Introduction:

In the introduction of “They Say, I Say,” the author provides effective templates as a way of structuring essays. The authors believe that not only should you (the writer) express your ideas and beliefs but you should say what other says as well. The authors also state that the best way to respond to an argument is to agree or disagree simultaneously. They think it’s the best way because it avoids the question of “yes” or “no” as to there is no simple answer. This section also addresses that these templates don’t reduce creativity, it actually allows for more creativity while organizing.

I think that these templates are very helpful in structuring essays. Having a clear argument in an essay is one of the more challenging aspects of writing a paper because you can’t use a simple word to justify an argument. The templates are helpful in that it allows the writer to have a clear argument and then furthermore interpret other’s opinions as well.

Chapter one:

In chapter one, the author focuses on the importance of what other’s are saying. Essentially, none of the important information should be left out. Every piece of information is required because the reader can’t assume that they know what the author is talking about.

“Remember that you are entering a conversation and therefore need to start with ‘what others are saying’ and introduce your own ideas as a response” (page 18).

“This little story illustrates an important lesson: that to give writing the most important thing of all namely, a point- a writer needs to indicate clearly not only his or her thesis but also what larger conversation that thesis is responding to” (page 18).

“Instead of opening with someone else’s views, you could start with an illustrative quotation, a revealing fact or statistic, or a relevant anecdote” (page 20).

After finishing the reading, I would like to know how to introduce an illustrative quotation, a revealing fact or statistic, or a relevant anecdote into an essay. I feel like that’s really tricky to do because it might seem like unnecessary information, and I wouldn’t know how to relate an argument to it effectively.

Graff, Gerald; Birkenstein, Cathy (2007-08-17). “They Say / I Say”: The Moves that Matter in Persuasive Writing (p. 20). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.