Exercise 2 - Templates

Response Journal Exercise 2 “They Say, I Say”

Authors Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, in their book They Say, I Say argue that templates are beneficial for writers, especially those developing their craft because it forces them to delve deeper into any subject about which they are writing. Specifically, they say that templates allow you to do more than make well-supported claims; they map those claims relative to the claims of others as well (XII). Although some people believe that templates limit the creativity of the writer, Graff and Birkenstein insist that their templates help students to carry their writing further by prompting them to make moves the would not otherwise make or even think to make (XIII). By following the “they say/I say” format, writers first listen to others’ views and then develop their own arguments. The authors believe that this model is beneficial to writers in order to develop a well-supported argument.

I agree. In my opinion, templates do well to serve as a springboard for developing your own thoughts and arguments. For instance, in my creative non-fiction writing class last semester, we often followed templates of other authors in order to begin writing our own pieces. It helped me to better understand how to develop a good story because it was a type of writing with which I had very little experience. After I was comfortable with the template, I was able to branch off and come up with my own opening for stories. Some might argue that in following another author’s format, your own voice does not come across well. Yet I would argue that in order to develop your own voice it is important to have a good command of the type of writing you are doing. Overall, then, I believe templates help students develop their own arguments and thoughts – an important point to make given that many people do not see the need for templates in writing