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Victoria Wang
Professor Ellen Pratt
English 3103 Sec. 036H
25 August 2014
Writing an Argument: Short Answers
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In They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald
Graff and Cathy Birkenstein introduce the idea of teaching students how to write
arguments by using templates. As the authors themselves propose, intellectual
writing is almost always composed in response to others texts. For this reason,
they have put forward the concept of using templates as concrete prompts to
induce students participation in important conversations within the academic
world. The templates in the book have been designed to facilitate the
commencement of an argument and the inclusion of the source that provoked the
discussion. Some hold opposing views towards the use of templates because they
argue that these formats limit originality and may cause the student to excessively
rely on these pre-constructed layouts. However, a class given by Cathy Birkenstein
herself showed that the use of these guides helped students improve in their writing
skills and in their reading comprehension. From this perspective, both Graff and
Birkenstein hold the view that the use of templates essentially contributes to the
growth of any new or inexperienced writer.
I too agree with the authors views. In my opinion, templates can be used as
hints, or even inspiration as to how one may begin proposing an idea correctly and
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with the sufficient background information. Although I do also sympathize with the
contrasting perspective that templates limit a writers creativity, it is important to
keep in mind that the people who will mostly use these formats are those who lack
experience, and thus do not have a wide range of ideas on how to construct a well-
written argument. Overall, I believe templates are a good resource for writing and
should be used as training wheels to guide oneself into correctly formulating a
response.
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a. Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of chemical X
in the Ohio groundwater.
In the discussion of the Ohio groundwater, one controversial issue has
been whether or not it is a usable source of drinking water. Recent
investigations have presented statistics that satisfy the aqueducts health
departments requirements for its distribution. However, results also showed
some amount of chemical X in the water supply. Although this has given rise
to many debates on if it is indeed safe to drink, it has been assured that the
levels of the chemical present are not enough to cause any significant
dangers to the public.
b. Material forces drive history.
Karl Marx argued that societys needs evolved according to material
development and economic progress. As innovation increases in the market,
new necessities unfold and society commonly adapts to the conveniences of
the present.
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c. Proponents of Freudian psychology question standard notions of
rationality.
Freud dedicated part of his life to study the non-rational nature of human
beings. Consequentially, his followers and those who still believe in his theories
invest their time in similar endeavors.
d. Male students often dominate class discussions.
A recent quantitative experiment was done in an eleventh grade co-ed History
class in which the participation of different sex students was compared.
Surprisingly, the data results suggest that the contribution to the class was
equally distributed among both female and male students.
e. The film is about the problems of romantic relationships.
Although the film portrays a dramatic love story, its primary theme is
centered on being true to oneself. The protagonist and her fianc had troubles
because she had been misleading about whom she really was when they had first
met.
f. Im afraid that templates like the ones in this book will stifle my
creativity.
I am aware that templates such as the ones in They Say/I Say: The Moves
that Matter in Academic Writing have been accused of suppressing a writers
creativity. However, my previous use of these has led me to believe they are a
great way for beginners to get accustomed to writing more elaborately and to
communicate an idea in a smoother way.

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