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Hannah Johns

Comp 105-007

WA #1

September 14, 2017

Sufficient Way to Articulate Opinions

In the Introduction to They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing,

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to assist writers strengthen an

argument that was convincing. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing

templates that they offer incorporate not only the writers argument, but relate the essay to the

audience getting a point across. As the authors themselves put it, they say, helps strengthen an

argument conveying how passionate one is about the subject being discussed just with a little

assistance. Although some people believe writers are being restricted from their creativity using

pre-designed templates, Graff and Birkenstein insist the writer can add their own originality, but

still follow key concepts to writing a well-rounded essay. In sum, then, their view is that

templates fortify an argument by clarifying the message of the writer.

I agree. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend teach the writer

how to develop an organized paper. For instance, a writer can add their own sparkle to an essay

making their point reducing the amount of filler words that arent always necessary in a

sufficient essay. In addition, alleviating some of the stress a writer might have fabricating an

essay can in fact strengthen the quality of the paper. Some might object, of course, on the

grounds that it is inappropriate to generate a paper with a pre-designed custom and that it doesnt

really allow the writer to learn from their mistakes. Yet I would argue that aid is always
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beneficial in the long run because the writer can learn what format to construct the essay making

them more susceptible to finding errors in a paper. Overall, then, I believe common inaccuracy is

due to weak cumulative writing techniques that have yet to be corrected, which is an important

point to make given that people are critiqued in life by the way they express themselves.