The Reaction Paper: A Measured Response to the World

Marikit Tara Alto Uychoco

(1) The world can be a chaotic place. Often, there seems to be no rhyme or reason in the events that happen to us.
Oftentimes, people despair, and the modern alienation articulated by Henry David Thoreau may be true for
many—“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

(2) In order to make sense of the world, people write. In order to create a semblance of order and understanding of
one’s experiences, people write. Often enough, they write a measured response to what has happened to them.
This takes on various forms, but for the purpose of this textbook, the forms we will explore are the review and
the reaction paper.

(3) Of course, some may consider a diary entry to be a reaction paper to the world. However, diary entries are
personal in their significance, while the reaction paper’s significance is societal. The reaction paper is written for
the enlightenment of one’s fellow human beings; a diary entry is written for the enlightenment of the self. Both
have their significance, however, only the reaction paper is considered significantly valuable for the academe.

(4) There is also a difference in form: the reaction paper is more formal, more descriptive, and often uses the
rhetorical devices of description and narration in order to prove a point; while the diary entry is less formal, less
descriptive, and does not endeavour to persuade or to make another person understand; hence, there is no real
effort in using rhetorical devices. Oftentimes, the diary entry is a way to rage against petty insults and
grievances.

(5) When one reads a reaction paper, one expects to be informed and amused. Reaction papers help us in our
everyday decisions: from what movie we should watch. To the clothing that we should wear, and the causes that
we should believe in. It tells us that we are not alone in experiencing the world, and that there are others before
us who care to tell us what to watch out for, and how to best experience what we are about to go through.

(6) Modern iterations of the reaction paper are the movie review, gadget review, trip advisor post, and other travel
reviews, restaurant reviews, and essays that discuss a social phenomenon or a common experience. Many
editorials can be considered reaction papers, if not, position papers. Many of them are written in newspapers,
magazines, and weblogs.

(7) Although the modern world can be a lonely and alienating place, the reaction paper can reach out and tell us
that we are not alone. It helps to know that the other person is going through the same experience as well, and
that this person has something to tell you about how to survive, what to avoid, and where to seek pleasure. A
reaction paper, when done right, can help us process our own experience, and help us see things that we
weren’t able to see on our own.

(8) In today’s multimedia world, this stretches across countries and over territorial borders, where a housewife
from Manila can tell a tourist from Tokyo how to best survive Manila’s hot summer. We reach out to one
another, in order to make the world a better place, by mapping the world for others, and letting them know
where beauty and darkness reside.

Comprehension Questions
1. What is the difference between a diary entry and a reaction paper?
2. According to the text, what is the importance of the reaction paper to society? Do you agree?
3. Why does the academe value the reaction paper?
4. What do you think makes a good reaction paper?
5. Did the text change the way you look at reaction papers? Why or why not?
QUIZ
Read the story “love is a fallacy”, apply the four ways of reading critically. Annotate as you read then write a
summary after reading.

QUIZ
What is the difference between paraphrasing and quoting?
What makes writing a process?
What is the importance of the pre-writing techniques?

QUIZ
Why is it important to understand how persuasion works?
Do you think persuasive skills are important? Why?

QUIZ
What do you think is the difference between a formal report and an informal report?
What is the significance of learning English in your future?