Emily Paige Essick

UWRT 1103
Intawiwat
14 September 2014
They Say/I Say pg. 15 Ex. 2
In the introduction to They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing,
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to help a student structure or
expand our own writing. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing
templates they offer are model templates that help you put those principles directly into practice.
As the author themselves put it, Working with these templates can give you an immediate sense
of how to engage in the kinds of critical thinking you are required to do at the college level and
in the vocational and public spheres beyond. Although some people believe that using templates
is plagiarism and can stunt someones creativity, Graff and Birkenstein insist that using
templates is important in the they say, I say process. This process is where you base a statement
off what others might say in order to express your own personal ideas and beliefs because it
captures the audiences attention. In sum, then, their view is that a template is just a tool to help
the writer express their ideas while listening carefully to the ideas of others and including them
in their writing.
I agree with Graff and Birkenstein in many areas. I believe that using a template can be a
helpful way to gather an idea about what or how to write something. I myself have googled a
template for various tasks before in order to get a glimpse at the possible choice of words,
phrases, layouts, etc. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend were
helpful and refreshing. I had never thought about the they say, I say theory but after reading
more of Graff and Birkensteins argument regarding the template and seeing the examples they
laid out, I begin to see the benefits of their templates. For instance, changing a sentence around
to engage a much broader outlook on a topic is something I had not thought of before. Some
might object, of course, on the grounds that templates hinder the writer. Yet I would argue that
templates are a good backbone for writers, especially students, who may be trying to learn how
to write with more depth and clarity. Overall, I believe that Graff and Birkenstein have made a
phenomenal argument regarding templates and their use as well as have provided a broad
spectrum of templates and examples for the reader of They Say, I Say to look back on.