"They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, with 2016 MLA Update / Edition 3

by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein

Overview

THIS TITLE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THE 2016 MLA UPDATE.

The New York Times best-selling book on academic writing—in use at more than 1,500 schools.

“They Say / I Say” identifies the key rhetorical moves in academic writing, showing students how to frame their arguments in the larger context of what others have said and providing templates to help them make those moves. And, because these moves are central across all disciplines, the book includes chapters on writing in the sciences, writing in the social sciences, and—new to this edition—writing about literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393617436
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Gerald Graff, a professor of English and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and 2008 president of the Modern Language Association of America, has had a major impact on teachers through such books as Professing Literature: An Institutional History, Beyond the Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education, and Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind.

Cathy Birkenstein is a lecturer in English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has published essays on writing in College English, and, with Gerald Graff in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Academe, and College Composition and Communication.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition xiii

Preface xvi

Demystifying Academic Conversation

Introduction 1

Entering the Conversation

Part 1 "They Say" 17

1 "They Say" 19

Starting with What Others Are Saying

2 "Her Point Is" 30

The Art of Summarizing

3 "As He Himself Puts It" 42

The Art of Quoting

Part 2 "I Say" 53

4 "Yes / No / Okay, But" 55

Three Ways to Respond

5 "And Yet" 68

Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

6 "Skeptics May Object" 78

Planting a Naysayer in Your Text

7 "So What? Who cares?" 92

Saying Why It Matters

Part 3 Tying it All Together 103

8 "As a Result" 105

Connecting the Parts

9 "Ain't So / Is Not" 121

Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice

10 "But Don't Get Me Wrong" 129

The Art of Metacnmmentary

11 "He Says Contends" 139

Using the Templates to Revise

Part 4 In Specific Academic Contexts 161

12 "I Take Your Point" 163

Entering Class Discussions

13 "IMHO" 167

Is Digital Communication Good or Bad-or Both?

14 "What's Motivating This Writer?" 173

Reading for the Conversation

15 "On Closer Examination" 184

Entering Conversations about Literature

16 "The Data Suggest" 202

Writing in the Sciences

17 "Analyze This" 221

Writing in the Social Sciences

Readings 239

Don't Blame the Eater David Zinczenko 241

Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff 244

Nuclear Waste Richard A. Muller 252

The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream Barbara Ehrenreich 260

Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O'Connor 272

Index of Templates 293

Credits 311

Acknowledgments 313