our course syllabus, for further information.

You have completed Unit 1: The Reader-Response Paper!

You have achieved a whole lot during this unit. You learned and applied reading strategies, such as annotation and reflection, to engage your experiences with the process of reading, and you learned and applied the concepts of reader-response theory to amplify your self awareness of how you think and make meaning in the process of reading. In so doing, you developed and honed your critical reading and thinking skills and honed your language use to craft your own voice and style in writing. By doing this, you developed your own ability to critically read the information and situations you encounter in other contexts in your life and assess how they apply to and/or inform your values and the decisions you make. Below are the core skills that you worked on in Unit 1:

You finished your work for this module if you completed:

Essay 1 Discussion: Writing Plan & Peer Review
Essay 1 Drafting Assignment: Submit Your Progress
Essay 1 Discussion: Rough Draft & Peer Review
Essay 1: Submit Final Draft

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