How To Write A Text Response Essay In The MLA Format

Newton said that every action has its equal and opposite reaction. This does not hold true for the response essays where the reactions can vary from mundane and weak to extremely strong. It all depends on the absorption and quality of the writer.

Read the work carefully

When you need to write a text response piece on any original piece of work, you should first go through the piece carefully, mapping down the junctures and the crucial zones. You should find whether there is a deeper subtext or varying shades to the work.

Now, let’s streamline and try to write the response text in MLA format. Here, you have to mention your last name along with the page number in the top right corner. Leave a wise gap and then use left alignment for the following lines.

• The first line will be your line while the second will be that of the teacher who has given you the work. The third should be the subject followed by a comma and then the period. You should sum it up in the fourth line with the date in the following format (say 9th May 2005). Make sure that all lines are double spaced and pts 12 Times New Roman font is used.
• You can then progress to the title which follows after a line gap. It is centrally aligned and comes with no adornment.
• You should not embolden, underline or raise its size. Keep it natural and then return to the actual writing after a line gap from the left alignment.
• You should keep the text in well-structured paragraphs. The response text underlines the original work and analyzes its vitality and relevance. You need to place the significance of examples and utilization of junctures.
• You should point out how the writer has used his creativity and intelligence to subtly lay down what he wishes to convey. Assess whether the proposed meaning comes clear for laymen readers. Clarify on the areas where the writer has made a mistake or a causal error. In the same vein, glorify his positives, typically if he has manages a startling conclusion.

Various views

You should analyze the work from different standpoints and then recommend the piece to the reader or not. If it is a famous work, you may emphasize why it is no longer relevant. Similarly, your essay should shout clear that the essence of the work will always be relevant if it is so.