In the introduction of “They Say/I Say”: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein introduce the idea of using templates to structure sentences and writing as a response to others’ ideas. The authors describe how, often, students’ first reactions to the idea of using templates in writing is to resist. They tend to claim that using such templates will limit creativity and make all writing too similar. The authors counter this argument by saying that the similarity between writing pieces will be determined by the content that fills the templates, not the templates themselves. They also claim that the templates can be the building blocks of creativity, saying “Creativity and originality lie not in the avoidance of established forms but in the imaginative use of them” (p. 11). I agree that using templates for formulating sentences is an effective way to express our ideas. Really, it is just setting up our writing strategically to aid our communication of our ideas. I can also see these formulas being helpful in establishing a good flow while writing, by having tools to refer to when you are having trouble effectively getting your ideas on paper.
The authors also discuss how when writing we should always be responding to the ideas of others. They describe how it is not enough to just make a simple statement, that good writing makes it clear why the statement is being said. The authors state, “For it is what others are saying and thinking that motivates our writing and gives it a reason for being” (p. 4). Though I have not thought of writing directly in this way before, this idea makes sense to me. While what is said by others is not always explicitly stated, much writing is in response to a statement, action or event. In this way writing becomes more engaging like in a conversation, as it should be. This structure of responding to another’s idea, “they say, I say”, creates a broad template for this style of writing, connecting back to the idea of using formulas for writing.
