Potent Quotables (Ch.3)
This is the main problem students have with using quotes.
What is underexplaining?
These are the two things that a summary needs to balance.
What is the author's viewpoint with where you want to go with that viewpoint in your own paper?
These are the three basic ways to respond to an author's ideas.
Yes, No, Okay But (Agree, Disagree, Kinda Both)
This is what a "They Say" is in a piece of academic writing.
What is what other people (people who are not the author) have had to say about this topic
If you tell a personal story in your paper, it should always match up with this.
What is your 'I say' or your argumennt.
This is the definition of a hit and run quote.
What is when a student drops in a quote and then immediately moves on without adequately explaining the quote.
Give one example of a better verb to use in a summary instead of "Caplan talks about getting rid of public schools."
What is: argues, asserts, contends, illustrates (basically anything from the list in ch. 2)
What is by adding your own new examples of how that theory works or applying how that theory works to a new thing.
For example, say you agree with Kamanetz. You add on your own stories of the ways that meeting different types of diverse people in public school has helped you. That is a way to add on to the conversation and not just repeat everything she already said.
This is when a writer should put their they say in the paper.
This is the definition of a voice marker.
What are subtle clues that help you know whether a particular view belongs to an author (their I Say) or to others (their They Says)
These are the three parts of a quotation sandwich.
This is the definition of the believing game:
What is Putting yourself in the author's shoes when summarizing and avoiding your own bias?
This is where in an academic paper should your response to others' ideas go.
What is right up front, close to the beginning, etc
This is how often you should reference your They Says
What is pretty often, often, every paragraph, etc.
You always want to make sure that your reader is aware of the ideas you are against as well as the ideas you are for.
What are some subjects in college that you will not want to use a personal story in your work for?
What are things like math and hard sciences with labs (biology, chemistry, physical science, etc.)
This is the type of quote that should be chosen when writing an argumentative essay.
What is a quote that supports your I Say, or your argument.
This is the definition of closest cliche syndrome.
What is when you are summarizing a reading you don't really understand, so you make up the author's viewpoint using a cliche.
What type of response do the They Say/I Say Authors say is their favorite?
What is "Okay, But" or "Agree and disagree"
"The notion that the internet is bad for you seems premised on the idea that the internet is one thing--a monolith. In reality, it's a befuddling mix of the stupid and the sublime, a shattered and fragmented medium. Internet detractors seem to miss this simple fact, which is why so many of their criticisms disintegrate under observation.
The way internet pundits tell it, you'd think we'd stare for three hours at clickbait. But most of us don't do just one thing on the internet. Instead we do many things, some of it frivolous, some of it heavy. I keep reading--on screens-- that in the age of the internet, we've lost our ability to concentrate, that we've become distracted. But when I look around me and see people riveted to their devices, I notice a great wealth of concentration, focus and engagement."
Identify the they says and the I says in the above passage.
Theys= people who think the internet is bad, a waste of time, breaking our focus
I Say= This author is PRO internet
This is why argumentative writing can get confusing to read without voice markers.
What is the reader cannot tell who thinks what.
Anya Kamanetz writes about the importance of public school. She argues “Without public school, many children would find themselves surrounded only by people that think exactly like them and act exactly like them, which would deprive them of getting to know other individuals and their points of view.”
Another point Kamanetz makes is that . . .
This is an example of:
What is a hit-and-run quote?
Brett Caplan thinks that college is too expensive, which is right and I agree with. My bill is very high.
The above student writing is an example of?
What is "closest cliche syndrome"
Remember, Caplan does not talk about college at all. This student is just taking something that might be true (their bill being high) and putting those words in Caplan's mouth.
WHY is the "Okay But" or "Agree and Disagree" response the authors' favorite?
Because most issues being written about are complex and have room for both agreement and disagreement.
(Note, the answer to this is NOT 'to include both sides' Simply including both sides does not always lead to a focused paper. That's why this one is the $500 question)
These are the main They Says and I Says for the Caplan article that you just read and did your Summary/Response on.
Theys: Think that COVID schooling was a disaster, think that public school is basically fine and good
Caplan's I's: Nobody remembers anything from school whether it's on zoom or in-person, so it's all useless, we should quit spending so much money on public schools, we should shut them down and do private schools and vouchers instead.
what are:
1) showing what you used to think and how you changed your mind
2) enhancing your credibility by showing you have personal experience with an issue
3) use stories to dramatize your they say and I say
4) use a story in your intro to "begin with a bang"
(You can give extra points if any team gets all four of them or the rest of them)