Product Description
At a time when so many lament the decline of writing skills among Americans, They Say/I Say teaches the core moves of effective argumentative writing. Suggesting that there are certain moves that experienced writers use instinctively, and that the moves can be learned, this book offers a number of imaginative templates for doing so. Praised for "demystifying the tricks of the writer's trade," They Say/I Say grows from Gerald Graff's award-winning Clueless in Academe.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 22 reviews)

demystifies the realm of the non-fiction essay

This book offers a very practical way to introduce students to the notion that writing an essay means stepping into a conversation that already exists. The templates as very useful and students will immediately write better once they use them.

This, like any book for teaching, isn't something you just read from and presto, lesson plan. You must modify it to the needs of you and your students. I found along that way that I began to invent my own, more relevant sentence templates for students to use.

As far as teaching of writing books go, this one is a good balance of practical and theoretical. Too often writing books contain everything you already know in no practical way, or nothing that has any practical relevance. This, however, is very different.

The book is written to students. It would be ideal if students could have it as a textbook in a writing class.

I see how this book could be usefull in a college comp class, but it seems too elementary for college students. This is most appropriately a book for the high school student and would make a great addition to a "Teaching of Writing" class in English education programs. Anyone who is about to become a high school English teacher should own this book.
December 06, 2008

And I say...

This book is full of templates and models of writing arguments. It's very helpful for anyone to learn these skills even though it was meant for college students; in fact, I really see it as being more helpful to teach high school (upper school) students these styles.
October 24, 2008

The Contemplative Mind

Well, ok, here's my argument.

I say what is lacking in Gerald Graff's teaching philosophy is vision.

As president of the MLA Graff is a widely respected and influential figure, but what is lacking in his many books and articles is a vision of the intellectual life that transcends the kind of partisan bickering that marks so much of public life in American politics and education and media and champions the kind of broad-mindedness that sees beyond divisions and polarities (which are sometimes deep but often superficial) and works toward a higher synthesis, a larger vision, a longer view.

For example: A superficial gloss of the the culture wars would see two sides arguing from incommensurable positions, but if one steps back and surveys the field the two positions can be seen to be arguing toward the same end. Both sides believe in democratic principles of fair play and equal opportunity and academic freedom and the pursuit of the individual as well as the common good. Often the discussion gets bogged down because each side misunderstands the other side's position and therefore is suspicious of the other side's intentions so the dialogue never progresses past the level of mutual misrepresentation and mutual distrust.

I'll try to clarify by accurately representing each side's position and intentions. Each side has their ideal of what a university's mission should be and they are not mutually exclusive ideals. The social and cultural progressives believe that the liberal project has either been unsuccesful or is incomplete and that it is the American intellectual's duty to make America live up to its initial promise. Thus many progressive intellectuals do what amounts to social work by securing the rights of special interest groups (gender, racial, ethnic, queer). They do this not just by changing laws but also by changing the way we practice culture. The progressive does not necessarily see this as the only end of education but as an essential part of the work that they do. The social and cultural conservative believes essentially the same thing. They talk of preserving a tradition by teaching a core curricula and core values but egalitarianism and freedom are our core values and preserving these shared values means securing them for everyone, otherwise they are no longer shared values. As for cultural literacy there has never been one cultural literacy in American life, but multiple literacies. Multiculturalism is simply a new name for what has always been this nations reality; we are and having always been a collection of diverse peoples with diverse backgrounds, levels of education, and interests. But the common interests of our national public life have been consistent.

Since Alexis de Tocqueville we have heard voiced accusations that America is anti-intellectual. I think there is a mistrust of intellectuals in this country largely because there is a misunderstanding as to what they do. Graff speaks to us about how to teach persuasive writing but he rarely says anything about the higher aims of education. I think the higher aim of education is a broadness of mind that encourages students not to enter the fray and the partisan bickering that so often passes for discourse but to rise above the fray.

Teaching the controversies means that we no longer read the best essays only current ones. The best essays present us with minds that are not contestatory but contemplative. These essays present us with the best models of the intellectual life and the best way to live, and this should be the aim of education.

October 04, 2008

Food for illiterate people's thoughts

The book was in excellent condition and arrived very quickly and I am extrememly pleased with the services provided.
September 24, 2008

The best endorsement is that my students loved it.

I used "They Say/I Say" with my composition students in the Spring semester of 2008. Frankly, I had some reservations because the department required a fairly expensive handbook, and this would be an add-on. On the plus side, it was brief enough to go over thoroughly and was not too expensive. I thought it would be useful if students read it.

As usual, I made assignments in the book, and we discussed each chapter. I was surprised by student reactions when I surveyed students informally at the end of the semester. My students were very enthusiastic. Most said that they read it and referred back to it while they were writing. There were no negative comments, and most students felt that it was worth reading and had made their writing better. A few said that it made them more confident academic writers because it helped them to express their opinions beyond just agreeing or disagreeing with an author. Most astonishing, most said that they weren't planning to sell it at buy back because they found it so helpful.

It's unusual to find students enthusiastic about a composition text book. I plan to use it again next semester.
May 13, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Norton Field Guide to Writing
by Richard Bullock

They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Persuasive Writing
by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein

A Writer's Reference
by Diana Hacker

A Pocket Style Manual
by Diana Hacker

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Sixth Edition
by Joseph Gibaldi