Spalding University Library: QEP Writing Through Revision: Argument Rhetoric Tools

They Say/I Say

In They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein claim that “Academic writing in particular calls upon writers not simply to express their own ideas, but to do so as a response to what others have said” (ix).

In other words, think of your argument (or your student’s argument) in terms of what the authorities or conventional wisdom maintains about a given topic (THEY say) and how what YOU think (or your students think) differs (I say).

How do we go about incorporating “what they say” versus “what I say” into our work?

Easy! The beauty of Graff and Birkenstein’s book is that they provide TEMPLATES for how you might go about adding this into your work.

The following are some examples from “They Say/I Say” that you, or your students, can incorporate into their work (refer to the “Active Learning Tasks” tab on the QEP Libguide for information on how you can incorporate this learning into your classroom). It is just as easy as filling in the blanks!

Example: I disagree with Black’s view that chocolate is the least favorite flavor of ice cream because, as recent research has shown, chocolate is actually the most requested flavor at all ice cream shops nation wide.

See below for an example assignment that shows how you may implement these templates into your classroom!

Example Assignment
Students do not always understand how to make an effective argument in their writing. The book They Say/I Say uses argumentative templates to introduce students to the sorts of rhetorical moves academic writers make all the time, jumpstarting students' use of argumentative language. You can easily adapt the templates featured in this book to scaffold writing assignments in your course. One example, which you are free to copy or adapt, is available above as a PDF . It uses templates from They Say/I Say to show students how to formulate a critical comparison of two authors discussing a common subject.

They Say / I Say by Gerald Graff; Cathy Birkenstein
ISBN: 9780393935844
Publication Date: 2014-02-04
"They Say / I Say" identifies the key rhetorical moves in academic writing, showing students how to frame their arguments in the larger context of what others have said and providing templates to help them make those moves. And, because these moves are central across all disciplines, the book includes chapters on writing in the sciences, writing in the social sciences, and--new to this edition--writing about literature.

This helpful book provides a series of templates and ideas for that can help fast-track students into successful academic and argumentative writing.