Callahan and Dobyns (p 86-87) explain that a response paper asks one of these three questions:

• "What did I learn from this reading experience that contributes to my self-knowledge or my understanding of the world?"
• "What do I know or have I experienced that can contribute to an understanding of this work?"
• "What did the work make me feel, and how did it make me feel that way?"

In addition, Dr. Thury stipulated in class that

• the response paper needed to discuss the writer's reading strategies, perhaps in accordance with the categories defined in a web page called Panoply.
• evidence needed to be used for the assertions in the paper

Writer:

• Give copies of your essay to members of your writing group.
• Read the essay aloud to them, as they follow along on their copies.

Group members:

• As the writer reads, listen for the following.
  • the writer's response
  • the type of response question the writer asked
  • the writer's answer to the response question
  • the discussion of reading strategies
• Underline or circle any relevant sections of the paper.

Discussion:

• Take turns explaining what you identified as the author's response and the kind of response it was (based on the categories listed above).
• Discuss ways in which the author addressed the tasks (p. 86-87) associated with this question.
• Discuss ways in which the author satisfied Dr. Thury's additional stipulations (above).
• Consider how the author can address these tasks better.

Final points:

As a group, consider:

• The coherence of the paper. What do you take to be its main statement of its thesis?
• The development of the ideas in the paper. Do subsequent paragraphs add information to this thesis?