Introduction: Entering the Conversation

Exercise #2:

The goal of the book is introduced: become a better writer and become an intellectual and critical thinker who can participate. The author encourages the reader to use templates even though they may be skeptical about it. He explains how templates can help improve your argument and your writing in general. These templates allow the readers to structure their writing in order for it to be effective. The author discusses that it’s important for your audience to know what you’re saying and why you’re saying it. After reading the introduction I do agree that templates can be helpful and I can see how it helps structure our writing. I didn’t use a template because only a few words are my own words. It’s hard for me to express my opinion or write about something when someone has it written out for me.

Chapter 1, “They Say: Starting with What Others Are Saying”:

In “They Say: Starting with What Others Are Saying”, the author talks about the importance of summarizing what others say before going any further in your writing. It’s important for the reader to understand every aspect of your writing. Assuming your audience knows what you’re talking about takes away from your writing. He says that you should always discuss what they say in order to make an argument: “We offer you the following advice: remember that you are entering a conversation and therefore need to start with “what others are saying”” (pg. 18). Chapter one discusses ways that the reader can begin their writing in a powerful way: “There are many other powerful ways to begin. Instead of opening with someone else’s views, you could start with an illustrative quotation, a revealing fact or statistic, or a relevant anecdote.” (pg 20). They then provided us with templates that can facilitate our writing specifically our introduction. This quote really stood out to me while reading this chapter: “good writing means making true or smart or logical statements about a given subject with little or no reference to what others say about it.” One question I have for the author is: Is there another way you believe is essential in becoming a good writer besides using templates?