How to Write a Personal Response in College

A personal response is a short essay (one to four pages) in which you describe and analyze your own thoughts and feelings about a reading. The personal response is usually one of the first assignments in a beginning writing course. It teaches you to think about what you are reading and then ask yourself why you feel that way. Did you like it? Did you not like it? Did you connect with the author or not? Personal response essays in college are usually based on a reading, though this might not always be the case. College personal response essays are usually intended to develop the ability to describe and analyze your thoughts and impressions as the first step in analyzing literature. In order to write a good personal response, you must first read the assigned material carefully.

Instructions

Read and Annotate

1. Read through the assigned material. Think about how it makes you feel as you read it. Sit for a while afterward and think about what you just read.

2. Read through the material again. This time, make comments in the margins. Write down questions you have, impressions and feelings. Make note of things you agree with or disagree with, things that seem to contradict one another, or things that do not make sense. Underline words, phrases and paragraphs that seem interesting, and comment on why you find it interesting. Make note of ideas and words that come up repeatedly. This is a good time to look up words you don't know.

3. Go back through the material again. Read carefully. Make more comments. Try to expand on your previous comments, or perhaps you have found answers to your previous questions. By this point you should have a strong understanding of the material and your ideas about it. If not, continue reading and annotating until you do.

4. Read essays from others. Depending on the assignment, once you feel clear about the reading, you might want to go to the library and read published critical essays on the reading. This can be dangerous if you are a beginning writer and/or if your ideas are not yet clear. It's easy to fall into the trap of adopting someone else's ideas. The personal response essay is important in learning how to engage with and think about literature, so be sure you are doing that. On the other hand, reading other ideas and criticisms can help you strengthen or rethink your argument.

Writing Process

1. Try free writing. Look over your annotated copy of the assigned reading and your comments. Sit for 15 or 20 minutes and just write about your thoughts and ideas. Don't worry about grammar or structure, just write what comes to your mind. Think of how you feel and try to explain why. When the time is up, go through what you have written and look for good ideas and strong arguments. You might choose a few of these to start your essay.

2. Do an outline. What do you want to say? Decide which ideas are your main ideas, and group the ideas that support those main ideas under them. This is a good chance to look for problems before you spend the time writing. Do the ideas make sense? Can you support them? Is anything missing?

3. Fill in your essay from your outline. Expand on your ideas, and use examples from the assigned reading to support them.

4. Edit your work. Pay close attention to the guidelines given to you as they may be different from teacher to teacher. Make sure your essay follows the required format and style. Be sure you have an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs with well-supported topic sentences and a conclusion. If you are both agreeing and disagreeing with the author, this is fine. But be sure to be very clear in your essay. Make sure all your ideas are explained and supported.

Tips & Warnings

• Always pay careful attention to the assignment guidelines given by your instructor.

• Be careful not to fall too much into describing your own personal experiences. While this can be a valuable addition to your essay, keep it short and remain focused on the material itself. If you read other essays on the assignment, be sure you are not using someone else's ideas instead of developing your own.

References

• Purdue Writing Lab