Excersice#2

In the Introduction to "They say/I say": the Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Catchy Birkenstein provide templates designed to organize thoughts so writers could better articulate what they are trying to say. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer help many writers focus on more than just what is being said, but rather by arranging structured rhetorical concepts. As the authors themselves put it, " the templates in this book can be paticularly useful for students who are unsure about waht to say, or who have trouble finding enough to say, often because they see their own beliefs as so self evident they need not be argued for." Although some people believe that writing is a talent that some of us may never have, Graff and Birkenstein insist that anyone can be good at writing by expressing their thoughts and mastering a certain inventory of writing tactics. In sum, their view is that writing is a lot like anything else, it just takes practice.
I have mixed feelings. In my view, the type of templates that the authors recommend will most definitely help many students become better writers, but will undoubtedly exclude other writers who have other problems. For instance, some writers may have interesting things to say and may be able to organize their thoughts well, but they do not have an interesting way of presenting their final work. In addition, other students may simply lack the motivation to become good writers. Some might object of course, on the ground that I myself have no place critisizng professionals. Yet I would argue that although I may not be an expert in writing, I know enough to know that it takes more to be a good writer than the right ideas, templates, and organization. Overall, then, I believe that this book is a good book for many writers- an important point to make given the lack of solid writing I see in many of my peers.