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Vaishnavi Bodireddy

Professor McTyre

ENG 104-Final Essay

13 December 2023

Between Templates and Voices: My Reflections on “They Say/I Say”

About a year ago, in the August of 2022, I was given the opportunity to be the delegate at one

of Harvard’s Model United Nations. It was only my second time at such a proceeding, but I

was quite confident — speech writing is, as the modern generation says, my thing. The real

hurdle for me, however, was an unconquerable, daunting peak — the position paper. As a

paper that offers an overview of the delegation’s country in relation to the agenda, this paper

had to be formal and academic. In a situation such as this, I cannot emphasise enough on the

cruciality of books such as “They Say/I Say.” Written by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein,

this book offers a structured framework for a well thought-out academic paper that

incorporates external perspectives. In this essay, I aim to consider my opinions about this

book, and the impact it can have on academic writers.

“They Say/ I Say” elucidates the art of incorporating the academic works of other

writers into one’s own paper, as well as how a response to the works of others should be

structured. The book further allows for the understanding of connecting the two, and then

discusses the various techniques utilised in different disciplines.

In navigating academic writing, this book has personally been a godsend. The

templates provided within almost every chapter provide a clear pathway that helps connect

the dots. It explains succinctly what is instrumental in not only constructing coherent

arguments but also in maintaining the reader’s interest.

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Additionally, the book’s applicability across various domains is certainly remarkable.

It goes beyond a mere set of rules, adjusting techniques to meet the demand of different

academic fields, and also explaining to the reader how the notation and style of writing are to

be interpreted.

However, one must use this book cautiously, for the emphasis on response and

engagement, while commendable, may risk generating formulaic writing if one leans too

heavily on the provided templates. Even the book mentions that writers should inject their

own unique voice into the conversation, and like every other reference book, the advice in it

must not be followed to the dot, but rather in a strategic manner that aims to improve one’s

writing.

In conclusion, I genuinely believe that having this book in 2022 might honestly have

saved me hours of working through formats and writing styles. “They Say/I Say” truly serves

as a valuable guide in the ups and downs of academic writing, where its emphasis on

dialogue, connection, and adaptability make it a versatile tool. However, writers should use

its templates judiciously to avoid sacrificing individual expression.

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Works Cited

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. “They Say/I Say” : The Moves That Matter in

Academic Writing. 4th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.