So even though personal experience can enter a reaction paper, it must be part of a well-constructed argement, not merely a personal story standing on its own. When you are in doubt whether a reaction paper topic is appropriate, talk to me. If you have difficulties coming up with a topic, I can provide guiding questions. The best reaction papers from past years are posted on the course web page. The first draft of each paper is brought to class on the due date and gets picked up by another student who edits the paper for clarity and quality of writing.
Clear writing teaches clear thinking.
Unfortunately, many term papers are written in a hurry, packed with redundancy and platitudes, just to meet the page minimum. As a consequence, many creative ideas go unappreciated because they are drowned in muddled language. An excellent way to learn to write well is by reading and critiquing other people's writing. And for each paper you write, you will be the editor of someone else's paper. Help with style and grammar is also available on the course web page.