They Say, I Say Templates for Agreeing and Disagreeing From They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
They Say I Say (Use quotation marks if you copy the wording; always use the author’s name or the “Title” if no author is given)
Signaling these are someone else’s views Explaining Quotations X offered a harsh critique of ______ Basically, X is saying ______. for______. In other words, X believes ______. Many people assumed that In making this comment, X argues that ______. ______. X acknowledges that ______. X is insisting that ______. X argues that ______. X’s point is that ______. X believes that ______. X denies/does not deny that ______. Agreeing X claims that ______. X is right that… X complains that ______. I agree because… X concedes that ______. I completely agree with X because… X emphasizes that ______. X insists that ______. Disagreeing, With Reasons X observes that ______. I think X is mistaken because she overlooks X questions whether ______. ______. X refutes the claim that ______. X’s claim that ______rests upon the X reminds us that ______. questionable assumption that ______. X reports that ______. I disagree with X’s view that ______ X suggests that ______. because… X urges us to ______. X contradicts herself/can’t have if both ways. On one hand she argues ______. According to X, “______.” But on the other hand, she also says In X’s view, “______.” ______. By focusing on ______, X overlooks Tying in another They Say the deeper problem of ______. X agrees, saying, “______.” My own view, however, is that… X disagrees when he writes, However, it is simply not true that… “______.” X agrees that ______. Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously X complicates matters furter when he Although I agree with X up to a point, I writes, “______.” cannot accept his overall conclusion that ______. Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that ______. Though I agree that ______, I still insist that ______.