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THEY SAY, I SAY : The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

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They Say, I Say :. The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Introduction. Academic writing requires to express themselves and respond to others - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: They Say, I Say :

THEY SAY, I SAY:The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing

By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

Page 2: They Say, I Say :

Introduction Academic writing requires to express

themselves and respond to others Effective writers do more than make

claims (“I say”); they also map those claims relative to the claims of others (“They say”)

Writing as series of moves Seasoned writers do these naturally…

templates help the rest of us learn them explicitly!

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Goal To help you become a critical, intellectual

thinker who can participate in conversations in a meaningful way.

“You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, as discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about… You

listen for a while, until you decide you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes

to your defense; another aligns himself against you… The hour grows late, you must depart. And

you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress”

-Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form

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Starting with What Others are Saying

Most importantly: writing needs a point Not only your point, but what larger

conversation your thesis is responding to Must come first Best to state your position and the one

you’re responding to ASAP. Elaborate later!

Always keep what “they say” connected in your essay… gives you a sense of mission and urgency

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Introduce standard views Conventional wisdom has it that…

Introduce something implied or assumed Although X doesn’t say so directly, she

apparently assumes that…. Introduce ongoing debate

On the one hand…. On the other hand…. Others even maintain… My own view is…

Starting with What Others are Saying

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The following claims all provide an “I Say.” See if you can supply a plausible “They Say.” What might these be responding to?

1. Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

2. My own view is that this novel has certain flaws.

3. Football is so boring.4. I’m afraid that templates like the ones in

this book will stifle my creativity.

Starting with What Others are SayingExercise 1

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The Art of Summarizing Central tool Balance between the original author and

your thoughts Theory: “The Believing Game” (Peter

Elbow) Try to inhabit their worldview– readers

shouldn’t be able to tell whether you agree or disagree

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Read what Zinczenko says In his article, “Don’t Blame the Eater,”

David Zinczenko accuses the fast food companies of an evil conspiracy to make people fat. I disagree because these companies have to make money.

Natural to summarize others quickly, but be fair

Avoid “closest cliché syndrome” Entering conversation: study very closely

and not collapse it into something you have already heard or know

The Art of Summarizing

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But remember, your goal is your own response

Summary has to fit your agenda, while still being true to the text

The Art of Summarizing

In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that today’s fast food chains fill the nutritional void in children’s lives left by their overtaxed working parents. With many parents working long hours and unable to supervise what their children eat, Zinczenko claims, children today regularly turn to low-cost, calorie-laden foods that the fast food chains are all too eager to supply. When he himself was a young boy, for instance, and his single mother was away at work, he ate at Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and other chains on a regular basis and ended up overweight. Zinczenko’s hope is that with the new spate of lawsuits against the food industry, other children with working parents will have healthier choices available to them, and they will not, like him, become obese.

In my view, however, it is the parents, and not the food chains who are responsible for their children’s obesity. While it is true that many of today’s parents work long hours, there are still several things that parents can do to guarantee that their children eat healthy foods.

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Fair summary, but also points toward the second paragraph: the writer’s thesis

Make sure your “they say” and “I say” are well matched

Avoid LIST summaries

Bottom line: Summarize the author’s views accurately, in a way that fits your own agenda. DO NOT, however,

ignore or misrepresent the source.

The Art of Summarizing

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Signal verbs that fit Authors don’t “say” or “discuss” They “urge” “emphasize” and “insist on” Vivid and precise

She demonstrates that… In fact, they celebrate the fact that… _______, he admits.

The Art of Summarizing

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Making a claim Argue Insist Assert Believe Claim Emphasize Observe Remind us Report Suggest

Expressing Agreement Acknowledge Admire Agree Celebrate the fact

that Corroborate Do not deny Endorse Extol Praise Reaffirm Support Verify

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Questioning or Disagreeing Complain Complicate Contend Contradict Deny Deplore Disavow Question Refute Reject Renounce Repudiate

Making Recommendations Advocate Call for Demand Encourage Exhort Implore Plead Recommend Urge Warn

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To get a feel for Peter Elbow’s “believing game,” write a summary of some belief that you strongly disagree with. Then write a summary of the position that you actually hold on the topic. Give both summaries to a classmate and see if they can tell which position you endorse. If you’ve succeeded, they won’t be able to tell!

The Art of SummarizingExercise 2

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Write two different one paragraph summaries of David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Write the first one for an essay arguing that,

contrary to what Zinczenko claims, there are inexpensive and convenient alternatives to fast food restaurants.

Write the second for an essay that agrees with Zinczenko in blaming fast food companies for youthful obesity, but questions his view tht bringing lawsuits against those companies is a legitimate response to the problem.

Compare the two; though they are of the same article, they should look very different!

The Art of SummarizingExercise 3

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The Art of Quoting Quoting gives credibility to your summary Helps ensure that it is fair and accurate Don’t quote too little/Don’t quote too

much Major problem: assuming the quotations

speak for themselves Orphan Quotations: they’ve been taken

away from their contexts, and need to be integrated into their new surroundings

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The Art of Quoting Two ways to achieve this integration:

1. Choose quotations wisely

2. Surround every major quotation with a frame explaining whose words they are, what the quotation means and how the

quotation relates to your text.

Quoting what THEY SAY must always be connected to what YOU SAY!!