How To Write A Text Response Essay
The principles of a text response essay are crucial to understand to be successful in English.
Essentially in this type of text response essay you are exploring and discussing the ideas the text deals with
and how it goes about doing this.
What does this mean for you? Well, first of all writing your essay is a pretty familiar process:

Break down the prompt to find out what it is asking you to discuss and deal with.

Identify and articulate your thesis statement (your central idea or the overarching response to the
prompting material, for those of you not familiar with this term). Remember that you don’t have to
agree with the prompt and that you can clarify your position to ‘find the grey areas’.

Decide what three or four ideas you would like to deal with (or what three or four questions you think
you need to answer) to fully deal with all parts of the prompt and address all elements of the criteria.

Plan out these as your paragraphs, ordering them so that you build a complex analysis of the text and
so that each paragraph builds on the ideas presented in the last.

Think of at least two or three examples that can be used to justify each of these points and note down
how they connect to the ideas in the text so you are sure you are not just discussing the storyline or
plot.
Since Year 8 we have provided you with a method of thinking through your planning which was very
basic. That was okay to learn the process but now you need you to move on to writing well-crafted and
eloquent essays. This first method is the next step along your journey of writing essays. This is still a
simplistic structure but the focus is on exploration of ideas and discussion rather than dot point bits of
information joined up. Use this structure as a starting point to get the bones of an essay right and begin
moving more to discussion and detailed analysis but if you are feeling confident take the next step over
the page and try working on more complex and detailed main body paragraphs.
The Intro
As an alternate way of stating to just writing out your over-arching idea you could find a quote. The quote has to be
one that sums up your whole idea. It has to communicate this without needing to be explained too much. The catch
is that you can’t then use this quote again. It’s a scene setter not a useful piece of text to pull apart to make your
point. After opening with the quote you should indicate your central thesis as you normally would. You can explain
it in reference to the quote to make sure the essay starts off cohesively but try not to be too long winded.
The Body
S – Subject. State your subject. This is essentially your topic sentence. Make it a big loud statement though.
Imagine yourself yelling to get someone’s attention. Make it big, make it bold and try and say something that you
think is really important. One sentence. No more!
E – Evidence. Now follow up your big statement with a moment from the text where what you have just said is true.
If you have an image that is significant, a piece of dialogue which shows the way a character is thinking or being used
to communicate the core idea, or a couple of words that have a hidden meaning or symbolise an idea etc this is the
time to put it in. Naturally, you don’t just whack the quote in. You have to set it up and embed it in discussion of
your statement. Remember your paragraphs have to run coherently.
X – Explain and Explore. The E and the X need to run together and should be hard to split apart. As I just said as you
include your evidence you need to work in the explanation of what it shows and how it supports your statement.
Explore the idea a little, take the time to discuss it and deal with it properly. For example: ‘This is shown when Barry
says “I am a cantaloupe”. The cantaloupe symbolises a desire to be controlled because it is a fruit and people eat it.
This could mean that Barry doesn’t want to be the leader of the circus midgets anymore.’ In a basic sense this meets
the criteria but you can take it further. You will do better if you show us how you have made this connection and
point out why this insight is important to the overall point of your essay. Take the time to talk about the ideas and
how they connect and how they lead to each other.
In this essay you can also point out alternate possibilities. For example: ‘On the other hand Barry may be subtly
suggesting that he is the best suited to lead the troupe. Barry’s choice of a cantaloupe is a deliberate construction by
the author as it is one of the largest tropical fruits. Unlike his fellow little people Barry characterises himself as an
imposing figure thus establishing a hierarchy of power.’
The other element in this essay is that you should indicate how the social context or cultural values of the reader
may alter their interpretation. For example: ‘For a reader from our enlightened time there may be intense discomfort
in the objectification of the little people. This may result in them questioning whether Barry’s desire to lead the group
is in fact a desire to lead a rebellion against the rest of the circus folk. A reader from a less progressive culture who
may not value all people as equal on the other hand may disregard Barry’s desires, viewing him the property of the
ringmaster.’
Y – Why is this important? You need to bring us back to the overall point of your essay. In the end of your
paragraph you need to make these connections. Having explained and explored, this is a natural step as the natural
conclusion of your exploration should be to make a connection to the big ideas which should be about more than
just the plot or characters it should be about a global concept.
The Conclusion
This is the same as normal. If you have written a good essay your final point of your final paragraph should be able
to draw together your ideas in the Y section. If not a final short restating of the contention is fine and you might try
referring back to the idea in the opening quote but avoid using the quote again or using another quote. Above all
don’t just stop. Make sure your essay concludes.
Now for writing a really detailed and more complex body paragraph. Like all essays there is no one
approach but a simple checklist of what should be in each paragraph can help. It doesn’t mean that you
should just write a set of ideas in this order but as a fall-back position it will ensure you get everything
covered that you need to. This is an essay about how the views and values of the author are presented in
the text so it puts a slight tinge to each paragraph in that way:
The Key
Elements
What To Try And Do
Topic Sentence
This sentence flags the idea you will be exploring in this paragraph. It is like
a mini thesis statement and should share some of the wording of the intro
without being repetitive. If you want to avoid just telling the story start this
sentence like an assertion of your belief.
Something like ‘Occasionally individuals have a justifiable reason to seek
vengeance and in the case of The Merchant of Venice Shylock’s treatment
as a Jew makes his reaction to Antonio understandable even if it is
extreme’ would point your paragraph in the right direction.
This gives some of the detail of your idea and expands upon your topic
sentence. It isn’t specific to evidence yet.
It is important that before you include evidence that you are going to discuss
that you indicate where this material comes from or at least set up the
evidence. This might be mixed in with the explanation.
This is a long quote. It might also be line that clearly depicts character
motivation, a moment where the character alters or realises something
about themselves. Likewise it might be a quote that includes an important
symbol or alludes to one of the central ideas of the play. You shouldn’t just
shove it in as its own sentence but try and find a way to weave it into your
explanation or interpretation.
An example sentence might look like this: As Richard addresses the
audience with his opening line ‘Now is the winter of our discontent / Made
glorious summer by this sun of York;’ he informs the audience, although he
is talking to himself, that war has come to an end and that King Edward,
who is both represented by the sun and the son of York, has brought peace
to the land.
You need to discuss the reason for including this evidence, pointing out why
it is important and how it supports your explanation. This might mean
explaining the hidden meaning in the evidence, as you can see I have begun
to do above. Try not to end up writing as if each piece of evidence is a new
point however. If you have three bits of evidence that support your main
point they should build on and support one another.
Finish with explanation and discussion of how your multiple pieces of
evidence tie together. This should link your detailed discussion back to your
overall contention and give you something to build on in the next paragraph.
Explanation
Context Of
Evidence
Main Evidence
Elaboration
Link Back To
Contention
Purpose (but
don’t actually
write this)
“This is what I
think”
“What I mean
by that is...”
“This is
evident
when...”
“I can prove
this because
this means...”
“This is
important
because...”