1. The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing Ch. 2
They Say, I Say
The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing
Ch. 2

2. Ch. 2: “Her Point Is” The Art of Summarizing
The authors of this text point out “that to argue persuasively you need to be in dialogue with others, then summarizing others’ arguments is central to your arsenal of basic moves” (30).
Some writers don’t like summarizing
1. Because they may not want to return to the text in question and argue with it
2. Spending too much time on someone else’s ideas will take away from their own

3. General rules Balance what original author and you are saying.
Needs to “…be true to what the original author says…” (31)
Also, it should emphasis on “those aspects of what the author says that interest you, the writer” (31)
This balance can be tricky
Ultimately you should respect the original text while structuring your words to support your own position

4. Put Yourself in “Their” Shoes
Be willing and able to suspend your own beliefs
Play what Peter Elbow called the “believing game”
This is where “you try to inhabit the worldview of those whose conversation you are joining – and whom you are perhaps even disagreeing with – and try to see their argument from their perspective” (31)
This is a temporary suspension but a necessary one if you are going to write a good summary

5. Don’t undermine yourself
Not being able to play the “believing game” can undermine your argument by over exposing bias and hurting your credibility
We want to try and look objective, even when we are not

6. Example from the text…
David Zinczenko’s article, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” is nothing more than an angry rant in which he accuses the fast-food companies of an evil conspiracy to make people fat. I disagree because these companies have to make money…
This is a distorted view, full article in on p of the text
He never has a “angry” tone in his article or suggests a conspiracy. This is very revealing of the writer’s own bias

7. Know Where You Are Going
The trick here is to be aware of your own bias
Also, try not to let your bias become overtly or too obvious to your reader
The authors note that
“This advice – to summarize authors in light of your own arguments – may seem painfully obvious. But writers often summarize a given author on one issue even though their text actually focuses on another” (35)

8. Avoiding this problem…
What you will want to do is “to make sure that your ‘they say’ and ‘I say’ are well matched” (35).
What you are aiming to do is make sure that you are being able to balance perceptions between theirs and yours

9. What happens when you lose balance…
People fall into “List Summaries”
These tend to be an “inventory [of] the original author’s various points but fail to focus those points around any larger overall claim” (35).
Words that indicate this issue:
“and then”
“also”
“in addition”

10. Example of List Summary
Our authors provide you with this example:
“The author says many different things about his subject. First he says… Then he makes the point that… In addition he says… And then he writes… Also he shows that… And then he says…” (36).
Playing Peter Elbow’s “believing game” means “doing justice to the source; if the summary ignores or misrepresents the source, its bias and unfairness will show” (36-7).

11. Signal Verbs that Fit the Action
Try to avoid the “bland formula” of saying things like:
“she says”
“they believe”
Though this formula can work, but it “often fails to reflect accurately what’s been said” (38).
It is sometimes appropriate to use those phrases, but consider how more tailored and lively language might better suit your paper.

12. Templates for Introducing Summaries and Quotations
She advocates a radical revision of the juvenile justice system.
They celebrate the fact that
, he admits.

13. Verbs for Introducing Summaries and Quotations
Verbs for Making a Claim
Argue Insist Claim Suggest
Assert Observe Report
Believe Remind Us Emphasize
Verbs for Expressing Agreement
Acknowledge Endorse Admire Extol
Agree Praise Celebrate the fact that
Reaffirm Corroborate
Support Do not deny Verify

14. Continued… Verbs for Questioning or Disagreeing
Complain Qualify Complicate
Question Contend Refute
Contradict Reject Deny
Renounce Repudiate Deplore the tendency to
Verbs for Making Recommendations
Advocate Implore Call for Warn
Plead Demand Recommend
Encourage Urge Exhort

15. Ch. 2 - Exercises
To get a feel for Peter Elbow’s “believing game,” write a brief summary arguing the opposite position of your thesis So, if my thesis arguing “Watchmen represent…” You need to write a summary saying “Watchmen does not represent” Your brief summary should be 2-3 sentences in length. You will turn it in to me and then keep it when I hand it back to use in Counter-Argument later on.