Sacred Heart Villa School “Maria Schinina”

181 Aguinaldo Highway, Lalaan I, Silang, Cavite

(046) 423 – 3403

Name: __________________________________ Grade Level: ______________

Subject: EAPP Time Frame of the Activities: October 12-17, 2020
Quarter: Midterm Week: 4

Submission:
Online: On or Before October 17 (11:59 pm)

Topic: Writing the Reaction Paper/Review/Critique

INTRODUCTION:

Writing is hard, simply because one hopes to write using the best possible words to articulate
the best possible thoughts in the most creative way imaginable. Despite this fact, writing a reaction
paper seems not that different from a status message in Facebook. In practice, reaction paper is an
informed and insightful perspective on art, popular culture, and the world. Think about the millions of
voices clamoring to be heard and read on the Internet, and you come to know how to deal with the
challenge of sounding original and insightful. In the end, reaction paper is a reasoned and reasonable
response to the world; the best response can either be intelligent, humorous, wise, or all of the above.

PRESENTATION:

REACTION PAPER is a form of paper writing in which the writer expresses his ideas and
opinions about what has been read or seen. Reaction paper is evaluated due to the writer's
communication skills and only then due the unique ideas and the content. This paper writing may be
informal, two pages long. As all essays, a reaction paper comprises introduction, body, and conclusion.
In introduction the writers states the main premise, in a body he expresses his ideas and in conclusion
summarizes the results. The reaction paper is not a summary of the article although information should
be included.

You may be asked to write a reaction paper indirectly, and you have to get the intention of the
examiner fast. A good example is that you may be asked to give a critique about a certain subject, and
this would constitute a reaction paper, or to write a review about a literature book; it also falls into the
same group.

Despite the fact that you are writing about your reactions, thoughts and impressions, you still
need to follow an appropriate structure. So make sure to:

 Read the material carefully

Whether it is a book, article, or a film, make sure to read or watch it very carefully. Sometimes,
you will need to repeat this procedure for a couple of times.

 Mark interesting places while reading/watching

This will help you focus on the aspects that impressed you the most and come back to them
after you are done with reading or watching.

 Write down your thought while reading/watching

Doing so, you won’t forget any important ideas that came to your head.
  Come up with a thesis statement

Use your notes to formulate a central idea you will develop in your further work. Then put it in
one sentence and make it your thesis statement.

 Compose an outline

Every time you write an academic paper, you need to make an outline. Try at least once and
you will see how helpful an outline could be!

 Construct your paper

Only when all the preparations are done, start writing a paper itself.

The first part of your paper should contain information on the author and the topic. You need to
write down the main ideas and highlight the main points of the paper. You can use direct quotations if
needed. Avoid your personal opinion in this section. The second part should contain your personal
thoughts on the subject. Focus on a main problem or address all of them and describe your opinion.
Explain how the material can relate to the modern world, to the society or separate individuals. Back
your statements with sources if needed and make conclusions whether you support the author or not.

Writing a reaction paper can be quite a challenging task, so many students use examples to
learn more about its structure and key features. Here are a few recommendations, which will help you
complete an outstanding reaction paper:

 Read the original article carefully and highlight the main ideas and points you want to discuss;
 Describe your point of view and back it with additional information if needed.
 Use vivid examples;
 Use various sources to make your statement more argumentative.

There are also a few tips, which will help you to avoid common mistakes. First, don’t give a
summary of an article. You should perform your personal opinion, not an overview. You should always
back your ideas with examples. However, avoid using examples, which are difficult to relate to the
topic. With the help of these simple rules, you will learn how to write a reaction paper and will be able
to create an outstanding work!

ACTIVITY 1: Write what is Right

Summarize your understanding of what you have read by filling in the blanks.

A Reaction paper is
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

To write a good reaction, you must

_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

When you write your reaction paper, remember these important points

_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 2: Read the poem at least twice and write a critique (300 to 500 words) using

critical approach.

DEAD STARS (for Paz Marquez Benitez)

by H.O. Santos
Source: https://www.sushidog.com/bpss/poems_staff/stars2.htm
If I still think of her today
Why didn’t I tell her long ago?
I could have saved all wondering
For I’d have peace if I did know.
If I had learned of metaphors
Before I wondered ’bout the stars
Would I have written verses then
And worshipped Venus instead of Mars?
If I had found my tongue could rhyme
Would I have shown a face sans mask,
A heart unsure? But woe is me–
I’ll never know, I didn’t ask.

