Connors English 1A Blog

 They say/ I say brings up the idea of refutations. Mostly, how important they are. Some of the specifics include anticipating objection, criticizing correctly and refuting respectively. The point is to acknowledge other opinions but then flip the script in favor of your argument. Along with this, i was able to come up with some anticipations to essay #3. Using these anticipations to my advantage, ill be able to present a stronger opinion. 

 They Say /I say taught me that summarizing can be likened to an art form. While quotations should be framed, complete with a lead in and a follow up comment. Doing these will ensure flow into the argument as well as evidence to support said argument. When reading chapter three i felt slightly called out. They likened a sudden quote with no lead in as a "hit and run quote." I am guilty of doing this. Sometimes I would think that the quote was self explanatory. Even so, the quote deserves commentary to explain what it means, regardless of how obvious it is. 

 This week dealt with using evidence and thesis format. There is a lot of ways to draft a thesis and use evidence. However some methods are better than others. The They/I Say format is effective in arguing for or against a point of view by using someone else opinion in conjunction with your own. Furthering this, a thesis is formed with in steps. Making a broad statement and then transforming it into a question is important to creating a thesis. After making this a question, its imperative to answer this question which will reveal a stronger thesis. 

 This week I encountered the "they say" idea.  Moreover, it's a way of pushing in argument in a way that is persuasive while recognizing what others have said on the issue. You can either use what "they say" to help your argument, or take it in a refutation direction. It's very important to put this idea first and then agree or disagree. This is all in the hopes of creating an argument that works. In the future, I will use this method to help my point of view. In a way it's using evidence. But the "they say/ I say" formula makes it easy to understand. 

 This week forced me to question different things. I decided that essay number two would be about a time when I actively tried to learn a second language. In the thought question of the week, when I reflected on the audience ands purpose, did it actually start to make sense. I mean that I made clearer connections to the purpose of my paper and who the reader was going to be. I think that using this weeks thought question as a tool, I could shape my narrative into something that makes better sense for my target audience. 

      This week focused a lot around the idea that writing and reading is not a natural activity. However, we are always constantly improving upon these skills. There is always room for improvement. There were some great examples used. Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr made appearance3s in this weeks lessons     There was one topic that shook me. The group thought question raised many questions for me. The video included was the most influential piece. I enjoyed it very much due to the passion and information backed up in the video.