“THEY Say." | Say” The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing oe GERALD GraFF CaTHY BIRKENSTEIN both ofthe University of ints at Chicago } Det New York Lonvow —ONE “THEY Say” Starting with What Others Are Saying ae Nor tone aco we attended a talk stan academic confer: ‘ence where the speaker's central claim seemed to be that a cer- tain sociologst—call him Dr. X—had done very good work in ‘a number of areas of the discipline. The speaker proceeded to illustrate his thesis by referring extensively and in great detail ‘various books and articles by Dr. X and by quoting long pas sages fiom them. The speaker was obviously both leamed ancl impassioned, but as we listened to is tlk we found ourselves somewhat pucled the arument—that Dr. X's work was very {mportant—was clear enough, but why did the speaker need to rake it in the frst place? Did anyone dispute ie? Were there ‘commentators in the field who had argued against X's work or challenged its value? Was the speaker's interpretation of what X had done somehow novel or evolutionary? Since he gave no hin ofan answer to any ofthese questions, we could only won der why he was going on and on about X. Te was only after the speaker finished and took questions from the audience that we gota clue: in response to one questioner, he referred to several critics who had vigorously questioned Dr. Xs ideas and con- vineed many sociologists chat Dr. Xs work was unsound. 7one “THEY Saye ‘This lite story illustrates an important lesion: tht ro give writing the most imporeane ching of all—namely, a point—a writer needs to indicate clearly not only his o her thesis, ‘but also what larger conversation tha thesis responding to. ‘Because our speaker filed to mention what other ad sid about DD. X's work, he left his audience unsure about why he felt the need to say what he was saying. Perhaps the point was clear to other sociologists in the audience who were mote familiar with the debates over Drs wotk than we were. But even they, we bet, would have understood the speakers point beter if hed sketched in some of the larger conversation his own claims were ‘pare of and reminded the audience about what "they sy ‘This story als illustrates an imporeant lesson about the oder in which things ae said to keep an audience engaged, a writer needs ro explain what he or she is responding to—cither before ofering that response o, atleast, very ealy in the discussion, Delaying this explanation for more than one or tw paragraphs in a very shore essay, three of four pages in a longer one, of more than ten or so pages in a book-length text reverses the natural order in which readers proces materil—and in which writers think and develop ideas. Afterall, it seems very unlikely that our conference speaker ise developed his defense of Ds X and only late eame across Dr. X'scitcs. Assomeone knowl cedgeable in his field, the speaker surely encountered the crit- ims fist and only then was compelled to respond and, as he saw i, st the record straight. ‘Therefore, when ic comes t0 constructing an argument (whether orally or in writing), we offer you the following vice: remember that you are entering a conversation and therefore need to stare with “what others are saying,” asthe title ofthis chapeer ecommend, and then introduce your own, Staring with What Others Are Saying Ideas as a esponse. Specifically, we, suggest chat you summarize what “they s2" as soon a you can in your text, and remind readers of i at strategic points as your rext unfolds. Though its ‘ue that not all texts fellow this practice, we think is impor- ‘ant for all writers to master it before they depar fom it This is not to say thar you must stare with a detailed list of everyone who has writen on your subject before you offer your ‘own ides. Had our conference speaker gone to the opposite ‘extreme and spent most of his alle summarising Dr. X's eitics ‘with no hine of what he himself had to say, the audience prob- ably would have had che same frustrated "why i-he-going-on- like his reaction. What we suggest, chen, is chat a8 soon a posible you state your ewn postion and the one is respond- Ing to together, and that you think of the two as a uni, Ie is generally best to summarize the ideas you'e responding to Doiefly, a che stare of your text, and to delay detailed clabora ‘ton until later. The point isto give your readers a quick pre- view of what is motivating your argument, not to drown them in details cis eaty Searing with a summary of other! views may seem con- tradict the common advice (which you may have heard from many instructors) that writers lead with their own thesis or claim. Although we agree that you shouldn't keep readers in suspense too long about your central argument, we alo believe that you need to present that claim as part of some larger conversation—and chat i's important co indicate something about the arguments of others that you ate