They Say, I say response

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 organize their thoughts and create a strong paper. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer are building blocks to creating a better paper. As the authors themselves put it, “templates do more then organize students’ ideas; they help bring those ideas into existence.” (pg. XIV). Although some people believe that templates result in students having all their papers look and sound the same, Graff and Birkenstein insist that templates are,” not to stifle critical thinking but to be direct with students about the key rhetorical moves that comprise it” (pg. XV). In sum, then, their view is that the templates shown in the book are stepping stones to get students started, not formats they have to follow forever.
I agree. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend are very helpful. For instance, when writing a position paper, it is hard for me to make sure I add the counter argument in. In addition, it is hard for me to organize my paper with adding the counterargument in and then defending my position at the same time. Some might object of course on the grounds that every student is capable of wording their own thought correctly. I agree with that but I would argue that not every student knows how to organize those thoughts in a pattern that makes sense to other readers. Overall, then, I believe that using templates is beneficial to the student because it is a guide for them to follow—an important point to make given is that the templates can be altered any way the student would like to benefit their paper.