ENRICHMENT: Using your Facebook account, express your reactions about the article below. Be
sure to use appropriate language and manner. The language should be formal and easily understood
by the general public. Use the hashtag “EAPP_ExpressMyOwnOpinion.” Take a screenshot of your
post then send it in Edmodo.

OPINION: An ‘academic freeze’ is the best option for Filipino students for now
Written by Ervine Jules B. Sape, Bianca Mae R. Aquino, and Andrea Isahbel G. Olivar
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/6/1/academic-freeze-opinion.html

Manila (CNN Philippines Life) — In South Korea, two students tested positive for COVID-19 as 66
schools reopened. In the Philippines, a 20 year-old student from Capiz died of a motorcycle accident
on her way home, while another 20-year-old student from Masbate climbed a mountain; both were
searching for a signal just to submit their academic requirements. In Japan, the students clamor that
the quality of classes dropped, making them feel meaningless through online education.

Why do we still romanticize underprivileged Filipino academic resilience and sacrifice the lives of the
“hope of the future” — when there is still no nationwide mass testing — just to resume classes?

With a mental health pandemic and digital divide cutting deeper into our educational system, an
“academic freeze” must be considered — at least, until and unless the curve has flattened and mass
testing has been made and proven effective. At most, a vaccine against COVID-19 should be
developed. This pertains to suspending classes or the succeeding academic years in all modes of
learning: on-site, off-site, online, and offline.

The “off-site and online”

Imagine staying online for weeks, paying for the internet, and going to computer shops, all for the
sake of compliance, while families are struggling and others have nothing to eat, thinking only how to
survive every day.

Pushing through an “off-site and online” mode of learning will just further resurface the digital divide
evident in our educational sphere. Not everyone has a stable internet connection and it would be hard
or worse, impossible for some students to reach a signal.
Institutions equipped to implement this method, by providing gadgets and student allowances, would
just increase institutional incompetence in resolving the problems with internet access (not to mention
the proper gadgets) of students across the country, as it would leave students of most institutions
behind due to incapacity to adopt such measures.

Obliging teachers to prepare for the next term is tantamount to overlooking their conditions as well.
Cognitive skills may be enriched through online classes, but it would only leave the class to be
teacher-centered while emotive and motor skills may be undermined, as there is no hands-on
guidance, physical experimentation, and practical activities.

The “off-site and offline”

In the alternative “off-site and offline” mode, learning materials and requirements can be delivered
both by mail. But this set-up will possibly require families to find a means to procure money for courier
fees, among others, when they would rather allot it for their necessities — unless the school will
handle the delivery fees.

This lack of empathy implies that our educational system is turning a blind eye to whom we should
help and what we should focus on — the frontliners, the underprivileged, and flattening the curve.
Instead of saving a community for the "hope of the society," it just impairs our mental health. Rather
than prioritizing safety and security, it just reflects otherwise.

The “academic freeze”

It may not be the best solution, but an “academic freeze” can be adopted until the digital divide is fully
resolved or results of mass testing and curve-flattening are already evaluated empirically. This will
require a flexible academic term, calendar, and curricula to lessen the school days required, lower the
number of course requirements, and reduce tuition and other fees usually projected for the use of
school facilities.

An “academic freeze” can also be adopted through a “no vaccine, no classes” policy wherein all
academic calendars and curricula need not to be adjusted, but will just have to suspend classes per
academic year. If there is no vaccine yet as of 2020, it may be possible to suspend the Academic
Year 2020 to 2021 and resume classes on the Academic Year 2021 to 2022 without adjusting the
June to March and August to May academic calendars.

Leave no student behind

Economically affected, agencies, companies, and institutions, whether public or private, can
encourage graduating students to apply for a job during the “academic freeze” to uplift local
businesses, but they should be lenient in the submission of their academic requirements for
employment.

Furthermore, a possible loan with no interest agreement, public-private partnership, or government-

business coordination can incentivize school employees and contractual workers so they will still be
motivated in sustaining and improving their morale and productivity to provide quality education, post-
pandemic.

Early resumption of classes will just cause additional burden to families and guardians providing
tuition and allowances as the transition to “new normal” lets all of us, most especially the indigents,
prioritize basic necessities from square one.
“Academic freeze” will give the country time to have effective and efficient mass testing or mass
vaccination; not only in the hands of one, but for a collective and responsive system to push through
this pandemic.

As far as there are underprivileged students who are victims of a distorted system, an “academic
freeze” is the most plausible option for students, teachers, and school administrators. It allows them
to collaborate in helping our frontliners, assisting our local governments, and in helping the country
recover from an economic recession by conducting inclusive socio-economic volunteer mobilization
programs.

