I received a summons for cc debt and wanted to know the easiest, usual way of responding to a court, a registered letter?

I received a summons for cc debt and wanted to know the easiest, usual way of responding to a court, a registered letter?
The Court wants a formal answer, filed in Court. There is some discussion in another thread about filing a Notice of Intent to Respond; I am more familiar with the Answer, affirmative defense, counterclaim route.

Keep in mind that there are strict deadlines which appear on the Summons.

Hello, I couldn't find the thread but do I need to have an attorney respond to the courts for a debt less than $2000? Do I contact the court myself? Fill out a legal form to submit? Thanks, John