- Engaging others’ views is crucial in academic writing. This is because writing may seem pointless without a direct reference to a source text to elaborate or argue with. Readers may not even know why the writing was written if it’s not at least indirectly stated (Graff and Birkenstein 4). Another reason why the They Say/I Say format is used is to stir up an argument or challenge a long-held belief (Graff and Birkenstein 9).
- Since academic writing is typically argumentative, it’s not going to be easy to start writing out by stating an argument I disagree with. I’ve always started out my writing in high school by saying what I believe and oftentimes never mentioning other points of view. A writer opting to leave out opposing viewpoints can leave the reader “unsure about why he felt the need to say what he’s saying” (qtd. in Graff and Birkenstein 20). In order to cut the tension, phrases like: I agree with __ to a point, or, Though we have different ideas, ____ is also right, can be helpful to avoid sounding altogether unagreeable.
- In their book, Graff and Birkenstein implore the importance of quoting correctly. In their own words, ” Be careful not to select quotations just for the sake of demonstrating that you’ve read the author’s work; you need to make sure they support your own argument.” Graff and Birkenstein’s point is that quotations are only beneficial when they’re used well. This connects back to the way I wrote in high school because I had a really hard time finding good quotes to back up my ideas, so I’d oftentimes use a less helpful quote just to get one down on the paper.
