General Writing Resources Page Complete Response

Response Paper – Instructions

Select one of the two literary works that you have read so far in this course, either Tartuffe or Candide. Write a response essay where you complete the following tasks:

1. Introduce the story and author. Provide a brief overview of the story so as to provide a background for your response and a clear thesis statement.
2. Describe the aspect of the play/novel to which you would like to respond. Explain in detail why this aspect resonated with you and support those ideas with text evidence from the literary work. Examples of topics to develop in the response paper are the following:
   • Historical Context
   • Character(s)
   • Theme
   • Symbolism
3. Provide a rationale for your ideas using textual evidence and a secondary scholarly source from the GMC library. Make sure you establish a strong connection between the aspect you chose to discuss and the literary work you have selected. You should clearly articulate why that particular aspect contributes to your understanding and/or appreciation for the literary work.

Requirements:

MLA Style

1. 1. Your paper must be formatted according to MLA format.
   2. You must include a works-cited page at the end of your paper.
   3. You must include in-text citations within the body of your paper.
   4. For more information about MLA style, you should view the Purdue OWL’s pages on MLA: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

Mechanics, Grammar, and Punctuation

1. 1. All written assignments should be mechanically and grammatically correct with proper punctuation. For more information on each of these, you should view the Purdue OWL’s General Writing Resources page: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/general_writing_introduction.html

Structure

1. 1. The introduction should include a clear thesis statement. It should also clearly identify the title of the reading you’ve chosen for your research paper, the author’s name, the idea found in the reading, and the global issue being discussed in your response.
   2. Each body paragraph should have a clear topic sentence that relates back to the thesis. The information in each paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. In the body paragraphs, you should focus on how the idea related to the issue being discussed (e.g. does it offer a solution, explanation, warning, etc.).
   3. Before you begin writing, I recommend that you write an outline to organize your ideas. Doing this will help you write a logical, well-organized essay.