The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing Belen Vicens EAP Fellow Have you not registered yet? Register now on your mobile device at: http://tinyurl.com/EAPregister

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) cslc.nd.edu/eap EAP Fellows Belen Vicens Ricky Klee Courses Pronunciation Writing Presentations Workshops Tutoring 329 DeBartolo Hall cslc.nd.edu

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The moves that matter in academic writing Academic writing as a conversation with other scholars Master the moves  More effective communication

They say/I Say by Drs. Graff and Birkenstein PART 1. “THEY SAY” 1. “They Say”: Starting with What Others Are Saying 2. “Her Point Is”: The Art of Summarizing 3. “As He Himself Puts It”: The Art of Quoting PART 2. “I SAY” 4. “Yes / No / Okay, But”: Three Ways to Respond 5. “And Yet”: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say 6. “Skeptics May Object”: Planting a Naysayer in Your Text 7. “So What? Who Cares?”: Saying Why It Matters PART 3. TYING IT ALL TOGETHER 8. “As a Result”: Connecting the Parts  9. “Ain’t So / Is Not”: Academic Writing Doesn’t Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice 10. “But Don't Get Me Wrong”: The Art of Metacommentary *11. “He Talks About Deplores”: Using the Templates to Revise PART 4. IN SPECIFIC ACADEMIC SETTINGS 12. “I Take Your Point”: Entering Class Discussions  *13. “IMHO”: Is Digital Communication Good or Bad — or Both? 14.“What’s Motivating This Writer?”: Reading for the Conversation *15. “On Closer Examination”: Entering Conversations about Literature 16. “The Data Suggest”: Writing in the Sciences 17. “Analyze This”: Writing in the Social Sciences

Structure of this workshop 1. They say 2. Her point is 3. Quoting 4. I say 5. So what?

They say…

1. They say A number of sociologists have recently suggested that X’s work has several fundamental problems. In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of ________ for _________. The standard way of thinking about topic X has it that ________. STANDARD It has often been argued that _________. While they rarely admit as much, __________ often take for granted that __________. IMPLICATIONS In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been ______________. On the one hand, ______ argues ___________. On the other hand, __________ contends _____________. Others even maintain ___________. My own view is __________. DEBATE

They say… Exercise 1. The following claims all provide an “I say.” See if you can supply a plausible “they say” for each one. a. Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater. b. My own view is that this novel has certain flaws. c. Football is so boring. d. Male students often dominate class discussions. e. In my view the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships. f. I’m afraid that templates like the ones in this book will stifle my creativity.

2. Her point is… Basic rules: Summarize the contribution of another author fairly. But summarize in a way that allows the summary to fit with your agenda; that is, in light of your own argument. In late September 2001, President Bush in a speech to Congress urged the nation’s “continued participation and confidence in the American economy” as a means of recovering from the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The journalist Allan Sloan made fun of this proposal simply by summarizing it, observing that the president had equated “patriotism with shopping. Maxing out your credit cards at the mall wasn’t self indulgence, it was a way to get back at Osama bin Laden.” Sloan’s summary leaves no doubt where he stands—he considers Bush’s proposal ridiculous, or at least too simple.

QUESTIONING OR DISAGREEING MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS Her point is… MAKING A CLAIM EXPRESSING AGREEMENT QUESTIONING OR DISAGREEING MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS argue insist assert observe believe remind us claim report emphasize suggest acknowledge admire agree concur corroborate do not deny endorse extol praise reaffirm support verify celebrate the fact complain complicate contend contradict deny deplore the tendency to disavow question refute reject renounce repudiate advocate implore call for plead demand recommend encourage urge exhort warn

3. Quoting Basic rules: Introduce the author and quotation Choose quotations wisely, with an eye to how well they support a part of your text Surround quotations with a frame that explains them: what the quotation means and how it relates to your own text. Introduce the author and quotation Insert the quotation (the meat) Analyze the quotation and explain its relevance to your own text

Quoting… Exercise 2. Discuss the use of a quotation in this text: Susan Bordo writes about women and dieting. “Fiji is just one example. Until television was introduced in 1995, the islands had no reported cases of eating disorders. In 1998, three years after programs from the United States and Britain began broadcasting there, 62 percent of the girls surveyed reported dieting.” I think Bordo is right. Another point Bordo makes is that....

Quoting… Introducing quotations Explaining quotations As the prominent philosopher X puts it, “_________.” According to X, “________.” In her book,________, X maintains that “___________.” Writing in the journal Commentary, X complains that “________.” X disagrees when he writes, “___________.” X complicates matters further when he writes, “_____.” Basically, X is saying__________. In other words, X believes__________. In making this comment, X argues that________. X is insisting that_________. X’s point is that__________. The essence of X’s argument is that________.

4. I say There are basically three ways to respond to what “they say”: Yes = I agree No = I disagree because Okay, but = I am of two minds

I say… Yes I agree that________because my experience_____confirms it. X is surely right about________because, as she may not be aware, recent studies have shown that________. X’s theory of_________is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of_________. I agree that________, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe_________. Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to_________.

I say… No I think X is mistaken because she overlooks_________. X’s claim that_________rests upon the questionable assumption that_________. I disagree with X’s view that_________because, as recent research has shown,________. X contradicts herself/can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, she argues________. But on the other hand, she also says__________. By focusing on__________, X overlooks the deeper problem of________.

I say… Yes and No Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that_________. Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that________. Though I concede that_____, I still insist that______. X is right that________, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that________. While X is probably wrong when she claims that_______, she is right that_________. Whereas X provides ample evidence that________, Y and Z’s research on________and________convinces me that________instead. My feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support X’s position that______, but I find Y’s argument about_________and Z’s research on_________to be equally persuasive.

I say… Exercise 3: Does the author agree with those she summarizes, disagree, or some combination of both? How do you know? “Scholars in political economy and the sociology of knowledge have recently argued that public schools in complex industrial societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes. Bowles and Gintis, for example, have argued that students in different social-class backgrounds are rewarded for classroom behaviors that correspond to personality traits allegedly rewarded in the different occupational strata—the working classes for docility and obedience, the managerial classes for initiative and personal assertiveness. Basil Bernstein, Pierre Bourdieu, and Michael W. Apple, focusing on school knowledge, have argued that knowledge and skills leading to social power and regard (medical, legal, managerial) are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes, to whom a more “practical” curriculum is offered (manual skills, clerical knowledge). While there has been considerable argumentation of these points regarding education in England, France, and North America, there has been little or no attempt to investigate these ideas empirically in elementary or secondary schools and classrooms in this country. This article offers tentative empirical support (and qualification) of the above arguments by providing illustrative examples of differences in student work in classrooms in contrasting social-class communities....” JEAN ANYON, “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”

5. “Who cares?” and “So what?” This interpretation challenges the work of those critics who have long assumed that_________. Recent studies like these shed new light on__________, which previous studies had not addressed. If sports enthusiasts stopped to think about it, many of them might simply assume that the most successful athletes________. However, new research shows_______. These findings challenge the common assumption among corporate leaders that_____. X matters/is important because_________. Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over________. Ultimately, what is at stake here is_______. These findings have important consequences for the broader domain of______. These conclusions/This discovery will have significant applications in________as well as in________. Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of________, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about______.

Who cares… So what… Exercise 4 Write a few sentences identifying 1) who should care about your current work and 2) why your work is important.

Recap 1. They say 2. Her point is 3. Quoting 4. I say 5. So what?

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