Comp 2000- Journal entry 4

COMP 2000 – Journal Entry 4

After reading the Preface and Introduction to They Say/ I Say, complete exercise 2 on page 14. The template is typed below for you.

How to Submit this Assignment
After completing the template below, save this file and upload it to the Dropbox on WebCT.

Template
In the Introduction to They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to help students who are unsure of what to say.
Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer will help student make a whole host of sophisticated moves. As the authors themselves put it, “_these templates do not dictate what you say.” Although some people believe it would turn them into writing robots, Graff and Birkenstein insist that these templates will actually help your writing become more original and creative. In sum, then, their view is that it represents the stock and trade of sophisticated thinking.

I agree/disagree/have mixed feelings. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend will help my writing. For instance, it suggest a way of formatting what I say. In addition, Once I become comfortable with the templates in this book, I would be able to improve creatively. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that templates are very straightforward and they have problems recognizing that even the most creative forms of expression depend on established patterns and structure. Yet I would argue that the templates offered here are learning tools to get you started, not structures set in stone. Overall, then, I believe templates still gives the passage its underlying structure—an important point to make given that creativity and originality lie not in the avoidance of established forms, but in the imaginative use of them.