Respond to Entering the Conversation from “They say/I say”
As I embark on my first assignment as a college academic writer, I have realized that I am not a very good academic writer. I know what every English teacher would say to that statement. “It takes time to improve,” or “You’re not a bad academic writer, you just have to strengthen your skills,” but my response is, I am a bad academic writer, but I’m excited to get better. After reading the first chapter of “They say/I say,” I have realized that writing is much different than originally anticipated. Argumentative writing in the past has been such a solid, unchangeable force that requires you to form an opinion and preach your godforsaken truth. This is the truth that I followed through most of my high school career. I have recognized now that arguments are not solid, and they are ever changing. “If you have always had the impression that in order to succeed academically, you need to play it safe and avoid controversy in your writing, making a statement that nobody can possibly disagree with. Though this view may seem logical, it is actually a recipe for flat, lifeless writing and for writing that fails to answer what we call the ‘so what?’ and ‘who cares?’ questions.” (Birkenstein and Graff 8) Although writing should voice your beliefs, you don’t have to pick sides and that’s something that was always hammered a little too deep in my educational journey. You don’t have to agree with a piece or writing or a topic, nor do you have to agree with it. Actually, if you were really adamant, you’d be easily able to agree and disagree at the same time just to get your point across. All I’ve truly known is the five paragraph essay with a strong claim and a flat opinion. Just like an argument with a spouse, these things are complex and can mold into many different shapes and sizes. Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein also state, “You have learned how to develop a thesis and support it with evidence. This is good advice as far as it goes, but it leaves out the important fact that in the real world we don’t make arguments without being provoked. Instead, we make arguments because someone has said or done something,” (Birkenstein and Graff 3) It is extremely important as a writer to take in every piece of information there is to understand why we argue. We don’t rally to stand there unsure why we’re there and how we got there. We rally for our rights, our beliefs, and morals. The same thing goes for writing and that’s why it’s so important to understand the argument you’re trying to make or defend, or dismantle.
