Dissecting Texts for
Critical- Thinking Responses

In order to write a clear, RESPONSIVE academic essay, writers should first understand how to dissect the text to which they will respond. This includes the prompt (or question) which accompanies a directed essay exam (including the Writing Proficiency Exam or WPE). The system of decoding, processing, and encoding is one way to approach such a process for response. A colored pen, a
pencil, or a colored marker or highlighter is extremely helpful for this exercise because it can be used to foreground key information. Marginal comments are also a good way to annotate a text during Critical Reading.

A. Discovering & Critical Reading

Decoding:

1. Read the question (often referred to as a "prompt") first. Take it apart and look at it carefully. What are the key words that direct you and/or affect your thinking?

1___________2 ___________3 ___________4 ___________5 ___________6 ___________

2. Does the prompt ask a question? ___Yes ___No. If yes, in your essay, how might you initially respond to this question? (refer to question #6) Remind yourself in your notes to "ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

3. Now read the text. Look for the main idea of the text and underline it. There may be more than one; if so, underline each idea and number them.

4. Look for supporting ideas for each of the main idea(s). There will most likely be several supporting ideas such as facts, quotes, comparisons, opinions, questions, statements, and anecdotes. Choose two or three for your response, and indicate which main idea (if there are more than one) they support.

B. Structuring and Critical Thinking

Processing:

5. Keep keyword notes as you "connect" through personal experiences, specific "classroom" knowledge, or something you may have read in a book, or magazine. Make either marginal notes, or use a blank piece of paper for this discovery. Discovery exercises are the critical link to understanding what you are reading. Remember: the main purpose of discovery writing is to get everything from your head onto paper.

6. Now answer any question(s) that the prompt asks. "Do you agree or disagree?" et cetera. (If this exercise is preparing you for the WPE, make sure any questions are answered in the thesis paragraph of your responsive exam.)

Encoding:

7. Prepare the informal outline that will keep you focused. Informal means just that--you are still in discovery where the only concern is "out of your head onto paper." There is no thought given to spelling, mechanics, or grammar during discovery; abbreviate, use key words and phrases, use any notational techniques with which you are comfortable. No one will see these notes so just sketch "bare
bone" for later use in structuring your essay. Most important--talk to yourself. Ask yourself questions much like might come up in a classroom dialogue. Look at your thesis from another perspective. This will allow you to question whether or not your thesis can be proven or not. This is the time to use your critical thinking. It may be the most difficult because you are forced to consider other ideas not necessarily your own. Remember: a reader will not challenge your thesis if you have sound ideas and acknowledged refutations to other views.

C. Finalizing and Critical Writing

Structuring:

8. It is time to "draft" your essay. Choose to write at least two, if not all four preparatory drafts. (These are separate from the fifth and Final Draft.) On a computer, it is easy to pump out each of the recommended drafts listed below. However, if this is an in-class essay (such as the exit exam at Eastern--the WPE), then you are probably handwriting it, so two working drafts could suffice. Make sure the one you turn in for grading is "clean, neat, and double-spaced."

a. the "free-writing draft" comes out of discover. It is the first inkling you have of a topic to which you might respond. There is no order to this first draft--it is what we call "rough." (Remember, throw out your phobias about spelling, mechanics, and grammar at this point.) Use your own note-taking style; anything goes in this draft. Simply get everything "out of your head, on to paper."

b. the "structural draft" is the skeleton of your essay; your bare-bones discovery patched together in some form. Again, don't worry about the "small stuff"; just get it all out of your head, onto the paper. Focus on a five-paragraph essay first and develop a thesis. (You may have "discovered" several
possibilities during your prewriting/discovery work.) Make sure you know what information, anecdotes, stories, quotes, et cetera, you want to include. You may want to choose a title for your essay at the end of this draft; titles can help focus ideas. You can also expand your 5-paragraph structure later, if you need to.