"They say / I say": the Moves that Matter in Academic Writing

Preface to the fifth edition --

Preface : demystifying academic conversation --

Introduction : entering the conversation --

Part 1. "They say". "They say" : starting with what others are saying ; "Her point is" : the art of summarizing ; "As he himself puts it" : the art of quoting --

Part 2. "I say". "Yes/no/okay, but" : three ways to respond ; "And yet" : distinguishing what you say from what they say ; "Skeptics may object" : planting a naysayer in your text ; "So what? Who care?" : saying why it matters --

Part 3. Tying it all together. "As a result" : connecting the parts ; "You mean I can just say it that way?" : academic writing doesn't mean setting aside your own voice ; "But don't get me wrong" : the art of metacommentary ; "What I really want to say is" : revising substantially --

Part 4. In specific academic contexts. "I take your point" : entering class discussion ; Don't make them scroll up : entering online conversations ; What's motivating this writer? : reading for the conversation ; "But as several sources suggest" : research as conversation ; "On closer examination" : entering conversations about literature ; "The data suggest" : writing in the sciences ; "Analyze this" : writing in the social sciences --

Readings. Hidden intellectualism / Gerald Graff ; The new Jim Crow : mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness / Michelle Alexander ; All words matter : the manipulation behind "All lives matter" / Kelly Coryell ; "Rise of the machines" is not a likely future / Michael Littman ; The electoral College embodies American ideals / Gavin Reid --

See also. Don't blame the eater / David Zinczenko ; Roe Butt, Cy Borg, Ann Droid : hint, they're not taking your job / Jason Smith.

"They say" --

"I say" --

Tying it all together --

In specific academic contexts --

Readings.