Academic Writing: Reaction Papers, Position Papers, and Summarizing

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the components and critical approaches of reaction, review, critique, and position papers, as well as the rules and distinctions of summarizing and paraphrasing.

Opinion

A subjective statement based on or influenced by personal beliefs or feelings, whose true opposite is incorrect information rather than fact.

Fact

An objective piece of information that is verified and not influenced by personal feelings, beliefs, or judgments.

Reaction Paper

A paper commonly used at the elementary level that allows the writer to express personal feelings, impressions, and opinions regarding something seen, heard, or experienced.

Review Paper

A paper that operates on a higher level of critical thinking by balancing personal opinions with verifiable facts to create a more mature evaluation.

Critique Paper

The most academic form of evaluative writing, characterized by an intellectual discourse integrating theoretical frameworks, numerous cited facts, minimal personal opinions, and rigorous critical judgment.

Introduction (Reaction, Review, Critique Paper)

The opening part of the paper, comprising around $5\%$ of the total text, that introduces the title of the work, the author's name, and the thesis statement.

Summary Section (Reaction, Review, Critique Paper)

A section constituting around $10\%$ of the paper that objectively details the purpose, methods used (if applicable), and major findings or claims of the original work.

Body (Reaction, Review, Critique Paper)

The central section comprising $75\%$ of the paper, where the writer analyzes strengths, weaknesses, reactions, underlying assumptions, and evidence supporting the thesis.

Conclusion (Reaction, Review, Critique Paper)

The closing section accounting for around $10\%$ of the paper, detailing overall impressions, benefits to the target audience or discipline, and recommendations for future direction.

Formalism

A critical approach to literary analysis whose goal is to examine how all formal and structural elements of a text work together.

Gender Criticism

A critical approach that examines how sexual identity and gender dynamics influence the creation, interpretation, and reception of literary works.

Psychological Criticism

A critical approach that applies the theories and insights of modern psychology to analyze texts, authors, and characters.

Sociological Criticism

A critical approach that investigates literature within the broader cultural, economic, and political contexts in which it was written or received.

Reader-Response Criticism

A critical approach that focuses on describing the cognitive, emotional, and interpretive processes occurring in the reader's mind while engaging with a text.

Position Paper

An argumentative paper that presents a valid inference about an issue, carefully examines opposing viewpoints, and defends a chosen stance using citations and factual evidence.

Audience (Argumentative Writing)

The readership the author seeks to engage, address, and persuade to adopt their perspective when opinions differ.

Viewpoint (Argumentative Writing)

A fundamental principle of argumentative writing requiring the author to thoroughly know the issue and clearly establish their chosen stance.

Opposing Arguments (Position Paper)

A section in a position paper that presents one to two of the strongest arguments from the opposing side, clustering similar points and contextualizing them with data.

Your Arguments (Position Paper)

The section in a position paper where the author asserts at least three substantive arguments backed by factual data and citations to counter the opposition.

Conclusion (Position Paper)

The closing section of a position paper that restates the writer's stance, summarizes main points, and ends with a resounding final statement that refutes the opposition.

Summary

A concise text that is shorter than the source (no more than a quarter of the original) which eliminates minor details, examples, and supporting points to present key ideas objectively.

Paraphrase

A restatement of an original passage in different words that retains all original details and may be shorter, equal to, or longer than the original text.

Quarter Rule of Summarizing

The guideline specifying that a written summary should not exceed one-fourth ($25\%$) the length of the original source text.

5Ws1H

The set of fundamental inquiry words—Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How—used as signal guides during the pre-summarizing stage to identify essential textual information.

Objective Representation (Summarizing)

The primary goal of a summary: to accurately reflect the author's original message, purpose, and tone without introducing personal opinions or plagiarism.