Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Chapter 1: “They Say”
Beginner
_______ suggests that
_______’s work has several
basic problems.
Starting with What Others
Are Saying
Intermediate
Many people assume
_______.
Many times it is said
_______.
Although I should know
better by now, I cannot help
thinking that _______.
When I was a child, I used to
think that _______.
X apparently assumes that
_______ ______.
At the same time I believe
_______ I also
believe_______.
When it comes to the topic of
______, some are convinced
that _______.
X feels that _______.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Advanced
In their recent work _______,
Y and Z have offered harsh
critiques of _______ for
_______.
Common sense seems to
dictate that _______.
One implication of X’s
treatment of _______ is that
_______.
In discussions of X, one
controversial issue has been
_______.
Chapter 2: “Her Point Is”
Beginner
_______, he admits.
Verbs for making a claim:
believe
argue
Verbs for expressing
agreement:
agree praise
Verbs for expressing
disagreement or
questioning:
complain question
Verbs for making
recommendations:
demand warn
The Art of Summarizing
Intermediate
They celebrate the fact that
_______.
Verbs for making a claim:
report claim
Verbs for expressing
agreement:
acknowledge admire
Verbs for expressing
disagreement or
questioning:
deny qualify
Verbs for making
recommendations:
encourage recommend
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Advanced
She advocates, _______.
Verbs for making a claim:
assert
emphasize
Verbs for expressing
agreement:
endorse extol
Verbs for expressing
disagreement or
questioning:
refute contend
Verbs for making
recommendations:
urge plead
Chapter 3:
“As He Himself Puts It”
The Art of Quoting
Advanced
Beginner
Intermediate
Introducing Quotes
Introducing Quotes
Introducing Quotes
X states that, “_______________.”
According to X,
“_______________.”
In X’s view, “_______________.”
X himself writes,
“_______________.”
X agrees when she writes,
“_______________.”
X disagrees when he writes,
“_______________.”
As the prominent philosopher X
puts it, “_______________.”
In her book, ______________, X
maintains that
“_______________.”
Writing in the journal ______, X
complains that
“_______________.”
Explaining Quotes
Explaining Quotes
X complicates matters further
when she writes,
“_______________.”
X’s point is that,
_______________.
Basically, X is warning
_______________.
Explaining Quotes
In other words, X believes
_______________.
X is corroborating the age-old
adage that _______________.
In making this comment, X urges
us to _______________.
The essence of X’s argument is
that _______________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Chapter 4:
“Yes / No / Okay, But”
Three Ways to Respond
Intermediate
Advanced
Beginner
I agree that ________
because ________.
I disagree that ________
because ________.
He/She says ________, and I
agree because _______.
On the one hand, ________.
On the other hand, ________.
He/She argues ________, and
I agree/disagree because
________.
Though I agree that
________, I still disagree that
________.
I agree/disagree that
________ because in my
experience ________.
I think that X is mistaken
because she overlooks
________.
I disagree with X’s view that
________ because, as recent
research has shown,
________.
Although I agree with X up
to a point, I cannot accept
his/her overall conclusion
that ________.
I have two thoughts about
X’s claim that ________. On
one hand, I agree that
________. On the other hand
I’m not sure if ________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Chapter 5: “And Yet”
Beginner
X is right because
____________.
X is wrong because
____________.
I have a problem because
____________.
Distinguishing What You
Say from What They Say
Intermediate
Advanced
Although ____________, I
disagree/agree
____________.
Although X makes the best
possible case for_________, I
am not persuaded.
My view is that
____________.
My view, however, contrary
to what X has argued, is that
____________.
I have a problem with
____________.
There is a major problem
with ____________.
According to both X and Y
_________.
That evidence shows that
___________.
Anyone familiar with
_______ should
agree/disagree that
____________ I have a
problem with ____________.
I have a problem with
____________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Chapter 6:
“Skeptics May Object”
Beginner
Planting a Naysayer in Your
Text
Intermediate
Advanced
Yet some readers may
challenge the view that
____________.
Of course, many will
probably disagree on the
grounds that ____________.
____________, of course,
may want to question
whether ____________.
But ____________ would
certainly take issue with the
argument that ____________.
At this point I would like to
raise some objections that
have been inspired by the
skeptic in me. She feels that
I have been ignoring
____________.
Here many ____________
would object that
____________.
“Impossible!” some will say.
“You must be reading the
research selectively.”
Yet is it always true that
___________?
While it is true that
____________, it does not
necessarily follow that
____________.
On one hand I agree with X
that ____________. But on
the other hand, I still insist
that ____________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Nevertheless, both followers
and critics of ____________
will probably argue that
____________.
However, does the evidence
I’ve cited prove conclusively
that ____________?
Although I grant that
____________, I still
maintain that ____________.
Chapter 7: “So What? Who
Cares?”
Saying Why It Matters
Intermediate
Advanced
Beginner
____________ is important
because ____________.
____________ used to think
____________ but
now/recently/ ____________.
If we are right about
____________ then
____________.
These findings challenge
____________.
At first glance,
____________ but upon
closer inspection
____________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
My discussion of
____________ addresses the
larger matter of
____________.
These findings have
important consequences for
____________.
Chapter 8 “As A Result”
Connecting the Parts
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Transitions
Transitions
Addition
also
and
Addition
in addition
Example
for example
Example
for instance
Example
specifically
Elaboration
in other words
Elaboration
to put it another way
Elaboration
ultimately
Comparison
in the same way
Comparison
similarly
Comparison
likewise
Contrast
but
however
Contrast
although
Cause & Effect
so
since
then
Cause & Effect
as a result
therefore
Cause & Effect
consequently
Concession
of course
Concession
although it is true
Concession
granted
Conclusion
in conclusion
Conclusion
as a result
Conclusion
consequently
actually
to summarize
Transitions
in fact
even though
therefore
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
Addition
besides
furthermore
Contrast
In contrast
on the other hand
thus
to sum up
Chapter 10 “But Don’t Get Me
Wrong”
The Art of Metacommentary
Beginner
Intermediate
In other words, ____________.
What ____________ really
means is ____________.
To put it another way,
____________.
For example, ____________.
Finally, ____________.
In short, ____________.
Advanced
This is not to say __________,
but rather __________.
Ultimately, then, my goal is to
demonstrate that __________.
X is concerned less with
__________ than with
__________.
Essentially, I am arguing not that
__________, but that
__________.
What X is saying here is that
________.
Having just argued that
__________, I want now to
complicate the point by
__________.
Chapter 2 explores ________,
while Chapter 3 examines
________.
________, for instance,
demonstrates ________.
Consider __________, for
example.
Even more important,
__________.
But above all, __________.
Just as important, __________.
Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
To take a case in point
__________.
Incidentally, we will briefly note,
__________.