supporting, oppo ing, amending, complicating or qualifying. One added benefit of summarizing other’ views s soon as you ean: those others do some of the work of framing and clarifying the issu you're writing about.one "THEY Say" Consider, for example, how George Orwell starts his famous cssay "Politics and the English Language” with what others are saying. Most people who bother with the mare tall would di that the English language is in a bad way, bu ts generally sumed hac we cannot by consciou action do anything about t- Ourcv- uation is decadent and cur lnguase—to the angumentrins— must inevitably share the general cll. (Bur he proces is reverb. Modern English fill obo habits... which can be avoided if one is wing to take the nec sary trouble ‘Gvonc Onwats, "Politics and the English Language” (Orwell is basically saying, “Most people assume chat we can- rot do anything about the bad state of the English language. But I say we can.” (OF course, there are many other powerful ways to begin, Instead of opening with someone else's views, you could start ‘with an illustrative quotation, a revealing factor sats, or — as we do in this chaprer—a relevane anecdote. If you choose tone ofthese formats, however, be sue that i in some way ills- trates the view you're addrewing or leads you to that view dlioety, with a minimum of eps In opening this chapter, for example, we devote the fire paragraph to an anecdote about the conference speaker and then move quickly atthe sar of che second paragraph to the anecdotes “important lesson” regarding what speakers should and shouldnt do. In che following opening, fom a 2004 of jon piece in the New York Times Book Review, Chistina Nebring also moves quickly ftom an anecdote illustrating something she Staring with What Others Are Saying dislikes to her own claim—that book lovers think too highly of themselves. “Te aeade!* announced the yellow button, “How about you? 1 looked ats bates raping young guy salkng en town’s est ‘al of Books. “bet yute a eae," hevolunrered, as shough we vere ovo geniscs well met. "No," I replied “Absolutely not” 1 ‘waned to ell and ing my Barnes x Noble bg at his fee. Instead, 1 mumbled cosethingaplogec and melted ito the crowd ‘There's a new per in thea the self congratulation of book lover, (Camera Nami, “Books Make You a Boring Peston” [Nering's ancedote is really @ kind of “they say": book lovers ‘eep telling themselves how great they are. ‘Tempuates For InveooueiNc Waar “THey Sav” ‘There are lots of conventional moves for introducing what oth- crs are saying. Here ae some standard templates that we would Ihave recommended to our conference speaker. A number ofsoislogits have recently sugested that's work has ‘several fundamental problems, thas become common today to dismiss X's contibutin to the fel of coccogy. In thle recent wort, Vand Z have ofered harsh ctiqus of Dr. x for —owe “Twey Save Tempuares FoR INTRODUCING *Stanpano Views” ‘The following templates can help you make what we call the “seandard view" move, in which you introduce @ view that has become o widely accepted that by now it is essentially the con ‘ventional way of thinking about atopic. > Aeveeans toy tend to believe that Conventional wisdom has i that > Common sense seems to dictate tat The standard way of thinking sbout topic x has i that > tis often sid that My whol life have head sid that You would think that Many people assume that ‘These rempates are popular because they provide a quick a ef- cient way to perform one ofthe mest common moves tha wit cs make: challenging widely accepted belie, placng them on the examining table and analysing thelr srengrhs and weaknesses, Tempuares ror MAKING WHar “THEY Say” Someruinc You Sav ‘Another way to introduce the views you're responding ti to present them as your own. Starting with What Others Are Saying > ve alays believed that When I as a child, | used to think that > Athough should know beter by now, canna help thinking that > At the same tie that | belive 1 alo believe ‘TempLares FoR INTRODUCING. SOMETHING IMPLIED of ASSUMED Another sophisticated move a write ean make isto summarize point that is nor diredy seated in what "they say” but is Implied or assumed. > though none other have ever sad so rect my teachers have cen gen me the impression that > One implication of X's treatment of is that, > Athough x doesnot sy so dvecty, she apparently assumes that > While they rarely admit as much, often ake for granted that ‘These are templates that can really help you to think rtically—eo look beyond what others say explicitly and 0 ‘consider their unstated assumpcions, as wel as che implications ‘of what they say or assume.One THEY Saye ‘Temptares For INsRooUCING ‘AN ONcoINe Deneve Sometimes you'll want to open by summarising a debate that presents two or more views. This kind of opening demon- strates your awareness that there are many ways to look at your subject, the clear mark of someone