there is something wrong with my dumb internet & it wont let me update to my dropbox so i am going to put it here just in case, ill try again tomorrow

Template

In the Introduction to They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to open up and clarify academic conversation. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer concrete prompts that can stimulate and shape thought. As the authors themselves put it, “our templates echo this classical rhetorical tradition of imitating established models” Although some people believe that their templates represents a return to prescriptive forms of instruction that encourage passive learning or lead students to put their writing on auto-pilot, Graff and Birkenstein insist that it is not to stifle critical thinking but to be direct with students about the key rhetorical moves that comprise it. In sum, hen, their view is that using their templates would be beneficial to any student writer and by using this method students are asked not simply to keep providing and reasserting what they already believe, but go stretch what they believe by putting it up against the beliefs of our diverse society.

 

I have mixed feelings.  In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend would help me out in my writing and I would like to make use of them.  For instance, giving me flow and piecing together information that I thought I could not write properly.   In addition, although I believe I could make such of such templates I can also see where they could stifle someone or be totally useless in some genres.  Some might object, of course, on the grounds that templates are very straightforward and they have problems recognizing that the templates are guides not something to hinder your creativity or enable you to write.   Yet I would argue that for the templates, because I believe they can be beneficial.  Overall, then, I believe templates should be regularly assimilated into the confusing and difficult writing and composition classes —an important point to make given that most people write poorly and feel lost when asked to complete a certain task or convey a certain point through their writing.