Part One “They Say”
Step One: Before you began giving your position on a topic, you must introduce what others
are saying. Choose sentences from each of the three Points below (or combine them):
1. Introducing Standard Views
 Choose this if your topic has become so widely accepted that by now it is
essentially the conventional way of thinking about a topic.
 You should use this if you are challenging widely accepted beliefs – analyzing
their strengths and weaknesses
 Americans today tend to believe that ____________________________________________.
 Conventional wisdom has it that _________________________________________________.
 The standard way of thinking about topic X has it that
_________________________________________.
 It is often said that ____________________________________________________.
 One would think that ____________________________________________________.
 Many people assume that ____________________________________________________.
2. Making what “They Say” Something You Say
 Choose this to respond to a believe that you once held or that you are
ambivalent about
 I’ve always believed that ____________________________________________________.
 When I was a child, I used to think that __________________________________________.
 Although I should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that
____________________________________________________.
 At the same time that I believe ____________________________________________________, I also
believe ____________________________________________________.
3. Introducing something implied or assumed
 Use this introduction to show sophistication in your writing.
 Summarizes a point that is not directly stated in what “they say” but it is
implied or assumed.
 Although none of them have ever said so directly, my teachers have often given me
the impression that ____________________________________________________.
 One implication of X’s treatment of ______________________________________ is that
____________________________________________________.
 Although X does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that
____________________________________________________.
 While they rarely admit as much, ___________________________________ often takes for
granted that ____________________________________________________.
Step Two: Her (or His) point is – Next you must summarize (or paraphrase) what others are
saying about your topic (You must summarize each main point he makes).
You should add these sentences to your introduction after you introduce an author’s point
of view on the topic.
Choose one sentence and verb per main point. Next add a quote and explain it. Then
transition to the next point. Start over.
1. Templates for introducing summaries
 She advocates ____________________________________________________.
 They celebrate the fact that ____________________________________________________.
 ____________________________________________________, he admits.
2. Use the verbs to introduce summaries (and quotations)
Verbs for making a claim
Argue
Assert
Believe
Claim
Emphasize
Insist
Observe
Remind us
Report
Suggest
Verbs for expressing agreement
Acknowledge
Corroborate
Admire
Do not deny
Agree
Endorse
Celebrate the fact that
Extol
Praise
Reaffirm
Support
Verify
Verbs for questioning or disagreeing
Complain
Deny
Complicate
Deplore the tendency to
Contend
Qualify
Contradict
Question
Refute
Reject
Renounce
Repudiate
Verbs for making recommendations
Advocate
Exhort
Call for
Implore
Demand
Plead
Encourage
Recommend





(Etc.)
Urge
Warn
X acknowledges that ______________________________________.
X agrees that ______________________________________.
X argues that ______________________________________.
X believes that ______________________________________.
X denies/does not deny that ______________________________________.
*Combine the sentences and verb choices above to write an effective summary about what
other people say.
Step Three: The Art of Quoting – Add relevant quotes to your essay
Quotation Frame – You cannot just insert quotes into your essay. You must introduce the
quote and then explain it. This is called framing. (The quote goes in the middle.)
Templates for introducing quotations
 X states, “_______________________________________________.”
 As the prominent _____________________ puts it, ____________________________________.”
 According to X, “_______________________________________________.”
 In her book (essay, film, etc.) ____________________________, X maintains that
“_______________________________________________.”
 Writing in the ____________________, X complains that “____________________________.”
 In X’s view “_______________________________________________.”
 X agrees when she writes “_______________________________________________.”
 X disagrees when she writes “_______________________________________________.”
 X complicates matters further when she writes “__________________________.”
Templates for explaining quotations
 Basically X is warning ______________________________________.
 In other words, X believes ______________________________________.
 In making this comment, X urges us to ______________________________________.
 X is corroborating the old-age adage that ______________________________________.
 X’s point is that ______________________________________.
 The essence of X’s argument is that ______________________________________.
How not to introduce quotations – You should not introduce quotations by saying
something like:
“Orwell asserts an idea that….” Instead write “Orwell’s assertion is___________”
Or
“A quote by Shakespeare says…” Instead write – Nothing. This is a horrible way
to introduce a quote.
Transitions
Also
And
Besides
Addition
Furthermore
In addition
In fact
Indeed
Moreover
So too
Actually
By extension
In short
Elaboration
That is
In other words
To put it another way
To put it bluntly
To put it succinctly
Ultimately
After all
As an illustration
Consider
Example
For example
For instance
Specifically
Accordingly
As a result
Consequently
Cause and Effect
Hence
It follows, then
Since
Along the same lines
In the same way
Comparison
Likewise
Similarly
Although
But
By contrast
Conversely
Despite
Even though
Contrast
However
In contrast
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
On the contrary
On the other hand
Admittedly
Although it is true that
Granted
Concession
I concede that
Of course
Naturally
To take a case in point
So then
Therefore
Thus
Regardless
Whereas
While
Yet
To be sure
Conclusion
As a result
Consequently
Hence
In conclusion, then
In short
In sum, then
It follows, then
So
The upshot of all this is
that
Therefore
Thus to sum up
To summarize