No student should be left behind. Education is a right, but crisis response speaks of valuing human
lives.

EVALUATION:
Let us read a review of a movie entitled, “Miracle in Cell No. 7” and evaluate whether it has the
characteristics of a good reaction paper/movie review or not.
Miracle in Cell No. 7: Film Review
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/miracle-cell-no-7-film-479285
A mentally handicapped single father is wrongly accused, tried and sentenced
to death for the rape-murder of an elementary school girl in Lee Hwankyung’s Miracle in Cell No. 7.
The miracle of the title is the series of meetings the man
has with his daughter while in prison in the months that lead up to his execution and
the friendship she forges with his fellow inmates. Years later, the girl grows into a
woman set on exonerating her dad with their help. Oh, this is a comedy.
But then there’s the melodramatic, tragic aspect of the film that gives it its jarring
tone. The prison scenes are told in flashback as an adult Ye-sung (Park Shin-hye)
addresses a court in an attempt to prove her father’s innocence. Her biggest ally in the
quest is Jang Min-hwan (Jeong Jin-young), warden at the time of Yong-gu’s
detention. In 1997 Jang is a grieving father whose experience and gut instinct tell him
Yong-gu may be innocent. He does his part by looking the other way when Ye-sung
38 39
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Activity 3. Read the Review
Now, that you know what a reaction paper is and how to write it, let us read a
review of a movie entitled, “Miracle in Cell No. 7” and evaluate whether it has the
characteristics of a good reaction paper/movie review or not.
Miracle in Cell No. 7: Film Review
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/miracle-cell-no-7-film-479285

A mentally handicapped single father is wrongly accused, tried and sentenced to death for the
rape-murder of an elementary school girl in Lee Hwankyung’s Miracle in Cell No. 7. The miracle of
the title is the series of meetings the man has with his daughter while in prison in the months that lead
up to his execution and the friendship she forges with his fellow inmates. Years later, the girl grows
into a woman set on exonerating her dad with their help. Oh, this is a comedy.
But then there’s the melodramatic, tragic aspect of the film that gives it its jarring tone. The
prison scenes are told in flashback as an adult Ye-sung (Park Shin-hye) addresses a court in an
attempt to prove her father’s innocence. Her biggest ally in the quest is Jang Min-hwan (Jeong Jin-
young), warden at the time of Yong-gu’s detention. In 1997 Jang is a grieving father whose
experience and gut instinct tell him Yong-gu may be innocent. He does his part by looking the other
way when Ye-sung sneaks in and by raising the little girl later on. He also digs around police records
and uncovers a pattern of political prosecution, police ineptitude and corruption that supports their
claims. And Lee has a penchant for heavy-handed imagery (the hot air balloon that gets snagged on
barbed wire) and histrionics (walking the green mile) that could bear judicious editing.
 It is this odd mix of broad comedy and issue-based drama that makes Miracle so perplexing
and logic-defying. It’s hard to tell if Lee has made a social drama (legal shortcomings and cronyism
make headlines in Korea) disguised as a goofy comedy or a comedy with an undercurrent of
righteous anger. Either way, the film wouldn't work at all if it wasn’t packed with engaging
performances by some of Korea’s most reliable second-stringers. Ryu (War of the Arrows) waffles
between caricature and affecting as the handicapped Yong-gu, and Gal occasionally suffers an
overabundance of cute (though she’s far more interesting than Park), but the rest of the cast more
than compensate for their shortcomings, particularly Oh (The Thieves) and Jeong (The King and the
Clown). Miracle in Cell No. 7 is one of those films you don’t want to, one you know you shouldn’t, but
you just can’t help liking.
Producer Kim Min-ki, Lee Sang-hun
Director Lee Hwan-kyung
Cast Ryu Seung-ryong, Gal So-won, Oh Dal-su, Park Won-sang, Jung Man-shik,
Kim Ki-cheon, Kim Jung-tae, Park Shin-hye, Jeong Jin-young
Screenwriter Lee Hwan-kyung, Yu Young-a, Kim Hwang-sung, Kim Young-seok
Executive producer Kim Woo-taek
Director of Photography Kang Seung-gii
Production Designer Lee Hu-kyoung
Music Lee Dong-june
Costume designer Kim Na-youn
Editor Choi Jai-geun, Kim So-youn

Check your understanding of the text by answering the questions below.

1. What does the review say about the film?

2. What important qualities of the film were being mentioned in the review?
3. Explain the essence of the story in the film as stated in the review.
4. What did the review say about the genre of the film?
5. Do you think the review is good? Why?