1. Answer the questions in 1- 2 organized paragraphs Think about the picture  What is a thesis?  Why is it important?  What is the “so what?”  Why is it important?  What is the solution according to “They Say I say”?

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3.  Follow the formulas, but avoid being formulaic  You get to use I  Creativity will come, and be allowed, but you have to learn the scales first  Focus on “substantive content”  You can fly or fail on your thesis  Pay attention to the other rhetorical devices writers use

4.  How else can you write a thesis with a “so what?”  What is critical thinking?  What is rhetoric?  What do the mean by “question[ing] assumptions”?  What should be included in your summary and response?  To whom are you going to respond?

5.  On page 14, Graff states that the “ability to enter complex, many-sided conversations has take on a special urgency…where the future for all of us may depend on our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of those who think very differently from us.”  How good is our society at this?  Brainstorm ways to address this question in a They say I say format.

6.  Complete the 2 exercises at the end of the introduction.  Have your paper checked by a peer before turning it in.  For homework, read and annotate chapter one and find and print a nonfiction essay that you feel either shows really well the they say I say format or fails completely. Be prepared to summarize the article/essay and its good and bad points.  Bonus points for being able to find 3+ rhetorical devices