Before you Write

• 1). If the media report you are reacting to is in written form, cut it out, highlight key parts and write your reactions in the margins. Get a separate sheet of paper if your notes consume the margins. Try to get a written transcript of a broadcast report and follow the same exercise. These notes will help you formulate ideas, which will serve as the framework of your paper.
  
  
• 2). Review your notes and isolate your overriding reaction and the rational reasons for your reaction. If possible, put your notes aside for at least a day before you begin to write--to give yourself time to organize your thoughts and develop a grounded perspective.
  
  
• 3). Remember that a reasonable tone and proper word choices are vital to writing an effective media reaction paper. Strive for an authoritative, even-handed tone. Do not employ sarcasm or resort to name-calling. Choose your adjectives carefully, for meaning and connotation.
  
  
• 4). Media reaction papers can range from a five well-developed paragraphs to many well-developed pages. For brevity's sake, this example will focus on the former.
  
  
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  Take some time to think and organize your thoughts before you begin to write.Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
  
  

Write with Conviction

• 1). Devote the first paragraph to a brief statement of purpose: "I am writing in response to an article in last Sunday's edition titled, 'Business owners cheer as recession finally comes to an end.'" Provide a brief summary of the media report. Paraphrase key points from the written report or the transcript and, where appropriate, extract key quotations: "The article contained the following information that I take issue with:"
  
  
• 2). Devote the second and third paragraphs to your reaction, or your retort. As the core of your paper, this section should be specific and direct. "The reporter interviewed only two local business owners for the article. They hardly "cheered" the end of the recession. In fact, they were non-committal about hiring more employees and low-key about the outlook for the economy in general. Their comments were quite tepid--demonstrating, to me, that the writer had his own curious agenda for crafting this article."
  
  
• 3). Invoke some emotion, reactions usually are emotional, but be calm and rational and demonstrate your ability to proffer original ideas: "I believe the report was inherently flawed insofar as it relied only on recent declines in unemployment figures. The report gave no mention whatsoever to those people who are underemployed: people who are working only part time; people who are working at jobs for which they are obviously overqualified; and people who are working outside of their specialty and former field of employment. Technically, yes: these people are employed, but for them, the recession is hardly over."
  
  
• 4). Anticipate possible objections to your reaction, but do not let them alter your position. Remember that a bit of diplomacy can go a long way in helping people respect your reaction, whether they agree with it or not: "I agree that unemployment figures can tell us a lot about the state of the economy. But I also believe that counting the underemployed might tell us even more."
  
  
• 5). Conclude in the fifth paragraph and try to end on a compelling note. Conclusions deserve their bad reputation for being difficult to write; they are difficult to write. Think in terms of the last impression or message you want your readers to remember. If it feels right, it probably is: "When I see my friends and neighbors restored to full employment, or business owners cheering on the side of the road without the prodding of a journalist, I'll know that the recession is truly over. Then it really will be time for a celebration."