They Say
I say
By Gerald Graff
and Cathy Birkenstein
AP Language and
Composition
Mariana Hughes
Rationale for Text
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“Intellectual writing is almost always
composed in response to others’ texts.
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AP Assessment
“Students need to understand the “moves that
matter” in language they can readily apply.”
“I know what I mean… but I
can’t get it on the paper”
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Disconnect exists… Solution?
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You have skills to comprehend, summarize,
analyze, etc.
Problem arises when you have to do many of
these together in your own writing.
Templates can help!
Sample Template:
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In discussions of ------, a controversial issue is
whether ------- or --------. While some argue that ----,
others contend that -----. That is not to say that ----.
What do they/I say in the following?
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For decades, we’ve worked under the assumption that
mass culture follows a path declining steadily toward the
lowest common denominator standards, presumably
because the masses want dumb simple pleasures and big
media companies try to give the masses what they want.
But the exact opposite is happening: the culture is getting
more cognitively demanding, not less.
Steven Johnson, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”
Sample Template:
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Sometimes the author response is to views
that they do not identify explicitly.
“I remember the day I became colored.”
Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
Sample Template:
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“Of course some object that -----. Although I
concede -----, I still maintain that ----.
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What does a writer accomplish through this
template?
Templates do not have to be used word for
word… It is a framework…
Some Important “Moves” in
Writing
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Summarizing
Framing quotations in your own words
Indicating the view that the writer is
responding to
Marking a shift from a source’s view to the
writer’s view, offering evidence, entertaining
counter arguments.
What are some concerns with
templates?
Some templates to summarize
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Many Americans assume that ----.
On the one hand----. On the other hand----.
I agree that ----.
Example from Letter from
Birmingham Jail
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“You deplore the demonstrations taking place
in Birmingham. But your statement, I am
sorry to say, fails to express a similar
concerns for the conditions that brought
about the demonstrations.”
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Look back at text… Do you see his rhetorical
pattern? They say/ I say?
Example
“My daughter, who goes to Stuyvesant High
School only blocks from the former World
Trade Center, thinks we should fly the
American flag out our window. Definitely not,
I say: The flag stands for jingoism and
vengeance and war.
Katha Pollitt, “Put Out No Flags”
Who is the “they” in this example?
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Example
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“I like to think I have a certain advantage as a
teacher of literature because when I was
growing up, I disliked and feared books.”
Gerald Graff, “Disliking Books at an Early
Age”
Editorial Example
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“If ever there were a newspaper headline custommade for Jay Leno’s monologue, this was it. Kids
taking on McDonald’s this week, suing the company
for making them fat. Isn’t that like middle aged men
suing Porche for making them get speeding tickets?
Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
I tend to sympathize with these portly fast-food patrons,
though. Maybe because I used to be one of them. David Zincezenko, “Don’t Blame the eater”
Practice
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Write a short intro that responds to the
author’s rationale for using templates. Use
the They say/ I say format.
Importance of summary
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Clarifies topic
Gives you a frame for your discussion
Gives evidence of your careful reading
Orwell
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“Most people who bother with the matter at all would
admit that the English Language is in a bad way, but
it is generally assumed we cannot by conscious
action do anything about it. Our civilization is
decadent and our language--- so the argument runs--must inevitably share in the general collapse…
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[But] the process is reversible. Modern English.. Is full of
bad habits…which can be avoided if one is willing to take
the necessary trouble.
 ---George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”
Dangers of summary
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Reducing author’s ideas to a cliché that you
know of…
Too much summary
Not enough summary
Keep your reader aware of
your purpose!
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Use return sentences to cue your reader…
Examples for AP
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Defending authors claims:
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“She argues ---, and I agree because---.
Her argument that ---is supported by new
research showing that -----.
Qualifying:
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“He claims that ---, and I have mixed feelings
about it. On the one hand I agree that ---. On the
other hand I insist that ----.