Assignment Task: After reading the Introduction to They Say/I Say, respond to the following questions in a posting:
Entering the Conversation
1. What do Graff and Birkenstein tell us is the single most important idea in the book? Formulating the same question differently, what is the book's main argument? Cite a passage that supports your answer.
2. How do the authors respond to the charge that an argument-based approach to writing is overly contentious or contrarian?
3. Identify and summarize ONE of the three arguments Graff and Birkenstein make for the use of templates. Provide textual evidence supporting each of the three points, quoting to support one or two and paraphrasing to support the other(s).