Transcript They Say I Say

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By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
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Quoting
Documenting
The need to introduce and discuss your sources
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There are innumerable ways to “use” or discuss a quote.
The rules:
o Again, you get thirty seconds to think of as many ways to “use” a
source in the manner I direct. Winner of each round gets extra
credit.
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Introduce what “they” say. Just the source/ideas, not a
direct quote.
o A number of sociologists have recently suggested the X’s work has
sever fundamentals problems.
o It has become common today to dismiss X’s contribution to the field
of sociology
o In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for
_____________.
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Explaining a quote: (full sentences)
o Basically, X is saying ______________.
o In other words, X believes ____________.
o In making this comment, X argues that _______________.
o X is insisting that _______________.
o X’s point is that _______________.
o The essence of X’s argument is that _______________.
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Disagreeing, with reasons.
o I think X is mistaken because she over looks______________.
o X’s claim that _______________ rests upon the questionable
assumption that ______________.
o X contradicts herself/can’t have it both ways. On the one hand she
argues _________________. But on the other hand, she also says
_____________.
o By focusing on ________________, X overlooks the deeper problem
of ______________.
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Agreeing with a difference
o Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to
know that it basically boils down to _____________.
o X surely is right about ___________ because, as she may not be
aware, recent studies have shown that _______________.
o X’s theory of ____________ is extremely useful because it sheds
insight on the difficult problem of_____________.
o If group X is right that ___________, as I think they are, then we
need to reassess the popular assumption that ___________.
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Agreeing and disagreeing simultaneously
o Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall
conclusion that _________________
o Though I concede that ________________, I still insist that
__________.
o Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorese his final
conclusion that ________________.
o Whereas X provides ample evidence that _______________, Y and
Z’s research on _____________ and ____________ convices me that
______________ instead.
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Similarly, making concessions while still standing your
ground
o Although I grant that ______________, I still maintain that ________.
o Proponents of X are right to argue that ____________. But they
exaggerate when they claim that _____________.
o While it is true that _______________, it does not necessarily follow
that ______________.
o On the one hand, I agree with X that _____________. But on the
other hand, I still insist that _____________.
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Establish why your claims matter
o X matter/is important because _______________.
o Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s
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concern over _______________.
Ultimately, what is at stake here is ____________.
These findings have important consequences for the broader
domain of ______________.
My discussion of X is in fact addressing that larger matter of
____________.
These conclusions/this discovery will have significant application
in__________ as well as _____________.
Although X may seem to concern only a small group of
____________, it should in fact concern anyone who care about
___________.
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There are other ways to use sources. You just have to think
about what the relationship each source/quote has with
your material.
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Graff, Geralf and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say I Say. New
York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006. Print.