Intro:
In the introduction to “They Say/I Say: The Moves that Mater in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provides templates designed to clearly state the view of others and the writer’s clearly. The writing templates given are structures/formats people should follow. Although some people believe these templates limit their creativity, Graff and Birkenstein insist that it helps the writers be more creative.
I have mixed feelings about these templates as do many others. The templates given shouldn’t be specific ways to write. However I just take them into consideration and as suggestions. Nonetheless they do help write clear and concise statements while both explaining the opinion of others and the writer’s.
Chapter One:
Chapter one focuses on the introduction of the passage the writer is writing. They say to always state what the point of the passage is, as a result the readers may be engaged. The thesis needs to be clear and precise so the readers understand what the point of the passage is. Therefore they list several templates which can help introduce several topics. For instance,”Templates for introducing something implied or assumed.”
Quotes:
“the story illustrates an important lesson: that to give writing the most important thing of all-namely, a point…”
“to keep an audience engaged, a writer needs to explain what he or she is responding to…”
“To be responsive to others and the conversation you’re entering, you need to start with what others are saying and continue keeping it in the reader’s view.”
Question:
How would I be able to tell if I’m giving off too much information in the introduction or saying too little?