They Say, I Say

"They Say / I Say" shows that writing well means mastering some key rhetorical moves, the most important of which involves summarizing what others have said ("they say") to set up one’s own argument ("I say").

In addition to explaining the basic moves, this book provides writing templates that show students explicitly how to make these moves in their own writing. Now available in two versions, with and without an anthology of 32 readings.

Demystifies academic discourse

Identifying the moves that matter in academic writing in ways that students can readily understand and apply.

Provides templates

Giving students language as starting points for making the rhetorical moves that matter.

Shows students that writing is always part of a larger conversation

And demonstrates how to engage in a lively dialogue in their writing with other writers and thinkers.

Two books in one, with the rhetoric up front and the readings in the back, makes the book easy to use

The two parts are linked by cross-references in the margins, leading from the rhetoric to specific examples in the readings and from the readings to the corresponding writing instruction.

An anthology of 32 readings

That provoke students to think— and write—about 4 important issues: Is fast food the new tobacco? Are 24, Family Guy, and Grand Theft Auto actually good for you? Is economic mobility just a dream? Is America over?

A new chapter on reading

Shows students how to read for the larger conversation—to recognize the argument and think about what arguments it responds to—and thus to see reading as an act of entering conversations.

Norton/Write

The Norton/Write Web site is free and open to all readers of Norton composition books and to anyone who wants to be a better writer or researcher. The site includes a complete Online Handbook and three easy-to-navigate sections: Writing and Rhetoric, Research and Documentation, and Handbook and Exercises.

TheySayIBlog

Tied to the chapters of They Say, I Say, TheySayIBlog will contain up-to-the-minute readings that will enliven any writing course and inspire students to “join the conversation." Headnotes will introduce each reading, and students can join in through critical thinking questions and inspiring writing prompts. TheySayIBlog.com. Join the conversation.

Answers to the Study Questions

TheySayIBlog