Personal Response + Recognisition activity

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

What do you remember about essay writing?

     

     Writing a  Personal Response

Personal Response

In the personal response you are expected to give your own opinion on a statement clearly and coherently. 

Your response should be at least 300 words long

and consist of 5 paragraphs.

There are two approaches which can be used to respond to the thesis statement:

1. The one-sided approach

 

2. The balanced approach

1. The one-sided approach

- Introduction

- 3 paragraphs with arguments for (supporting) or against the           thesis

- Conclusion

2. The balanced approach

- introduction

- 2 paragraphs with arguments supporting the thesis

- 1 paragraph with arguments against the thesis

- Conclusion

Before you start writing: 

- you have to decide if you want to choose approach number 1       or number 2.

- you have to make a plan with your arguments, evidence and         examples.

Introduction

Attention grabber  

Bridge 

Thesis statement 

Introduction

The introduction functions like a movie preview, to give your audience a taste of what’s to come, without giving away too much detail so that it does not steal any attention from the main body. You want your reader to be interested in what you have to say.

Attention Grabber

Begin the introductory paragraph with a broad, general statement about the paper’s topic or even a question. Try to make it interesting and catchy to encourage your reader to want more information. Remember that the first few sentences give the reader the first impression of your personal response; it is extremely important that you make a good first impression.

Attention Grabber

You need a good attention grabber to make it interesting and catchy so your reader wants to continue reading.

But how do you come up with a good attention grabber? In general, there are two options:

Example of an attention grabber which is made up of a general observation:

A difficult problem that is facing society today is euthanasia, which is another word for mercy killing. Thousands of people are mortally ill because of an incurable disease. They are kept alive in artificial ways. They have no chance to recover completely, but most legal systems do not allow doctors to end their patients’ lives. Fatally ill patients in all countries should be given the choice to legally end their lives. 

Example of a shocking attention grabber:

Every day, fatally ill patients suffer horrendously and are begging to die. They are kept alive in artificial ways. They have no chance to recover completely, but most legal systems do not allow doctors to end their patients’ lives. Fatally ill patients in all countries should be given the choice to legally end their lives.

Bridge

The bridge consists of two or three sentences to guide your reader from your attention grabber to the thesis statement without revealing your arguments 

Example 1:

Thousands of cyclists in the Netherlands suffer severe head injuries every year. This number has to be decreased. Cyclists must be better protected in traffic. Helmets should be obligatory for cyclists in the Netherlands.

Example 2:

Traffic jams during rush hours are terrible in the Netherlands. It is a small country and everybody needs to get to work. The government should make sure fewer people go by car. Taking the train or bus should be encouraged. Public transport should be free in the Netherlands.

What formula does an introduction have? Explain using your own words.

step 2 

Look at the handout you received. In pairs,  figure out what errors the writer made.  Underline the errors,  and mark the parts of the introduction the following:

 (hook = yellow, bridge = blue, thesis = green). 

Now have a look at a complete introduction in your handout. Please answer the following questions while reading it:

1. Is the personal response an example of a one-sided or of a balanced                  personal response?

2. Which sentence is the attention grabber? Mark it yellow.

3. Which sentence is the thesis statement? Mark it green.

4. Underline the POINT in each paragraph.

5. Does each paragraph have EXPLANATION/EVIDENCE?

6. Does each paragraph have an EXAMPLE?

7. Does the conclusion round up the POINTS?

8. Which linking words have been used?

Now it is your turn:

Write your own personal response INTRO using the following thesis statement. Use about 60 words.  

 Students at our school should (not) have access to their mobile phones. 

colourcode your work (hook = yellow, bridge = blue, thesis = green).