What is a Personal Response Essay?

A personal response explores your own reactions to what you have read.  A personal response can be written in several ways. You can choose to write an essay or a creative response.  For your next assignment, you will be writing a personal response essay.  Previously, you wrote a creative personal response.
The personal response essay focuses on your feeling and viewpoints; therefore, your writing will be more personal and less analytical than in the critical response or typical five-paragraph essay.  Feel free to use "I think", "I believe", and "in my opinion" in this type of essay. That being said, it should still be thoughtful and polished.  The personal response should have a thesis and use supporting details from the text(s) to develop it.

Your thesis should answer the question you have been asked to address,  When writing your thesis, consider both the message the author is conveying about the question and your emotional reaction.   As you draft your thesis, you should be thinking about what aspects of the story, novel, or poem have elicited this response. You can even do this about a work of literature that you dislike! Describe the elements that stand out for you such as themes, structure, language, or powerful sections.

In your personal response essay, you should also explore how the text connects to your personal experience.  Have you had similar experiences to the characters?  Can you relate to the conflicts they face?  If you have not experienced something similar firsthand, can you think of someone who has?  Maybe a friend or family member comes to mind.  And if you still cannot think of a connection, widen your search so you consider other texts you have viewed or read.  Does this text remind you of a novel you read or something you saw in the news?  Depending on what the text and question are, it may be easy or hard to find a personal connection but keep digging because you will find one!

Your introduction should mention the title and author of the work, what your response was, and what it was about the work that evoked your response. End your introduction with your thesis statement.


In your body paragraphs, you will need to include supporting evidence from the text(s).  Do not retell the entire text, but illustrate each point with a quotation or paraphrase. Tell the reader where the passage is found in the text (line number in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase), and briefly describe the context. Be clear and concise, and don't leave the reader guessing what the passage is about and why you chose it.
In a personal response, express any opinions or emotions you wish, and use informal language if it is appropriate, but discuss your ideas clearly, in logical order, and with suitable evidence from the text.  Options for organizing your personal response essay will be discussed in the 3.5 Personal Response Outline.


For some more information about writing a Personal Response, take a moment to view this Personal Response Tutorial.