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They Say / I SayChapter OneParagraph 1What image comes to mind when you think about an “academic conference?”Describe what “central claim” means to you.What is the author suggestion about Dr. X when he uses the series of rhetorical questions in the first paragraph?Note the sentence that begins: “Since he gave no hint….” As a student, do you relate to the statement, “we could only wonder why he was going on and on about X?” Explain why or why not.Paragraph 2Describe the main point of the second paragraph in your own words.Paragraph 3At this point of reading this passage, you most likely have already made up your mind about whether or not you’re “into this reading.” Part of being an engaged reader and critical thinker is to reflect on what you are reading and how it applies to you. The author states that his anecdote “illustrates an important lesson about the order in which things are said.” How can you relate this statement to yourself for this class? Other classes?Define anecdote.Paragraph 4How would you explain what the author means by “entering into a conversation” to another person?Paragraph 5Think about how you approach your written assignments (essays). Do you believe you are in the habit of starting with detailed lists, elaboration, or a quick preview? Explain your thought process when starting an essay.Paragraph 6The author has repeatedly used the word “conversation.” Think of examples of conversations you have with your friends in which you support, oppose, amend, complicate, or qualify the topic of conversation. Describe conversations where each of those underlined words have occurredParagraph 7 (includes the excerpt by Orwell)Many times you are given a topic to write about that you may not care for. Obviously, Orwell was interested enough to write an essay about the condition of the English language. His exigence was irritation at bad habits. Since writing essays is a mandatory skill for gaining a college diploma, what are some ways you can make yourself care enough to want to write an outstanding essay?Paragraph 8 (begins “Of course, there are many…”)You may have expressed trouble with beginning essays. What do you think instructors want to see. What is the author of this chapter suggesting about how to begin an essay? Does his suggestion make sense to you? Explain.Paragraph 9 (including the excerpt by Nehring)Paragraph 9 can be considered a “metatext.” That is writing about what has been written. “In opening this chapter, for example…,” refers to how the chapter you are currently reading has been crafted. Do you believe this paragraph helps to make the author’s argument more clear? Explain.Read the rest of the handout before continuingExercisesThe following is a list of arguments that lack a “they say” – any sense of who needs to hear these claims, who might think otherwise. Like the speaker in the cartoon who declares that The Sopranos presents complex characters, these one-sided arguments fail to explain what view they are responding to – what view, in effect, they are trying to correct, add to, qualify, complicate, and so forth. Your job in this exercise is to provide each argument with such a counterview. Feel free to use any of the templates in this chapter that you find helpful.Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.Material forces drive history.Proponents of Freudian psychology question standard notions of “rationality.”Male students often dominate class discussions.The film is about the problems of romantic relationships.I’m afraid that templates like the ones in this handout will stifle my creativity. Below is a template that we derived from the opening of David Zinczenko’s “Don’t blame the Eater”. Use the template to structure a passage a topic of your own choosing. Your first step here should be to find an idea that you support that others not only disagree with but actually find laughable (or, as Zinczenko puts it, worthy of a Jay Leno monologue). You might write about one of the topics listed in the previous exercise (the environment, sports, gender relations, the meaning of a book or movie) or any other topic that interests you.If ever there was an idea custom-made for a Jay Leno monologue, this was it: _______. Isn’t that like _______ ? Whatever happened to ______ ?I happen to sympathize with ____, though, perhaps because ____. ................
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