Three big points in They Say/I Say: “Playing the Naysayer in Your Text”.
-It is more engaging to include counterarguments in your text. If you only shared points agreeable to your argument and completely ignored what someone might say in objection, you might come off as naive or close-minded. Your argument and its credibility will appear weaker in the eyes of the reader if they can object to your points before you do.
-Acknowledging a counter argument makes your argument stronger, because you need to be able to defend your argument if you want it to be able to stand up to criticism. If a reader is reading your work and has some doubt, you want to be able to address that.
-Labeling naysayers is tricky, because you don’t want to lose a reader by them rejecting your label. Sometimes you may want to be specific in identifying a particular group that might have an opposing view to your argument, but you don’t want to stereotype. Because of this you want to be careful in choosing specific labels over general ones.
