2. The Basics
• Introduction
– I will show x, y and z.
• X
• Y
• Z
• Conclusion
– I have shown x, y and z.
3. What I Need to Know
• Your claim
• Why you are making the claim
• What evidence you have to support your claim
• Why you are using that evidence
• Why your argument is better than counter-
arguments
4. Example
• Many people believe that
Kanye West is the best
American rapper (claim). I
will demonstrate that
assertion is correct by
considering record
sales, analysis by music
critics and his continuing
influence on the music
industry (evidence for
claim).
5. They Say, I Say
Effective writing
does not only make
claims (I say), it
maps these claims
against the claims of
others (they say).
It’s a conversation.
6. They Say
• Establish a reason for making the claim
– Contemporary social science tends to believe ___.
– Many philosophical perspectives begin with the
assumption that _____.
• Summarise positions
– X asserts/argues/demonstrates/objects/celebrates
emphasizes/concedes/believes/asserts/shows/re
minds us/refutes/reports/observes
7. They Say (cont.)
• Back up ‘they say’ claims with quotations for
key points.
• Provide citations for secondary points
8. I Say
• Transition by agreeing/disagreeing/both
– Many x claim _____. This position is clearly
justified, by ____, _____ and ______.
– Many x claim _____. A deeper investigation of this
position, however, reveals ________, ______ and
_____.
– Many x claim _____. While they are correct to
argue _____ and _____ further consideration
reveals ______ and ______.
9. I Say (cont.)
• Whereas X provides evidence that ____, Y and
Z’s research on _____ and ____ convinces me
that ______ instead.
10. Example
• Many music critics assert
that Kanye West is the best
American rapper (they say). I
will demonstrate that
assertion is correct by
considering record
sales, analysis by music
critics and his continuing
influence on the music
industry (I say).
11. • Examining the US hip-hop charts for the past
decade reveals Kanye West’s consistent ability
to appeal to a wide ranging audience….
– Evidence might include stories from music
industry periodicals, statistics from Billboard, etc.
• Many who assert Kanye’s superiority appeal to
these statistics [2 or 3 citations]
12. Transition!
• While these statistics place Kanye in the upper
echelons of rap, they do not provide sufficient
evidence that he is the best. For
instance, following the release of Watch the
Throne, his album sales were quickly dwarfed by
Lil Wayne’s Carter IV, an album widely panned by
critics [citation]. This example shows that
commercial viability, while important, is not
enough to establish artistic greatness. To deepen
our evaluation of Kanye, it is thus necessary to
consider the critical reception of his work.
13. Entertain Objections
• Some critics argue Kanye’s success is solely
commercial, arguing that his albums are
sonically cluttered and vacuous [citation].
While these criticism rightly highlight the
diverse range of samples and production
styles found in his music, they miss the way in
which Kanye strategically deploys these
resources in order to address the
contemporary American zeitgeist.
14. Last bits of advice
• Clear, concise claims supported by appropriate
evidence
• Start with an outline
• Read your essay aloud
• Look at the assessment criteria
16. Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say, I
Say: The Moves That Matter in Persuasive
Writing (New York and London: W.W. Norton
and Company, 2007).
