They Say, I Say exercise #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 create an essay using conversation. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer will help familiarize students with using their conversational skills in their writings. As the authors themselves put it, the "goal is to demystify academic writing...in the form of templates" (Graff, Birkenstein xvi). Although some people believe that borrowing ideas from other writers is considered cheating or plagiarism, Graff and Birkenstein insist that language is constantly being reused. In sum, then, their view is that one can use similar writing organizations, but still create an original piece.

I have a few mixed feelings about this, however understand what message they are attempting to convey. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend are very helpful by showing multiple types of sentence structures. For instance, they have demonstrated different ways of responding, to help carry on the 'conversation'. In addition, their templates helps the writer to express their ideas without completely writing the essay for them. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that these templates hinder your creativity. Yet I would argue that these don't affect what you put into your essay, only how you format it, making it more academic. Overall, then, I believe the templates are a helpful guide to start writing.