They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing

While the first 10 chapters involve metaphorical academic conversations, Chapter 11 focuses on applying these same rhetorical practices to literal conversations in classroom settings. Here, Graff and Birkenstein focus specifically on the strategies from Chapters 8 and 10: tying ideas together and using metacommentary, respectively.

Graff and Birkenstein heavily emphasize the importance of being as specific as possible in classroom discussions. “The single most important thing you need to do when joining a class discussion is to link what you are about to say to something that has already been said. […] Name both the person and idea you’re responding to” (142). While speaking this way may be awkward in casual conversation, doing so in class signals the speaker’s awareness of and connection to the other members of the class who are engaged in the same conversation. Moreover, these speech practices help to make complex topics clear and easy to follow, particularly since listeners can’t go back and “reread” what has just been said.

It’s important to be even more explicit and specific in speech than in writing because listeners can’t go back to “reread” what has just said. Graff and Birkenstein also recommend sticking to one main point at a time (or maybe two main points that are connected) to make one’s ideas as easy to follow as possible.