who knows the sub- ject and therefore is likely to bea reliable, trustworthy guide. Furthermore, opening with a suramary of a debate can help you to frame and explore the issue you are writing about before declaring your own view. In this way, you can use the writing process itself to help you discoven where you sand instead of having to take a position before you are ready to do so. Here is a basic template for opening with a debate, >In dscussions of, one controversial sue hasbeen nthe one hand argues ‘Onthe other hand, carted ven maintain My own view is ———— otters ‘The cognitive scientist Mark Aronof uses this kind of rem: plate in an esay on the workings of che human brain, ‘Thecries of how the minfrain works have been dominated for centuries by wo opposing views. One, ational, the human mind 36 coming into this wetld more o less filly formed — reprogrammed, in modern terms. The other, empl es the ‘mind ofthe newborn as largely urstractared, a blank ate Mane Azoworr,"Wathingtn Sleped Here’ Starting with What Osher Are Saying Another way to open with a debate involves starting with «proposition many people agree wih in order to highlight the point(s) on which they ultimately disagree. when it comes to he tape of most of us wil ready agree that —___ where this agreement usually ends, however. on the question of Whereas some ate convinced hat ether matin tat ‘The political writer Thomas Frank uses a variation on this sophisticated move. ‘That we are a nation divided is an alert univers Iamient of hi bier election year. However, the exact property that divides ue elemental chough i i sald eo be—remaine a mater of sme controversy. “Twowas Franc, “Amecian Poche While templates like these help you introduce what others are saying atthe star of your text, Chapters and 3 explore the arts of summarizing and quoting in more deal Keep WHar “They Sav" in View ‘Wecan'e urge you too strongly to keepin min what “hey say” 2s you move through the res of your text. After summarising the ideas you are responding to a the outer, is very impor- tant to continue to keep those ideas in view. Readers won't be able to follow your unfolding response, much less any compli-ont “Twey Say" cations you may offer, unless you keep reminding them what claims you ae responding to. In other words, even when presenting your own claims, you should keep recuming to the motivating "they sy.” The longer and more complicated your text, the greater the chance that readers wil forget what ideas originally mocivated {tno mat- ter how clearly you lay them out at the outset. At strategic ‘moments throughout your text, we recommend that you ‘include what we cll “return sentences." Here isan example In conclusion, then, as 1 suggested eater, defenders of cart haveltboth way. Theirssseton that 's contacted by thal li that ‘We ourselves use such recur sentences at every opportunity in this book to remind you of the view of writing that our book challenges—chat good writing means making true or smart or logical statements about a given subjece with litle of no refer: ence to what others say about i. By reminding readers of the ideas you're responding +9, return sentences ensure that your text maintains a sense of mi sion and urgency from start o finish In short, they help ensure that your arguments 2 genuine response to other views rather than just a set of observations about a given subject. The dif ference is hug. To be responsive to others and the conversa tion you're entering, you ned not only to star with what others ae saying, but also to continue keeping i in the reader's view Exercises 1. The following claims all provide an “I sy." See if you can, supply a plausible “they say” foreach one, Ie may help t0 26 Starting with What Others Ave Saying use one of the Templates for Introducing What “They Say” (p20) 4 Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels (of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater. (My own view is tha this novel has certain flaws Footballs s0 boring Male seudents often dominate clas diecusions. Inmy view theflm realy about the problems of roman- tie relationships Pm afraid chat templates like the ones in this book will, stifle my creativity. b 4 Below is a cemplate that we derived from che opening of David Zincrenko's "Don't Blame the Eater” (p. 139). Use the eemplate to structure s pasage on a topic of your own choosing. Your first step here should be to find an idea that you support that others not only disagree with, but also actully find laughable (or, as Zincenko puts i, wor- thy ofa Jay Leno monologue). You might write about one ‘of the topics listed in che previous exercise (the environ: ‘ment, sports, gender relations, the meaning of a book or ‘movie) or any other tople that interests you. ever there was an idea custom-made fo jy Lene meono- logue, his was tt Ise ha ie ‘Whatever happened to — ' happen to sympathize with — pevhaps because