Introduction:

In the introduction of the book “They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing”, the authors provide us with correct structure when writing an essay. The authors believe that they have the best template in order to make an effective argument. The authors encourage their readers to use the given template. The authors make several arguments. One argument that is made is that people can’t make real arguments without being provoked. These arguments take a lot of time and thinking.  After reading the introduction, I believe that these templates offer a good way of structuring your essays. I believe that organization is key in every essay. A clear and organized stream of thoughts allows for the readers to clearly understand points that are being made. It allows for a more coherent piece and argument.

Chapter one:

In chapter one, the authors discuss the importance of what is being said. They essentially say that nothing should be left out of an argument. All important information should not be left out because they can’t assume that the reader knows what they’re talking about. An effective argument is one that can be understood. Their main points can be seen by the following quotes: 1) “…a writer needs to explain what he or she is responding to either before offering that response or, at least, very early in the discussion.”(pg.18) 2) “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.”(pg.18) 3) “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)

After finishing the reading, I don’t really have any questions. One thing that I might want some clarification on is how to effectively address an issue in an argument.