You will be writing a 3–5-page critical response to two student research papers. In other words, in a critical response, you will be examining another person’s thoughts on a topic from your point of view.
Your response must go beyond your “gut reaction” to the work and be based on your knowledge (readings, lecture, experience) of the topic (in this case, the topic of effective academic writing). [1] If it helps, pretend that you are the instructor, and your job is to evaluate these papers. What would you say? What did they do well and what could they improve?
The paper should summarize the arguments and then comment on how each author presented it to you. Remember that your goal should be to make a few key points about the paper, not to discuss everything the author writes.
